Maybe I’ll get another chance meeting now that Robyn and Ridge are together.
If it’s meant to be, it will be.
I sigh and start my car, driving back to the hospital.
3
Magma
I scan the bullpen. My team is crammed in tight. There are those who couldn’t be here, but Jess will have a memo sent out within half an hour of this meeting.
Phones have been muted, and every eye is turned on me. They know something big is coming.
“I’ll keep this brief,” I begin. “As you know, the peace treaty has been signed. It takes effect at midnight tonight.”
A murmur rolls through the room. I lift a hand, and it dies down.
“From midnight, the Mistveil border falls under Red jurisdiction. Our sea patrols on the Mistveil border frontline have been ordered to stand down at midnight. The Reds will be permitted to cross into Draig with the appropriate permits and documentation, and our own citizens will have the same privileges in reverse.”
Someone toward the front swears under their breath. I let it go.
“That does not mean that our frontline is dissolving. It’s just moving closer to home. To our own border. The flight guard division may need to be restructured in time.” I don’t mention anything about phasing anyone out. I’m not as convinced as the Council that it will even happen. Time will tell. It’s no use worrying anyone over the possibility of my staff losing their positions within this organization until it becomes fact.
Mouths tighten. A few of my younger managers exchange looks. Snare, one of my flight captains, folds his arms across his chest, his eyes narrowing.
“How secure are our positions?” Snare asks.
“At this point in time, nothing changes except for where we patrol,” I say. “We need to be on our toes and check all paperwork of the incoming Reds. We do expect some unrest within our borders once Reds start coming into Draig. Keep in mind that they have a shortage of females.”
One of the males in full leathers stands; his face is red. “So we can expect a drove of those fuckers to hit our shores?—”
“Let’s not assume anything.”
He barks out a laugh. “It’s going to happen, and you know it.”
“We will not accept any breaking of our laws, but we need to give them the benefit of the doubt.” It irks me to say it. I don’t want them here, but what Reed said is true. “They are shifters like us.”
Someone else mutters something and a few heads shake.
“They are not our enemy. We were lied to by the Mainland. We need to reunite and become one peaceful unit again so that we may stand strong against the Mainland. We?—”
“That’s never going to happen,” another one of the captains says.
“This is not the forum for that type of discussion. I have my orders, and I’m passing them along to you. I expect each and every one of you to follow them without fail. Am I understood?”
There are nods and murmurs of agreement, but most of them remain stony-faced.
“This will take some getting used to, but I believe in every one of you. I hand-picked most of you myself. Change is tough, but we can do this.”
A few of them nod. The tension in the room doesn’t disappear, but it loosens some, at least.
“Stay sharp. Stay trained. Stay ready. That’s the assignment. We’ll get through this the same way we get through everything…together. You will all have the new operating procedures in your inbox within the next hour or two. Please know what the expectations are and brief your subordinates accordingly. Thank you.”
The crowd begins to break up, conversations starting up. I push back from the edge of the desk and spot Flint at the back of the room, propped against the doorframe with his arms folded.
I tip my head toward my office, and he gives a nod, threading through the crowd toward me.
I’m already behind my desk by the time he closes my office door.
