My Warrior (Bewitched and Bewildered #12) - Alanea Alder Page 0,44

She turned to her niece. "Many Founding Families employ squires here in Éire Danu, Meryn."

Meryn face screwed up in confusion. "Then I don't see why he was so concerned."

Despite the severity of the situation, small titters were heard around the room as Tyrien's face darkened to an unhealthy shade of red.

"Whether or not my house employs a squire is irrelevant."

Meryn tilted her head. "You missed the point, didn't you?"

Brennus chuckled. "He did, sweet Meryn, but the others have not."

"Oh. Good." She sat back, smiling.

Portia's cheeks were still glowing from Meryn's praise when she turned to the room. "To speed things along, I will ask that Deputy Brie Wilson, mate to Ari Lionhart of House Lionhart, step forward and present what we currently know as fact in regards to our peoples' deaths."

Brie froze. Had she known she was going to be presenting she would have worn her own robes. Standing, she walked over to where Portia stood; the woman handed her a portfolio and stepped back. Inside were most of the notes they had gone over the night before.

"Ladies and gentleman, as Portia said, my name is Brie Wilson. Until very recently, I worked under Cameron Rathais, a Vanguard warrior, serving as Sheriff in Monroe." Brie knew that Rathais being a paranormal would carry weight here. "Yesterday afternoon, Sheriff Rathais received a call from the Unit Commander to immediately come to a warehouse to secure and process the scene of a gruesome mass murder. As there are family members in attendance, I will spare you the more grisly details, but from the multiple conversations I overheard from the warriors there, it was one of the worst things they had ever seen, and considering their mission is to hunt and kill ferals, their statements brought home just how terrible the scene was." She prayed she was using all these new terms correctly. She flipped open the portfolio as if she were reviewing the notes. In actuality, she was trying to organize her thoughts.

"I will only present what we know to be fact. Seventy-two bodies of varying ages were recovered. The bodies were all placed together in the warehouse that had been spelled so that the deaths of the individuals didn't register with family trees in Éire Danu. The medical examiner, River Carlisle, a vampire and also a member of the Vanguard, was the one who worked meticulously in gathering every piece of evidence he could. He has determined that the time of death for these poor souls was well over a week ago and prior to the emergence of the shadow portal that appeared outside the Border City." She looked up from the notes to peer out at the crowd. "I haven't been in your world long, but I can tell you unequivocally that Queen Aleksandra would never become so engrossed in something that she would lose sight of her children."

Tyrien pointed to her. "Another point made by the lady herself. She hasn't even been in Éire Danu twenty-four hours. How could she possibly know what is best for us." He looked over to where her mate sat with the Tau and Chi units. "Her own mate is the youngest warrior to serve in Éire Danu. That was fine as the warriors played soldier, but now that we have a real threat looming against us, we need real warriors to stand in defense of our people."

Brie shifted her hand to her gun's hilt and felt a small surge of satisfaction when he stepped back. "I am the least qualified to respond to that drivel." She turned to Aiden. "Unit Commander, would you like to address these fine people?"

Aiden stood, his face a large scowl. He stepped up beside her and faced the crowd. "As you all know, I am the Unit Commander and have been for hundreds of years. I take my duty seriously, so if anyone believes that I have no idea what I am doing and that the men I train are useless, please see me after the Tribunal," he said, in short clipped tones. "Every single warrior that serves has my complete confidence, regardless of age." He eyed Tyrien. "Some things such as loyalty, sacrifice, and skill cannot be bought."

Ouch! That one had to sting, she thought gleefully.

She looked at the crowd, who was visibly shrinking back from the angered commander and smiled. "What it boils down to folks is this: Either you believe your queen to be a flake that lets her children die and that your Unit