Page 21 of Petals for Deadly Power

“What do you mean?” Brendon frowned. “You panom lot are not leaving us boring mortals in this house to rot for weeks or months until you come back.”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Sasha agreed.

“It will not be safe for you,” Hope said, looking at Nina.

Indianna shook her head. “Hiding in a safehouse with no panoms that can moure us in or out, without powers for us to bring supplies and food we need, is not safe either. This safehouse is not designed for beings who aren’t panoms.”

“We could leave you plenty of stock,” Ciaran said. “And I could make adjustments to the mouring conditions to enter and leave the house, but then—”

“It wouldn’t be safe,” Hope finished.

Sasha smiled, happily nodding. “And we don’t want to bore to death here, wondering all the fun you’re having but unable to leave these four walls.”

Brendon snorted with a grin. “Exactly. We would much rather end up dead with you.”

“What about you, Raoul?” Hope asked.

“I’m not staying here by myself, that’s for sure.” His blue eyes flickered with amusement. “I would like to be with Nina and Indianna, if possible, as I still need treatments and healing every now and then.”

Jake Gave two floating orbs in the middle of the Badassery Suite. Inside one of them, three miniature figures of Nina, Indianna, and Raoul appeared.

“I will go with you,” Hope said. Lenna wasn’t surprised to hear that. Hope always seemed both protective and caring towards Nina, as if she was her own sister. Considering how concerned she was about the safety of certain non-panoms during the crusade, the closer Hope was to them, the better protected they’d be.

Hope turned to look at Ciaran, and he seemed puzzled even before the dark-haired woman opened her mouth again. “Are you coming with us, Ciaran?”

He put his metallic hand above his heart as he inhaled deeply and nodded. “Always.”

Hope and Ciaran’s miniatures appeared inside the orb with Nina, Raoul, and Indianna’s.

“That’s a very fair split,” Lenna laughed. “Jake and I go to the other navia. Sasha and Brendon, are you coming?”

Sasha squealed, running towards Lenna and holding her arm. Lenna grinned, kissing her friend on her tanned cheek. This would be fun. Perhaps deathly-as-fuck too, but still fun.

Jake Gave the four miniatures inside the other orb, and Lenna didn’t miss the mini Jake touching the ass of the mini Lenna.

“Well, I don’t want to hear Jake and Lenna fucking all day,” Ayla said.

“And night,” Jake clarified.

Ayla Gave her own miniature to the other orb.

Lenna sighed. “Definitely not very fair split. Six of you, four of us.”

“But you will have more courtrades on board than us,” Ciaran reminded her. He was one of the courtrades needed to move the navia and hide it from plain sight.

“And I will bring another reinforcement to our navia,” Jake said. Lenna looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. Jake gave her a reassuring nod. Whatever.

“Ayla, Nina, Raoul, Indianna, Ciaran: we will find our navia at ante meridiem in the North Petal meeting point,” Hope said. “Jake, Lenna, Sasha, Brendon: your navia will be waiting for you at the East Petal. Do you mind letting Marcus know, Ciaran? Or I can send him an ink.”

Ciaran closed his eyes briefly, twirls of shadows spiraling up his ankles before they vanished. “My whispers are on their way.”

13

Hope

Thereweremorenervesthan people in the safehouse.

Almost everyone seemed either very excited, very nervous, or very on edge. The combination of those nerve-wracking feelings in an already-explosive mix of people was dangerous. Even if they were about to split into two groups for however long the Fifth crusade would be.

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