Basically covered a lot of ground, but Aria nodded her thanks.
Tyrez growled in disgust as he grabbed three drumsticks and a thigh. “The Elders didn’t listen to Ash about any of this. They were fools, and now they are trying to take it out on him.” His eyes were blazing turquoise fire. “I should drop in and knock a few heads together.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Dani admonished. “Ash needs to do this without you. And Cara will stop them from doing anything rash.”
Aria stared at her. “The Elders won’t hold Ash accountable for this, will they? They ignored his warnings.”
Tyrez ground his teeth together. “The Liberi Elders are an antiquated group of old bats without a single coherent brain cell among them.”
Dani’s brows rose, and she transferred her gaze to Aria. “Tyrez doesn’t care for them,” she translated unnecessarily. “But they have been rather thick about all this.”
Lucas began heaping significant quantities of various salads onto his plate before adding a few pieces of chicken. Something bumped the cloth at the neck of his cloak, and Mai’s little nose extended, quivering as it sampled the air. The Morph scooped her out and tore off a hunk of chicken. He was in the process of peeling off the breading when the shrew grabbed the entire piece and swarmed back up his body, disappearing into the hidden pocket.
Lucas huffed a laugh. Aria had never heard him laugh. Her heart flipped right over.
“I take it she likes fried chicken,” Dani offered with a smile.
Lucas’s lips still quirked a little. “Don’t we all?”
Tyrez chewed, his expression softening as the carbs worked their magic. “Nothing like good fried chicken.” He met Dani’s gaze, and something powerful passed between them. The air sizzled, and their scents altered.
Aria almost choked on her macaroni salad.
Lucas’s humor vanished like it never existed. Lifting his plate, he backed away from them, leaning a hip up against the wall. After a moment, he cleared his throat.
Dani ripped her eyes away from the Dragon impersonating a mountain.
Lucas didn’t meet them as he paused his carefully balanced spoonful of coleslaw. “How often is Ash right?” he asked her.
“Ash might have a hard time determining which timeline is moving forward.” The slim woman shrugged. “But he is never wrong.”
* * *
In a cave deep in the snow-clad mountains, Nikolai raged.
The rune-induced fog threatened to lull him into a state of contentment. Emotion, particularly strong emotion, was tied to his human half. And that part of him was locked away.
But his panic at being restrained enabled him to embrace the rage. And he needed it, in order to break free from the literal chains they were snapping to his body.
He managed to rake his horn across one of his captors, leaving a long gash in the smooth gray hide. But the creature hardly flinched, and the wound started to heal almost as soon as it was created.
Other Bellatis in human form swarmed over him, attaching heavy chains to his legs and the collar now fastened around his throat. He thrashed and fought with everything he had, but it wasn’t enough.
They used life energy against him, fending off his blows, tapping into its power to hold him still long enough to fasten the restraints. Finally, they snapped the last one into place and stood back.
Nikolai tried to rear, but the chains only allowed minimal movement. He could toss his head, and lower it to the hay manger before him, but that was all.
Light from the crystal stalactites hanging overhead reflected in the gleaming metal of the chains. These caves had been seeded to the crystals. They glowed with retained life essence, and it provided the perfect hiding place for Galeran and his Bellatis.
Nikolai thrashed so wildly against the restraints that his skin tore and bled. He fought to the point of collapse, before standing with splayed legs, shaking.
A tall Bellati stood at the entrance and watched him. Nikolai thought he caught a glimpse of something in the pale eyes—sympathy? He couldn’t be sure. Panting, Nikolai flattened his ears and glared at him. It gave him a momentary satisfaction to see the man flinch, ever so slightly.
As he attempted to get his rage under control, Nikolai’s mind slowly clicked back into gear. This chamber had been prepared to receive him. How had Galeran managed to do this while held in the Liberi realm?
The truth of it finally dawned. The male Liberis had been confined to their home realm. But the females were not.
Galeran and his Bellatis were not alone in their rebellion.
