Page 14 of Cursed Gift

I smacked Alexei in the stomach. “Thanks for almost putting me on my ass.”

He smiled. “I panicked a little, didn’t I?”

This made Rafe laugh out loud. “A little? I thought you were going to have a heart attack.”

Alexei rubbed his chest. “I think I did.”

I pushed Alexei toward the aisle of the plane and then pulled Rafe to his feet, so we could meet with everyone. Theo was his usual guarded self, his face blank. Felix looked at us cautiously, a hint of despair in his eyes, though he quickly covered up his true feelings with a smirk.

“Now that we’re all here,” Papa Nic said.

My mother sent him a chastising look, but he didn’t even bother acknowledging it. Instead, she continued. “Thirty minutes until touch down. Then another fifteen minutes until we get to Clan Chang. Does that sound right to you, Li?”

My stomach dropped at the mention of his name. When I turned to look at him, his face was deathly pale. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me, but he looked smaller too, as if the world around him was taking up his space, dwindling him down into nothing.

“Yes, my queen, that’s right.”

I quickly looked away, not enjoying the flip of my stomach from seeing his pain so plainly laid out for everyone.

Mom took a deep breath and settled herself back into her role. I had no idea how she compartmentalized everything, but she did a good job of it. “Main mission is to figure out who did this to Li’s clan. We’re the first one’s going in with only the brief that he was able to give us. Stay aware. Whoever did this might still be lingering.”

“Watch over your fellow guards,” Papa Nicolai said, staring everyone down.

Papa Connor nodded, eyeing me briefly until I looked at him and then he looked away just as quickly. “We get in, we look, observe. Anything of note, please bring to our attention,” he said, gesturing toward my mother and Papa Nic.

“Secondly,” my mother continued. “Once everything has been looked over, Li would like to lay his family to rest. We’re going to move the bodies to the courtyard and give them a proper burial according to Clan Chang’s traditions.”

“Then, we leave,” Papa Nic said.

“I can’t stress enough that you be aware at all times,” Mom said again. “We don’t know what we’re up against which makes this mission an unknown.” She eyed the potential mates except for Alexei. “Watch your backs, and others.”

They all nodded.

“Li, you stick with Nicolai. Connor, you’re with me. Izzy—”

“I’ve got Izzy,” Alexei stated.

My mother’s jaw worked, but she nodded…eventually.

The hair on the back of my neck rose with injured pride. I so badly wanted to make sure everyone knew I could handle myself, but it wasn’t the time or place. I’d just have to show them I could handle myself if there was cause. Actions spoke louder than words.

“Let’s partner everyone else up,” King Nicolai said. “Calen, you’re with Rafe. Theo, you’re with Dumont. Stick to one another and don’t think for once second you’re not being watched or judged. I won’t have my daughter marrying a pansy-ass who can’t follow orders.” He stood and returned to his original seat, signaling the end of the meeting.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Yep. That about summed my father up. Papa Connor and my mother just looked at one another with smirks as they followed Nicolai. I saw them whisper and laugh with one another as the rest of us rose and returned to our original seats.

“Way to go, Rajyvik,” Felix whispered harshly. “Thanks for pissing him off.”

Jeez. Had everyone seen us sleeping together? I’d have to get used to nothing being private.

“Just think,” Alexei teased. “For as much as he hates me, he’ll always hate you more.”

That was accurate. Nicolai wasn’t one to give up a grudge. As far as he was concerned, the whole Dumont family sucked.

Felix shrugged as if the knowledge didn’t upset him, but it had to. Then again, maybe he wasn’t concerned because he didn’t want me, anyway. Who knew with him?

“I, for one, am a little jealous,” Rafe said. “I couldn’t get Izzy to fall asleep.”

“To be fair, I’ve known her a lot longer,” Alexei said.

---