Page 39 of Zar

Flare’s eyes widened and he shoved a hand through the silvery strands of his hair. “I’d put it out of my mind. He talked like he knew that your chosen was earth-born.”

Zar cursed and paced the room. “The only way that’s possible is if—”

“We have a traitor,” Flare finished. “Someone close to you.”

He nodded, then glanced her way. A heartbeat, two, then he ordered, “I want Dyre and my brothers here at once.”

Flare inclined his head and fled from the room. Zar came back to her and sat down. “I will get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime, we need to eat.”

Callie looked at the beautiful meal she’d prepared and her stomach churned. “I’m suddenly not very hungry.”

Zar glared at their very late lunch. “Neither am I, but we must keep up our strength. Especially considering we’re both injured.”

Her gaze flew to her hand. She spread her fingers and looked at the cut. It was completely closed now. All that remained was a red line and a little tenderness. “Still amazing that you have the ability to heal.”

He wrapped a hand around her wrist and brought it to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss to her palm, then murmured, “Heal, yes, but we aren’t indestructible.”

She thought of the huge gash on his ribcage and looked down to see that the wound looked as if he’d had weeks of healing, rather than a few hours. She touched it and realized Zar’s skin had closed, leaving only a jagged, angry line. Almost like the Z from the old Zorro movie she’d seen as a kid. She smiled. “If it scarred it would look kind of badass.”

Zar followed her line of sight and his mouth curved upward. “Perhaps next time I’ll have a badass scar for you to admire.”

She snatched her hand away. “Don’t even joke like that, Zar.”

His head kicked to the side. “Careful, little dove, or I’ll think you’re beginning to have affection for me.”

Callie chose to ignore that comment and went back to eating. They finished their meal in silence. Afterward, she stood and took the tray back to the kitchen. As she started to clean up the mess Callie heard noises in the other room. Oh, goodie, the Calvary has arrived. Would it be wrong of her to just hide out in the kitchen until they left? Having them all in Zar’s home made her hyperaware that she was seriously outnumbered. And knowing that one of them had betrayed her to the enemy made it so much worse. But that wasn’t how Quinn Wilson’s daughter dealt with a crisis. She’d sat in meetings where ninety percent of the room hated her simply because she was a Wilson. The ugly comments, backstabbing and general feeling of being loathed wasn’t new to her.

Of course, these haters carried swords and daggers. So, there’s that. Callie washed up the dishes and put everything away, which took a ridiculously long time considering she wasn’t familiar with Zar’s kitchen. She dried her hands and placed the dishtowel on the counter before flipping off the light and heading back into the living room. As soon as she entered the large area, everyone went quiet and turned towards her. Zar’s four brothers were watching her with an intensity that made her fidget like a freshman on the first day of high school. Flare stood next to Zar with his arms crossed, a smile on his handsome face. Dyre had been seated in a chair, but when their gazes connected, he stood and stepped forward. Callie braced herself for whatever nasty thing that was sure to come out of his mouth.

He inclined his head, his gaze on the wood floor in front of him. “Naxon’s attack is unforgivable. I sincerely regret that you were injured.”

Callie was tempted to say something sarcastic; it was her go-to response whenever she was uncomfortable, but she knew Dyre wouldn’t appreciate it. Nor was it the right time. “Thank you,” Callie replied, then she shot a smile at Flare. “To be honest, I owe Flare my life. I don’t know what Naxon had planned, but nothing good.”

Zar crossed the room and took her into his arms. “Naxon will not get another chance, you have my word.”

Zar was holding her so tightly and Callie felt somewhat squished. She patted him on the upper bend of his wing and he hummed his approval. Yeah, that got his attention. “Did we figure out who your mole is?” she asked, hoping to get him back on task.

Zar released her and motioned for her to sit on the couch. He took the spot next to her and placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “We are trying to get to the bottom of it now.”

Dyre moved to sit on the arm of the chair that he’d vacated earlier. “The people in this room, Arwen, and my six lieutenants are the only ones who know about you, Callie.”

Therius began pacing the room. “None of us would betray, Zar,” he ground out, Zar’s other three brothers grumbled their agreement.

“And Arwen only found out after the attack,” Flare stated as he pinned Dyre with an angry glare. “She is incapable of the kind of betrayal we’re talking about.”

“That leaves my lieutenants,” he bit out, his wings flexing and contracting with his rising anger. “I trust them with my life, damn it.”

Zar shook his head. “I trusted them with mine as well, but we cannot ignore the facts, my friend. One of them is responsible for Naxon showing up here today.”

Zadoc had been leaning against a far wall, quiet and watchful. He straightened and moved closer. “We need to detain them immediately.”

“Whoever is behind this could’ve been feeding Naxon information for years now,” Therius stated. “And he could have supporters.”

Zar sighed. “You’re talking another uprising.”

Therius shrugged. “Perhaps Naxon and Queen Lyria are working together. This could go much deeper, Zar.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, brother.”

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