Page 91 of Aria's Desire

They did four more passes and still didn’t see anything. Aria planned to encourage Ishtal to send out a scouting party anyway, because something about this felt off, even if she hadn’t spotted anything to back up that feeling. But she was beginning to wonder if, perhaps, they just didn’t want to join the war.

They almost left, had already turned away, when Sin whipped back around and positioned his huge body so he could hover.

“What did you see?”

In answer, he pointed a claw at a corner of the castle. Leaning forward, she squinted, slowly scanning every nook and cranny of the area he indicated. It still took two passes before she saw what he had.

There was a runner, tucked under an overhang at the base of the castle, almost perfectly concealed.

She considered, for a moment, asking Sin to land so they could infiltrate and sneak around the inside of the castle, but eventually dismissed it, though it went against the grain to turn around and leave that trouble for someone else to take on.

If Xaiar and his soldiers ran into more resistance than they could contend with, her people would still be at the castle to provide back up, but they needed to know they could handle it. And she needed to know she could count on them to get shit done.

So, they returned to Aehri, got a couple hours of sleep, then called a meeting in the morning and shared what they saw.

Xaiar gathered a squad and set out immediately. They didn’t have runners, yet, which meant the trip would take at least half the day. Once they got there, they’d hole up nearby and wait until nightfall to sneak in.

It was a good plan, but she had to suppress the urge to suggest they take one of her people with them, reminding herself, again, that it was important they do this on their own. Playing mother hen wouldn’t do any of them any good.

* * *

Aria,her men, and half of her squad were set to go home that day. They stayed long enough to receive a comm from Xaiar. It was light on detail, but it was enough that she knew they’d arrived and were in place to infiltrate that night.

Returning to their rooms, they packed up. It took significantly more bags to hold all their stuff than what they’d arrived with, earning her amused looks from her men. Aria gave them a sour expression as they traipsed out of the room, all four laden with at least three bags each.

“Blame the devil. Didn’t get my damn self hooked on shopping.”

Nichi was waiting outside the room, looking a little forlorn and suspiciously bright eyed. Taking pity on him, she pulled him into a quick hug and told him he could visit the complex whenever he wanted. The base of his horns were flushed a vivid lavender when she pulled away.

He stumbled over his words for a minute. She caught something about Kix and snacks for the trip, before he gave up and produced a satchel. The scent hit her first. Grabbing it from him, she opened it and groaned at the sight of what had to be two dozen of her favorite little cakes.

“Mmmm, fuck yes. I could kiss you right now.”

Nichi made a garbled sound and choked out, “I would let you.”

Her men erupted into laughter while Aria snorted. She’d actually been speaking to Kix, but decided against pointing that out. Poor man already looked shocked as hell that he’d said that out loud.

* * *

When they steppedout of the castle and into the courtyard, they found Vekai and Vehar standing nearby waiting for them. Nose already tingling, Aria dropped her bags and pulled Vekai into a tight hug.

“I’m going to miss you, you sly little brat.”

He struggled for a moment, grumbling halfheartedly, before giving in with a sigh and hugging her back.

“I will miss you, too.” Over her shoulder, he addressed her men, his voice surprisingly authoritative. “You will keep her safe. And make sure she is not too nice?”

Her men didn’t laugh as she expected them to. Instead, they all answered seriously, promising the scrawny slip of a boy they would do as he demanded, and damn if that didn’t choke her up.

Sniffing, she released him then moved to Vehar, lowering herself to her knees. She didn't pull him into a hug as she had Vekai, just waited to see if he would hug her. When he did, moving into her slowly and wrapping his thin arms around her neck, she had to swallow hard past the tears that tightened her throat.

Releasing him when he pulled back, she smoothed his hair, still the tangled mess it had been the first time she met him, regardless of Xaiar’s efforts to tame it. Peering between the boys, she gave them both a smile.

“You’re both welcome to visit anytime, okay? Kix?” she asked, peering up at him. He smiled softly, knowing what she wanted and handed each boy a comm, showing them how to use them.

Her expression serious, she caught and held Vekai’s gaze. “If you ever need anything, call us. We’ll come. You have my word on that.”

For a moment Vekai didn't look like the jaded, almost teenager he was, but a little boy. It was gone the next instant. He nodded solemnly and seemed to hesitate before surging forward and hugging her tightly again. He released her just as quickly, straightening his tunic and fussing with the knife sheathed on his belt, hiding the sparkle of tears in his eyes.

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