Sascha pushed away from the wall. "I'll head out. Gamma is off duty tonight so Beta will be patrolling around the estate."
Aiden clapped a hand on Sascha's back and walked him to the door. "Thanks."
Sascha sniffed the air. "Tacos," he pouted, mournfully.
Aiden opened the door. "You'll live."
Sascha sighed dramatically and walked through the door. Aiden closed it behind him. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Toddlers, every single one of them, toddlers."
Elizabeth stepped forward. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving. Come on, Amelia, you're in for a treat. Ryuu doesn't know how to make a bad meal." She turned and had only taken a few steps toward the dining room when she suddenly tripped and fell face first on the unforgiving marble.
"Beth!" The dark-haired man yelled and was at her side before Amelia could blink. Rheia moved away from her blond mate and helped the frantic man get Elizabeth upright.
"Sugar! I hate this damn floor!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
Rheia knelt in front of Elizabeth. Wincing, she sat back on her heels. "It's broken." Rheia reached up and placed her thumbs on either side of the bridge of Elizabeth's nose. "On three. One... two..." With a quick jerk, she snapped Elizabeth's nose back in place. A darling little girl next to Rheia winced in sympathy.
Gavriel handed her a handkerchief to stem the bleeding. Elizabeth held it to her nose. "I thought you said three!" Her voice was muffled and sounded nasal.
Rheia shrugged as her mate helped her to stand. "You should be used to this by now, Beth. I've had to snap your nose back in place three times since moving in. Thank God you're a shifter; otherwise, you'd be falling apart by now." She took the little girl's hand.
The dark-haired man scooped Elizabeth up, his face a mask of worry. She patted at his chest. "I'm fine now."
He shook his head. "I'm taking you upstairs to lie down."
"Like hell! It's taco night. Dining room, please." Elizabeth pointed down the hall.
Amelia looked up at Darian. "So, this happens often?"
Darian grimaced. "Unfortunately. Beth has a tendency to almost die every week. She keeps us on our toes." He looked down, laughing for a moment. Then it was as if he remembered he had to keep his distance. He stepped away from her and walked toward the dining room.
Amelia watched him as he walked away. Knowing what he felt didn't change anything. How could she convince him that they were meant to be together?
An arm looped around her elbow. She looked to her left, Meryn stood beside her. "Come on, Bubbles, no matter what is wrong with the world, it's nothing taco night can't fix."
Amelia couldn't help but smile. Meryn might be prickly and skittish, but she had a good heart. Even though she wasn't comfortable being around new people, Meryn did what she could to make her feel better.
"Thanks Meryn, I think I needed that," Amelia admitted as they started walking.
"Any time, Bubbles," Meryn replied before turning to her. "So, what do you know about explosives?"
"Meryn!" Aiden growled behind them.
Amelia couldn't help it; she began to giggle. Meryn was too cute!
CHAPTER THREE
As luck would have it, Ryuu had left an empty seat for her next to Darian. Keelan sat on her other side and gave her winks of encouragement.
Rheia turned to her. "Amelia, this is my mate, Colton Albright, and this is my daughter, Penny Carmichael." The tiny child waved at her, a bright smile on her face. She waved back. Rheia continued. "Elizabeth's mate is Gavriel Ambrosios, and the auburn-haired man to your right is Keelan Ashwood. Across from you are Jaxon Darrow and Noah Caraway; they are studying computer science with Meryn to better support the different units."
"Who's the sprite?" Amelia asked pointing to Meryn's shoulder.
Rheia turned to her. "You can see him?"
Everyone turned to Meryn. The tiny sprite on her shoulder waved to her and turned the pendant on his necklace.
"Hey, Felix," Colton said.
Amelia turned to Colton. "You can see him now?"
"Yes. We gave him that pendant so he could make himself visible to us, although most of the time, he likes to stay invisible. He's really bonded with Meryn, so much so, he left his colony at the fae elder's estate," he explained.
Felix waved at everyone and turned to her. "My name is Felix Skysong. Pleased to meet you." When he went to reach for the pendant again, Elizabeth held up a hand.
"Felix, actually, could you answer a question for me?"
Felix nodded shyly.
Beth smiled. "When Penny and the Carmichaels were attacked, you were able to create a shield to protect them, but when Meryn told me about her attack, she said you left to go get help. Why didn't you create a shield then?"