My Warrior (Bewitched and Bewildered #12) - Alanea Alder Page 0,49

and Brie stared down at the dead. He immediately noticed a difference. "They haven't been dead long," he observed.

Brie pointed to one arm. "There's barely any bloating."

"The sooner River can get here and begin documentation, the better," Aiden said, sounding tired.

As soon as River arrived, he began to bark out orders, getting the men organized. He, along with the rest of the warriors in gloved hands, began to unstack the dead. It took them hours to get the bodies photographed and into the black body bags. Every once in a while, his mate would pass by wielding an impressive looking camera. She took pictures of everything, paying special attention to the ceiling and the marks on the floor.

When they were done, all but Aiden's group and the Tau unit had made their way back through the portal to Éire Danu. Ari stayed behind because he wanted Kincaid to watch Thane and Justice in action. He might not be a witch, but he knew that opportunities to work with these legends didn't happen all that often.

A few seconds after the barrier went down, Aiden's phone rang.

"It happened again," Meryn reported in a small voice.

Ari couldn't even fathom the confusion and pain that would be running rampant in the city tonight. He sent up his prayer of thanks that his family was alive and safe.

Aiden turned to Darian. "Let's head back."

Darian was already using his signet ring to open a portal. They stepped through, and Ari felt a wave of relief that he had brought them directly to the palace. He didn't want to walk through the streets tonight.

"Where's Mother?" Darian asked, glancing around the room the moment they walked through.

Brennus looked up at them from where he sat in an oversized chair holding a goblet of gold liquid. "Anne, Amelia, Meryn, and Izzy took over the bedroom. They have Aleks cocooned in blankets, eating chocolate and watching some sort of cartoons to help her feel better."

Aiden accepted a similar goblet from Cord. "That method has proven to be very effective in helping females recover from traumatic situations."

Ari sat next to his brother. He pulled Brie down to sit on his other side. "How'd it go in the city?" he asked.

"The queen did a general announcement prior to the barrier going down, so the people weren't completely blindsided again. Though it did nothing to lessen the grief of the family members of the recently discovered." Rex leaned back to squeeze Brie's shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

Brie placed her hand over his and smiled. "Actually, I'm much better today than I was yesterday…was it yesterday? God, it feels like we've been handling this for weeks."

Rex gave a final squeeze then sat up. "I know what you mean. The past forty-eight hours has aged us all."

Ari looked at his mate. "Not that I'm not ecstatic that you're doing well, but how?"

Brie shrugged. "Part of the job mostly. Yesterday threw me for a loop because I wasn't expecting to walk in on a mass murder scene. Today, I was kinda expecting it." She nodded her head to Darian, Brennus, and Oron. "Plus, I have some distance from the situation. I didn't even knew fae existed yesterday morning, and I have no loved ones amongst the dead. It helps me to process."

Brennus turned to his mate. "You all should head home and get some rest. We start assigning warriors tomorrow to help process the dead. You won't be missing anything by having dinner at home." He grinned sadly. "Besides, Leo has all but threatened to come here and drag the two of you back by the ear if you don't show up."

Ari exchanged quick glances with his brother, and they both stood. "We'll take our leave," Rex said, inclining his head.

Once standing, Ari wrapped an arm around Brie. "We'll swing by the warrior villa to get your robes. Leo will ensure your clothes get washed tonight."

Brie laid her head against his shoulder. "I could use another bath," she said, rubbing her face on his arm.

Gods, she was adorable!

"Of course, sweetheart." None of them had actually handled the dead, that had been the other units, but being in the same room with those poor souls made him want to wash away the cloud of sadness that followed them back from the warehouse.

Walking back to the estate, Ari wondered how many confrontations they avoided by having his brother with them. As a unit warrior, the citizens were used to walking up to him and the other warriors