agreement. Ciaran didn’t respect him, and without respect, a relationship just wasn’t possible. He refused to continue the way he always had. Things were going to change, and he should probably start that now.
Louie sat across from him, giving him encouraging nods. She had not wanted to leave Skye and Angus, but she’d done so for him.
Scattered around the room, King Steven, Admiral Hawkins, Viscount Wentworth, and the Marquess of Ravensburg were all staring at him. Bless them, their expressions held complete patience even though there was a bit of anxiousness. They’d all been so kind to him. King Steven and King-Consort Raleigh had hugged him when they’d first seen him, and told him how happy they were that he was alive. They had then sent for his family posthaste. Admiral Hawkins had clapped him on the shoulder and expressed gratitude for Bannon’s well-being, then informed him that his consort and son were anxious to see Bannon. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt accepted and loved here at home, so why then wouldn’t the emptiness in his chest just go away?
“You were telling us about the attack you witnessed,” King-Consort Raleigh prompted.
“Right.” Bannon nodded. “Sorry.”
Across from him, Louie scooted to the edge of her seat and said, “He didn’t just witness it. He was in it. Bannon charged one of the mercenaries on his horse. Diving off of the horse—”
“Flùr. My horse’s name is Flùr.” He missed Flùr.
Louie nodded. “Right. He dove off Flùr and right into the middle of battle, then wrestled a rifle from one of the mercenaries. Bannon shot him and turned on the other mercenaries. He saved a lot of lives.” There was so much pride in her voice, and then she looked at him and winked.
Bannon grinned back but continued his story. “That was the first battle. Once we learned that the base was indeed a base, we decided to attack it. By then we had procured fraggers and my friend—one of the Regelens I told you about who had been abandoned on Skye—is very good with technology, and he made solar rechargers for the fraggers. Anyway, when we raided the base, we found Admiral Jenkins.”
As expected, there were gasps and a barrage of questions, but Bannon ignored them.
“Unfortunately I don’t know more than that. As I told you, he was responsible for my new friends being abandoned on Skye, but he claims to have done so to save them from the IN since they had discovered so much of the IN’s plans. He’s being held until my friends are rescued, and they promised not to kill Jenkins as he apparently has information we need. Captain Kindros came before I was able to find out more.”
“And these Regelens who were on Skye? Who are they? I have a feeling you aren’t telling us everything,” King Steven asked from his place on the front of the desk.
So he caught that, did he? For several moments, Bannon debated what to say. He’d told them about Marcus and Patrick, but he hadn’t told them told them. He had mentioned a Regelen IN lieutenant commander and his spouse. Damn, but he’d done the same thing when he’d told Marcus and Patrick about Trouble. He just wasn’t sure how everyone would deal with the shock. “I…. You are right. I haven’t told you everything. You’re going to retrieve my friends from Skye, right?”
King-Consort Raleigh nodded. “Of course. They are Regelens, and it sounds as if they were marooned on Skye for trying to protect Regelence. Is that why you haven’t told us more about them, because you fear we will not retrieve them if you tell us who they are?”
Bannon bit his bottom lip and glanced over at Louie.
As usual she seemed to read his mind. “They need to know now.”
Right! Bannon cleared his throat and stood up. He couldn’t sit still and do this. He went to the far side of the room, closest to the french doors, and peeked out the curtains. Damn, but it was good to be back home. So familiar, so civilized, yet something had changed. Perhaps it was he himself. He longed for the craggy mountains and the forest. The clear lake….
What would Marcus and Patrick say when they got home? Would they miss Skye too? “No, that isn’t it at all. I just think it will come as a shock.” He dropped the curtain back into place and faced the anxious faces of his audience. “I