“If I don’t do this, we might not have soldiers for this war. The second this arrangement with the dragonites is official, the rebellions will spring up, and everyone will think Kane and Alyssa are weaker,” I explain.
He tries to run a hand through his hair, but it gets stuck in his pigtail, and I look away before his cursing and his flopping begins.
My eyes connect with Chaz’s as Kya suddenly materializes in the room, drawing all of our attention.
She’s wearing some really tight leather leggings and a crop top, eyes twinkling like she’s just drained some dark souls, and she looks…like her again.
“Polly fixed it?” I ask, impressed.
“Oh, after I told her ho
w repulsive I found Dice, and explained Karma is my twin and we share some cosmic bond like all immortal twins, she fixed me.”
“Why the hell hasn’t she fixed me too? And you only find me repulsive because I look like Polly right now,” Dice says, adding that last part quickly.
Kya pops over to Chaz’s side, and he narrows his eyes on her.
“At least tell me you took a picture,” Chaz groans.
She pats his chest, then looks around at all our faces.
“Well, at least tell me how much longer I have to look like this,” Dice bites out.
“She told me what you did to them, so I don’t really care how long you’re stuck like that,” she says absently. “What’s going on right here?”
“What’s going on is mutiny. Something I never thought I’d see when I joined this damn group,” Dice grumbles.
“I won’t do it if you can tell me I’m wrong. Tell me there won’t be dissension in the ranks immediately, and I’ll find another way to start the lasso effect.”
“Lasso effect?” Kya asks.
“I’ll fill you in,” Chaz tells her, huffing out a breath. “At least talk to Alyssa first. Kane is stretched thin right now, exhausted from everything going on at once, and he feels guilty for Amy’s death. But Alyssa might be more pliable.”
“Mom is confined to a bed and doesn’t need me there to stress her out with—”
“She’s our queen,” Chaz reminds me. “She’s your queen too if you’re saying you’re not ready. Let her remind you why she’s been a good queen, Ella. You’ve spent a lot of time around Slade in the past week, and I think you’re forgetting you’re the middle ground between us and them right now.”
“Kya’s the middle ground,” I argue.
“Don’t even pretend to be that obtuse,” Thad says in exasperation. “He’s right. Talk to Alyssa. She was strong enough to still deal with arguments and decisions when she was downed to a bed and begging you to come out of her. She can do it again.”
“I seriously don’t trust myself right now, and I might black out if the darkness sees a weakness.”
“We’ve been going just as crazy, hence all the extra shift runs,” Roslyn says, clearing her throat. “It’s in the air. We can sense it coming, and knowing what it is doesn’t seem to make us any less antsy.”
Dice sneezes, and we all look at him. When he sneezes again, he starts dancing in place, excitement lighting up his features. “You sneezed then ran off because you turned into me!”
Kya groans. “Noo, I didn’t want to disinfect you, damn it.”
He continues to sneeze over and over, and he runs up the stairs. “I need a mirror!” he shouts. “I’ll come with the group to see Alyssa and Karma if it works, and I don’t even have to lose my balls!”
“Even if we do this,” Thad goes on, “how do you plan to make two kings listen to a princess when they wouldn’t hear a king? Dragonites, from what Kya has observed so far, are a male dominant species. What happens if they turn out to be stronger than us?”
“They’d be crazy to start a species war, because our numbers far outweigh theirs. Prejudice has always rallied more soldiers in a time of war,” Kya interjects. “Slade did the math on the chances, and since survival is primary above all else in shifters, he decided to focus solely on Hannah.”
“But that doesn’t mean they’ll listen to a princess over a king,” Thad continues, his eyes searching mine. “Why would they listen?”
“Because they shift,” is my only answer.