I met Ash’s metallic rainbow eyes. What if he told me that Matt or Talakai might die?
Always in motion is the future,Matt quoted.
Of course, it is,the Dragon answered.
I stared at Talakai, and smiled. His mindvoice faded in and out, but having him rumble through my head satisfied my heart. He tweaked a brow at me, but his eyes gleamed. He wasn’t unaffected by the new connectivity either.
He jerked his chin toward Ash.Who is this guy?
He’s the Seer,I said, and a pulse of astonishment shot along the link as the Dragon’s assessing gaze snapped to Ash. He’d obviously heard of him.
I crossed my arms as I regarded the Seer. “If you’re here to stop me, give up now.”
Ash’s eyes flared. “I’m here to say you are right.”
Cara looked from him to me. “I think it’s time you told me what is going on.”
“I’ve heard from Sebastian,” I said. “He knows the realm and the town Galeran is hiding in.”
Her eyes lit with blue fire. “And now you’re wondering who to tell.”
My smile turned into something a Dire would be proud of. “If the council goes after him, he’ll just vanish. Again.”
She raised a brow. “So what are you proposing?”
I told her my plan.
Her gaze slid to Ash and back to me. “And I suppose you are going to lead the mission?”
“I don’t have to. But I’m going this time. And we are getting Sebastian out.”
To my relief, she nodded. She gestured to the table. “Everyone sit down.”
“Are you going to tell the council?”
“Yes.”
“Cara—”
“But not right away,” she added. “We are going to delay their arrival until Galeran is at least pinned down.”
“So why are we sitting?” Matt asked.
“Because we have to figure out who is going, and who is staying,” she said, pulling muffins out of the cupboard. “And while we wait, hard thinking is always best done while seated and stuffing one’s face.”
Wait? Then I noticed that Ash’s eyes were flashing like mad. Much as I wanted to keep a lid on this, two very influential people were already part of it. “I suppose Dani and Tyrez are on their way.”
Ash smiled. I’d never seen him smile, and it turned him from morose to beautiful in one split second. “They do tend to get involved,” he agreed.
I grabbed a muffin, conceding the Watcher just might have a point about the food.
* * *
I stood and walked to the window. Darkness had fallen. The plan was coming together.
Behind me at the table, the last details were being ironed out. The suite was full of Sabres and Dragons and part-Dragons and one seemingly ex-pacifist ogress who was very involved in the conversation.
It would be risky, but I could barely wait to get going. I’d taken a quick trip upstairs to exchange my running gear for armor. The sword was strapped to my back, and Sebastian’s horn rested beneath my bodice, over my heart.
