Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,64

refuses to speak about it with me, then I’m going to just say I tried and call it fucking square.

Is that guy ever not annoying? Ryder mused, while Damien shook his head.

Lifting our linked hands and ignoring the others, Joshua whispered a kiss across my knuckles while the others bickered, grinning sweetly over the top. My stomach was full of flutters as Joshua leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a graze that only stoked the fire we’d started earlier instead of dampening the flames. “Obviously, I’ve missed a lot, but I don’t even care. It’s just so good to be with you all again. Nix, I was hoping—”

“Joshua,” Valleria interrupted, turning away from the assistant she was issuing orders to while we had our own little side conversations. With a wincing smile, she begrudgingly said, “I believe the faction leaders would like to debrief you.”

I know someone else who would like to debrief you too, Joshua. Ryder smirked wildly, his eyes pure mischief as my face heated, a blush mantling my cheeks.

Valleria, who seemed to catch onto the joke she wasn’t privy to, just grinned. “I guess I walked into that one. Nevertheless, we do need to speak with you about everything that happened and get any additional intel you can provide for us now that you’re here. And Damien” —she shifted her attention— “we did our best analyzing our newest rebellion members, but another mind sweep is in order to make sure we can trust them.” She turned to the new recruits who shifted nervously on their feet, eyeing Damien as they saw him for the powerful gargoyle he was instead of just another guy standing around the hotel lobby.

“Val, with all due respect, we just got Joshua back. We need time together as a family. I realize how important it is to validate our new guests, but you know as well as I that my grandfather, Gaspard, would be perfect for this job as he’s even more powerful than I am.”

“You underestimate yourself, Damien.” Valleria shook her head, the movement small but distinct. “You also know that as much as I’d like to, I cannot allow Gaspard to perform the necessary tasks. As you’re aware, he is not yet a trusted member of our ranks, and while I, myself, do not sense any harm from him, not all the other faction leaders will agree. The decision is out of my hands.”

With a sigh, Damien nodded. “I will agree to your condition if you will agree to one of my own. Joshua stays with Nix. You can speak with him tomorrow.”

“That’s against protocol—” Valleria pursed her lips, torn between allowing us the time she knew we needed together and the flack she’d get from the other leaders if she yielded. Damien held up a hand, wielding an authority he hadn’t used much since arriving at the rebellion.

“I said you can speak with him tomorrow,” Damien ordered, clearly asserting himself as the leader of our group. I dared a peek at Theo, but only saw a smug expression flit across his face. He seemed proud of his friend rather than upset about not being the one to issue the command. “These last few months have been extremely hard on both Joshua and our mate, and I will not deny them the time they have rightly earned to be together just so you can pepper him with more questions. He’s been a loyal spy, done your bidding, and suffered greatly for the cause. Now that he’s home, he’s off duty. At least for tonight.”

Valleria gazed at all of us in turn, seeing our determination before nodding her consent. “Alright. One night. Tomorrow, however, will be a different story. I cannot shield you from the questions the others will have, nor the strategy you could help us develop now that the Council has tucked their tails and ran.”

“I wouldn’t say they ran,” Joshua corrected. “Their move was planned and destructive. They caused as much damage as they could and used it as a distraction while they and their loyal followers fled to a new base of operation.”

“To a location neither you nor your father apparently had any knowledge of,” Valleria challenged. While she respected Joshua, the same could not be said of his father.

I gasped, realizing I hadn’t seen Councilman Williams among the group of shifters who had arrived. I would have noticed, positive that couldn’t have slipped under my radar. “Joshua, where is your dad?” Worry ate a