She lifted her gaze. “I’m not the naïve girl you mated, Conn.”
“I know.” One gentle knuckle ran down the side of her face. “I’ve seen you fight, sweetheart.”
Warmth filled her at the pride in his masculine voice. “You said the Nine’s reasoning might be twofold. What’s the second fold?”
“You’re the Seventh, Moira. They must want you protected.”
The door swung open and a little girl hurled herself at Conn. “Uncle Conn!”
He caught the rushing bundle, swinging the child around to smack loud kisses on her cheek. “I wondered if you’d be the welcoming committee, sweetheart.”
The five-year-old levered back, mahogany curls bobbing, and put both tiny hands against his cheeks. “I wanted to see you first before you got all mad.” Sparkling blue eyes turned their focus to Moira. “Hi, Aunt Mowra.”
What a stunning child. “Hi, Janie. It’s wonderful to finally meet you in person.” She’d been e-mailing and videoconferencing with her young niece for the last eight months. “Why is Conn going to get mad?” The little psychic owned the future.
The five-year-old smiled, showing a gap in her front teeth. “Not ’cause of you, Auntie. This time, anyways.”
The door opened all the way and six and a half feet of hard muscled male stepped into the sun. “Welcome home, Moira.” The king extended a dozen yellow and white calla lilies. Their sweet scent hung in the air. He’d tied his thick black hair at the nape, throwing the hard angles of his face into focus.
Pleasure warmed Moira even as a tickle of unease wound through her from the word home. She accepted the fragrant flowers, burying her nose before lifting up and forcing a smile. “Thanks, Dage.”
Conn tucked Janie against his side. “Why am I about to be angry?”
Dage lifted an eyebrow at his niece. “Someone been predicting the future?”
Janie giggled. “Things gotta happen the way they gotta happen.”
“Profound words, little one.” Dage gestured them inside a spacious gathering room fronted by floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the churning gray Pacific Ocean. Couches and chairs sprawled in organized chaos around two pool tables and a massive brick fireplace, reminding Moira of Kell’s dining room. No table for eating, but a lot of area for playing.
“Everyone is off working right now, but we’ll have a family get-together later tonight.” Dage tugged Janie away from Conn, tossing her in the air before landing her next to Moira. “Show Moira the game room, Janie. Emma should be along to take Moira to the lab soon.” His eyes shot warm blue through the intense silver. “I, ah, should apologize now. My mate is rather, er, single-minded in her battle against Virus-27.”
Conn couldn’t help the chuckle rising in his throat. “That is the understatement of your reign, King.” He dropped a kiss on Moira’s smooth forehead. “Good luck, sweetheart. You’ll be donating some blood for the cause.” He rubbed his chin. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken any on the plane. Not that he regretted a second of their trip.
Moira frowned.
Janie took her hand with a happy hop. “You’re gonna love the new checker set Uncle Conn bought me. When he loses, he has to play tea party and wear an apron. He looks so good in the pink one.”
Moira laughed low and husky as Janie continued. “We have a whole room to play games, and there’s a television in there to watch movies. Oh, and you gotta see the new classroom my teacher Sarah set up. Sarah came home with Max ...” Her voice continued down the hall until they took a left turn.
Conn pivoted toward his brother. “Well?”
Dage smiled. “Let’s go down to the gym. You haven’t seen it yet.”
“I designed it.” Conn fought irritation and the need to punch his brother in the jaw. “Am I going to hit you?”
Dage shrugged, loping toward the stairwell and jogging down steps. “If you do, I’ll hit you back.”
Wouldn’t be the first time the two of them got into it. Last time Conn had had to break his own nose three times to fix it right. He followed Dage, fighting unease. He didn’t like being separated from his mate. A laughable fact considering they spent the first hundred years of their union on different continents.
Now she was right where he wanted her. A tickle at the back of his neck warned things weren’t so easy.
He followed his brother through a doorway leading to a room packed wall-to-wall with tumbling mats, adjacent to the gym. One of many in the community he’d designed. His ire rose at finding Jase and Talen waiting, sprawled on the floor with their backs against the wall.
Talen grinned. “Welcome home.” The second oldest and the strategic leader of the Realm, he nevertheless kept in close proximity to his pregnant mate, Cara. The fact that he was downstairs, away from Cara and their daughter Janie, didn’t bode well.
“What the hell’s going on?” Conn leaned a hand down and yanked Jase to his feet. “What happened to the training schedule?” He’d left Jase in charge of training their men while he’d gone after Moira.
“Nothing. The training is going well.” Jase’s lips tipped in a smart-ass grin, his maroon eyes remaining serious. An arctic breeze whipped through the room. The youngest of the brothers, Jase harnessed control of the elements in a manner none of them could explain. He scratched his chin. “Kane is in the middle of an experiment right now or he’d be down here to welcome his wayward brother home as well.”
Dage cleared his throat. “I’m getting married next month and all my brothers are standing up for me.”
Conn raised an eyebrow toward Talen. “Isn’t he supposed to ask us?”
Talen stood. “Sometimes he thinks he’s the leader.”
Dage settled his stance. “I wanted to get the brother stuff out of the way first, before I had to speak as the king. And I am the leader.”
This was going to be bad. Conn settled his own stance. “You ready to do the king stuff now?”
“Yes.” Dage’s silver eyes narrowed. “The war with the demons has heated up. We need to take the front line.”
Conn’s shoulders relaxed. He’d been expecting the order. While he didn’t want to head to the trenches so soon after getting Moira home, he understood the need for him to go. More unease crawled up his back. He hadn’t had time to properly train for mind-war with the demons. “I understand. When do I go?”
“You don’t.” Dage’s words hung in the air. “I’m sending Jase.”
Chapter 15
The air heated in Conn’s lungs. He frowned. “No, you’re not.” No way in hell was his youngest brother going into a mind-battle with the demons. Jase still carried the scars from fighting and killing when a mere teenager—a fact that plagued the king daily. “My job is on the front lines, Dage.”
“I’m aware of that.” Dage flicked his gaze to Jase and then back to Conn. “Unfortunately, we have more than one front line going on right now. I need you here.”
“No, you don’t.” He’d hit his brother before, but never when Dage acted as King. This would be a first. “I planned this development. You’re protected, as is everyone else here. The greater threat lies in the Baltic States.” The demons had centralized their location during the last several decades, and the war needed to go to them.
Jase stepped into danger range. “What about Moira, Conn? What about the swirling vortex of possible pain hunting your mate?”
Conn rounded on his younger brother. They stood eye to eye, both packed hard. Jase had always known how to aim for the jugular. “Fuck you.”
Jase smiled. “You’re the only one with the ability to utilize quantum physics and practice magic. Even Dage can only use string theory by teleporting.” He tucked his hands into the back pockets of faded jeans. But not before Conn saw the purple painted nails on his left hand. Obviously he’d lost to Janie at Go Fish again. “What if this vortex, or whatever it is, hinges on magic? You’re it, brother.”