“We can add on a third wave and charter another jet,” he said crisply. “It’s too late to change the current setup.”
“Not to mention we need to get those flowers set up as quickly as possible,” I murmured.
“Tell Mr. Tom to arrange it,” Austin commanded. “He can do it from the road. Let’s load up. Time to go.”
Nathanial nodded and turned, striding away, and Austin pushed forward to bark orders.
Nessa bounded up a moment later with a ponytail and a bright smile.
“Going to meet the in-laws, huh?” she asked me, and then winked. “Nervous?”
“Of course she isn’t nervous,” Mimi said as she strode past us toward one of the waiting cars.
“What would be the point?”
“Of course I’m not nervous,” I whispered, mimicking Mimi.
Nessa laughed and turned to stand beside me. Ulric was on my other side, all of us surveying the shifters heading for the cars.
“But seriously, are you nervous?” Ulric asked. “I’m nervous, and the thought of my mom potentially embarrassing me in front of a bunch of new shifters isn’t a big deal compared with your deal. Meeting the in-laws is big.”
I shook my head as I watched Cyra and Hollace duck into the wrong van.
“Dang it.” I started forward, but the new leader of my gargoyle forces, Tristan, beat me to it.
He stopped by the opened door, said a few words, and backed away. Laughing, Cyra climbed out, Hollace after her. Tristan pointed to where they should be.
As if feeling me looking at him, he turned to catch my gaze. A subtle nod and he was walking away again.
“Very efficient, our resident gargoyle,” Mr. Tom said, stopping beside us with a basket. “Now.
How about some blueberry pancakes for the road? I have some lovely green tea here, should you want it, or even a decaf coffee in case you want something stronger that won’t enhance any travel jitters.”
“I’m fine, Mr. Tom, thanks.”
“If she wanted a bit ta eat, she’d ask fer it,” Niamh drawled as she passed by with her cooler.
“Why are you taking a cooler?” Mr. Tom asked her. “We are going on a commercial flight. We cannot take our liquor cabinet. Do you know nothing of the modern ways of traveling?”
“Of course I know about traveling, ye oul goat. Ye stuck me in coach,” she said, turning back. “Do ye know how slow they are to dole out drinks in coach? What do ye think ‘slowcoach’ means?”
“What do you think slowcoach means, because you’re clearly mistaken.”
“Don’t worry yer head,” Niamh told him. She lifted the cooler so she could pat it. “I’ve got it all squared away. Ye can bring liquid so long as it is in a small enough bottle. I’ve got the clear ones.
They’ll have no idea what’s even in it. It’s good.”
She winked at us and used a finger to tap the side of her nose.
“You cannot bring a cooler full of booze, I don’t care what you say,” Mr. Tom replied.
“And ye think ye can bring a couple of metal canisters filled with shite tea and useless coffee, do ya?”
“This is for the car ride, I’ll have you know,” Mr. Tom said pompously.
“Fine. This is also for the car ride. Now mind yer business.”
She continued toward the van reserved for my crew.
“I should medicate before I consent to traveling as a team from now on,” I muttered as Mr. Tom took off after her. At least he’d stopped harassing me about eating.
Austin looked our way, scanning the people who still hadn’t boarded the vans.
“I better skedaddle,” Nessa said. “The alpha is all keyed up. I’d rather not be in the line of fire.”
She hurried forward, giving Tristan a vulgar hand sign as she passed that made him huff out a laugh and shake his head. Half the time they didn’t seem to get along—or she didn’t get along with him—but their chemistry was a little insane. I didn’t envy them the aggravation of trying to figure that out.
Nessa appeared not to be trying. She slipped into the van where Sebastian had already found his place, looking through a spell book.
“I think I better do likewise.” Ulric put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ve got this. All of this—the in-laws, the new shifters and their rules, the coming mage attack… We can handle it.”
I took a deep breath as he headed for his place. We didn’t have much choice. It was either handle it or die. The mage attack, at any rate. The rest? Well…I still wasn’t allowing myself to process any of that.
Austin stood on the sidewalk with Broken Sue, who’d be leading Wave Two, and Kace, who would stay behind as acting alpha, protector of the territory. I was sure they were going over last-minute plans and directives. Given I had nothing to add, I stopped by the lead van in which I’d be riding and turned to face Ivy House.
“I’m off,” I told her. “Hopefully you won’t need a new heir soon.”
“You are the greatest heir I have found so far, and you’ve summoned and built the most powerful team. In a physical battle, with all your shifters and gargoyles, you will not lose.”
“Right. But it won’t just be a physical battle. It’ll be a magical battle.”
“Yes. That part is worrying. You’re still somehow pretty terrible at magic. Let’s hope you figure it out. I’d hate to have the new interior design stop before it is finished.”
I gave her an annoyed stare and then contemplated fire-blasting the establishment.
“Ready?” Austin stopped beside me before glancing the way I was looking. “You good?”
“I’m ready, yeah. Ivy House— Never mind. Doesn’t matter. I hope the gnomes find their way in and terrorize her.”
Broken Sue and Kace watched our vans pull away, and through my connection with them, I could feel Broken Sue’s uncertainty. It was a sentiment I’d felt on and off from a great many shifters. I couldn’t tell if it was trepidation about the coming battle or entering another territory led by another alpha with a different set of rules. The gargoyles shared no such concerns. For better or worse, they seemed to be taking all of this in stride, the coming battle included.
“Have you heard from Gerard?” Austin asked, his hand resting possessively on my thigh.
Gerard was the gargoyle leader of Khaavalor. He’d given me a Porsche for the connection request and kept in contact after he’d left. He’d been the youngest of the leaders I’d met, the most open-minded, and he had jumped at the opportunity to help us in Kingsley’s time of need.
“Mr. Porsche?” I leaned against his arm. “I have, yes. He confirmed that he planned to fly in with some of his people at the end of the week. After I warned him about the number of people we’d probably be facing, he offered to bring more guardians. He wasn’t worried about the danger in the slightest.”
“And you said…?”
“Sure. More the merrier, just like with the extra basajaunak.”
He didn’t show any sign that he had heard me, staring straight ahead. I could feel his edginess through the bonds.
“Sebastian and I also talked down in the crystal room this morning.”
“He’s nervous,” Austin said.