Page 47 of Commanding Blood And Bonds

Regardless, I did as he asked, bringing our mental chatter to a halt as all our eyes flicked back to life-size Southern Barbie.

“Once the hostages have been through our healers, we’ll bring in our mentalists to correct memories and deliver them to the proper authorities,” Reyna said before rising from her chair, straightening her chiffon skirt as the others followed suit.

Wait, what? I asked internally, suddenly intrigued.

Talk less, learn more, you punk, Ajax smirked.

Reyna believes she’s called to right injustices among humans, Brody explained mentally. Believe it or not, this little blonde twig is regarded like a saint in many circles.

Saint Lucifer? I bit out, somehow more irritated that they weren’t answering me directly. This time, they didn’t laugh.

Her hierarchy uses their gifts to free slaves, Freya.

Blinking, I rushed to stand, sliding my chair into the enormous dining table before whirling to follow the Queen herself. Looking around at the palatial estate, my brow furrowed, unable to shake the morbid irony.

I don’t understand, I admitted. Why live in a place like this if that’s her mission?

She once told me her goal was to bring beauty to something where so much hatred was once harbored. To use what was built for evil to create more love in the world. Have you never read the sign on the gates, Little Wraith?

I thought for a long moment and realized that in all the times I’d driven in and out in my new car this week, I’d never bothered to look at them like they held any significance.

No, I finally confessed.

You’re walking on the grounds of Second Chance Ranch.

Ugh. Cheesy.

Or beautiful, you Jaded Jubilee, Ajax interjected.

With a huff, I rushed to catch up with the Commander herself. “Reyna!” I called after her. She paused just outside her office, and I knew from experience that once she waltzed through those doors, she wouldn’t be out for hours.

“Miss Porter?”

“Can I visit the sites of the other burglaries?”

“I have videos available. Blaz will see that you get them.”

I shook my head.

“That’s not how I work. I’m a tangible tracker, like my aunt.”

Hard eyes and pursed lips stared me down for a long moment before she gave a curt nod, waving forward Verena, who abandoned her conversation to be at our side. Darius, Blaz, and Montague followed in her wake.

“Blaz,” I said pointedly, inclining my head in greeting. “Nice to see you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Darius. G,” I added, flashing the latter a smile, a little thrill in my veins when the deep brown skin near his eyes crinkled with his answering grin.

Damn, they made men beautiful in the South.

“Darius,” Reyna cut in before they could respond. “Miss Porter will require an escort to the greenhouses, in addition to a video review of the prior incidents. See to it she has what she needs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Darius said with a nod.

“After she completes her lessons of the day, of course,” Reyna added with saccharine sweetness. My eyes jammed shut before I could stop them. Ope. There it was. She was mad.

“Shouldn’t the robberies take precedence?” I offered, but all the testosterone-fueled meat suits stood sentinel, leaving me to my own destruction. “I can’t promise results if the crime scenes are tampered with.”

“A few herbs and plants hardly require more of your focus than learning what you’re up against.”

By up against, she meant the entire mountain of Middle Realm history she was jamming down my throat every day.