Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) - Nalini Singh Page 0,107
during the time the area is vacant.”
“Perfect.” Mercy patted her belly. “If these little guys are still snuggling inside, we’ll celebrate their impending birth rather than their actual birth.”
“And,” Clay said, “there’s no security issue with the people we want to invite. They all have to know the location by now.”
“Anyone else outside the pack we want to invite?” Lucas asked.
“Max and Sophia.” Clay placed his empty coffee mug on a nearby table. “They’re friends, but they’ve also earned an invite after the number of times they’ve quietly assisted the pack.”
“I think leave off the falcons and BlackSea this time around,” Nathan said. “They’re allies, but the relationship is still in progress in both cases. We’re better off sticking to one-on-one meetings for now.”
Mercy nodded. “I don’t think they’d expect an invite at this point.”
No one disagreed.
It was Clay who spoke next. “There’s another group that also won’t expect an invite but that I think has more than earned one—trouble will be convincing the wolves of that.”
In the end, they found themselves with a fairly limited list of outside-pack guests that Lucas would discuss with Hawke. This was a joint event all the way, so neither side would be making unilateral decisions. “If SnowDancer agrees,” he said, “we’ll probably end up hosting a few Arrows, too, courtesy of Judd’s connections.”
His phone beeped before any of the others could answer. It was an alert from BlackSea requesting that, as an ally, DarkRiver stand by for the next forty-eight hours ready to render assistance should it be required: I hope we need it, Miane had written. Because that would mean we’ve found Leila and are in the process of ripping another head off the hydra that is the Consortium.
Chapter 31
IVY GRIEVED WITH Vasic in the days following Zie Zen’s passing, but like him, she couldn’t switch off. They both had responsibilities, not just to Tavish and the squad, but to many others. In her case, that meant the health of her empaths and, of course, the tense issue of the hidden disintegration of the psychic fabric of the PsyNet, a disintegration that was weakening a psychic structure that supported millions of minds.
In Vasic’s case, it meant his duties as Aden’s deputy, as well as the commitments he’d made to friends and allies. It was on the day after they’d scattered Zie Zen’s ashes that Ivy, Vasic, Tavish, and Rabbit returned home from a morning walk through the fruit trees to find Miane Levèque had left a message on their comm and on the phone Vasic had forgotten in the cabin.
“Vasic, I know you lost your grandfather only days ago,” she’d said, her voice somber, “but we have what might be a real, viable lead on Leila. We need to move on it as soon as possible. If you can’t do it, I understand.” Compassion in the alpha’s tone, no judgment. “But please let me know within the hour so I can rework our plans.”
Ivy’s husband would’ve been justified in saying no, but he didn’t. He put on his Arrow uniform and slid a single gold coin into an inner pocket in memory of his grandfather. “If we save this BlackSea changeling,” he said, his voice potent with memory and with resolve, “we strike a blow to the Consortium. Zie Zen would’ve appreciated that.”
Because, Ivy thought, all of Zie Zen’s plans and intrigues had flowed from a single overriding goal: to return freedom to his people. “Yes,” she whispered. “He wouldn’t thank us for leaving a woman caged when we might be able to free her.”
Smoothing her hands over the front of his uniform, she carefully folded up and pinned the sleeve of his missing arm. Vasic could’ve had his uniforms altered so this wasn’t necessary, but with Samuel Rain continuing to experiment with prosthetics, he’d left it.
That choice said something powerful about the man she loved. Though he’d adapted to the loss of his arm to the point that the prosthetics often annoyed him, he kept giving Samuel a chance. All for a simple reason: the other man’s mind was such that it needed a challenge and this challenge kept him focused and mentally healthy.
“There,” she said after completing her self-appointed task. “You’ll be careful?”
Vasic cupped her cheek with his hand, his eyes a stormy gray today. Filled with echoes of grief. “Yes,” he promised. “I need to come back home to you.”
Ivy’s heart ached at the raw power of his words, at the love that lived in his touch. Turning her