Cara slapped his hands away. “Sit. I will bring them.”
He straightened, turned, and opened the fridge. “Beer?”
Cara sighed. “Downstairs.”
“Anyone else for beer?” Cody asked. When he received only headshakes, or in Lucas’s case, a stony glare, the Sabre vanished down the basement stairs.
Cara’s gaze moved to the other four. “I’m hoping the rest of you will take tea?”
Lucas merely nodded, but there was a chorus of “yeses” from the others, and Aria added her own to it.
“That’s good, Ash,” Cara stopped the Dragon shifter from emptying her cupboard onto the table. “Sit down.”
Ash got himself seated just as Cody came up the basement stairs with two bottles of beer dangling from his hand. He plunked one on the table and used his teeth to pop the cap off the other before seating himself and taking a long swallow.
“Good thing Sabres don’t get drunk,” Ash stated. “Or there’s no way you’d be driving home.”
“Sabres can get drunk,” Cody said reasonably, “but we can hold our liquor, so it would take way more than just two. As all you drink is tea, you had no such excuses.”
“I missed the tree,” Ash pointed out.
“Regardless of your future-telling skills, I consider that a complete fluke. Another inch, and neither you nor I would have survived the experience.”
Ash grinned. “I am not afraid of your mate.”
Cody’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You effing should be.”
Cara interrupted by pushing between them to dump the plate of potstickers down on the table, before dipping into the fridge for a plate of muffins and scones. “Okay, everyone. Tuck in. There’s more if we need them.”
Lucas’s stomach chose that moment to growl rather loudly. Dani shot him a look and her lips twitched.
Aria regarded him with wide eyes. “Are you ever not hungry?”
Lucas considered. “Nope. I can eat pretty much nonstop.”
“He has to,” Cara reasoned as she sat down at the table’s other end. “Morphs have very high metabolisms.”
Lucas glanced at her with raised brows. “Have you ever known another Morph?”
“Oh, yes. Your people aren’t common, but I’ve met a few over the years. And they all had huge appetites.”
Thus encouraged, Lucas helped himself to a plate load of potstickers. Aria buttered a scone and pulled the two bags of powder from her cloak pockets. She sprinkled a liberal amount of each on top of the butter, but her mind stayed on task with grim determination. She only nibbled before asking, “What has happened to Nikolai?”
Cara didn’t even twitch. “He’s in Elandriel. That’s our home realm.”
Aria’s eyes narrowed. “Is he in a cage?”
Cara peered into the teapot and then rose to pour the tea. “Not as such, no.”
Okay, that was vague as hell.
“Have you turned him into a horse?” Lucas blurted the words, and then he seemed to regret them. His eyes skittered away from Aria’s confused stare.
“A horse?” She transferred her gaze to Cara. “What is he talking about?”
Cara shot Lucas a long look that he didn’t return before pouring Dani’s tea. She pushed the milk and sugar her way, and served Aria and Lucas before answering. “The Elders have had us lock him away from his power by restricting him to his animal form. But he is roaming free, supervised by Bellatis.”
A frisson of shock reverberated up Aria’s spine. Lucas wasright? “What animal form?”
