Kiko planted her hands on her hips. “Is Riley going to be able to Jump out of there? Or are you going after her?”
“We will come up with a plan,” the Watcher promised.
“She’s still in bad shape,” Havoc growled.
Thoughts of a weakened Riley at the mercy of that city—
Breathe.
I breathed. It helped, a little. But it didn’t change the facts. “That isn’t a place to linger. We have to go get her.”
“Sarti’s not easy to get to, that was the entire point,” Havoc growled.
Cara’s fingers tapped against her leg. “It might be worthwhile sending you two in, regardless. We can always pull you out again if she recovers quickly.”
“You send those two in, and they’ll kill each other,” diagnosed Vali.
“I don’t need the Centaur bastard. I can do this alone,” Havoc insisted.
The scales came back.
Cara met my furious gaze. “You going along at all hinges entirely on your ability to control yourself.”
“Maybe Havoc and I can go,” Vali offered.
“And me,” Kiko said.
“No one is going after Riley without me,” I snarled. Then I took a deep breath, and dropped the scales. “I can control it.”
Cara’s gaze moved from me to Havoc. “I wouldn’t be considering this if I didn’t think Fate had a hand in it. But you and Havoc need to do this.” She waved a hand at me. “You’re not going, though, unless you prove you have control over that creature inside you.”
I gritted my teeth. “I have some control now. Better than I did before, anyway.”
Cara raised a brow. “I’ll need more than your assurances.” She glanced at Vali and Kiko. “You two would be useful at keeping these idiots from killing each other.”
“I ain’t part of this, or any, fucking team,” hissed Havoc, before he transferred his glare to me. “And you’d better be able to sprout wings because I’m not fucking carrying you.”
I concentrated on breathing, aware of Cara’s assessing gaze.
“We love you, too.” Kiko blew a sarcastic kiss at Havoc.
“They will notice if Kiko isn’t at her special abilities class,” assessed Vali.
“Yes,” the Watcher agreed. “I am taking Nikolai with us,” she finally said. “So my cards will be laid out for all to see, anyway. If you two wish to join us, you are welcome to do so. But it is important to realize you may not be accepted back at the academy afterward.”
Kiko shrugged. “I’ve got better control over my firebug than I had. I’m sure I can refrain from igniting most things.” Her eyes shifted to me. “Unless they deserve it, of course.”
I rubbed my face. “Great.”
Cara’s eyes moved to Vali.
The Dragona raised her chin. “Not sure I’ll be much help on a mission.”
“Is your fever gone?” Cara asked. When Vali nodded, the Watcher said, “Then you can shift to your beast. Which will be useful, as Havoc doesn’t carry riders, apparently.”
The red Dragon’s eyes narrowed.
“Vali also does a good job of pointing out to Havoc that he is an idiot,” Kiko noted. “Which is useful, as if I try, he might eat me.”
