Page 49

Nadia

I ignore Rose’s glare, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for the video chat to begin. As the screen shifts, I lean forward to look at the image of the five of us, grimacing when I see that my hair is…insane.

I scowl and hastily try to fix it, tucking strands behind my ears and straightening my messy bun. I’m talking to the damn King , for heaven’s sake, and this is how I show up?

The image changes to display Ethan Kincaid sitting in his posh office, and I stand up straight. I glance at Cole, the smirk on his lips confirming what I already know. He thinks me coming to this meeting with bedhead is funny .

I scowl and turn back to the screen.

“Good afternoon,” the King says, looking us over quite seriously. His gaze lingers longest on his son, which I suppose is to be expected, before Ethan Kincaid turns his eyes to Stanzor and dad. “Report?”

Both dad and Stanzor speak briefly. I listen carefully as they lay out the details of what happened last night.

We saw a very large number of patients, apparently – more than I thought.

I exhale with relief when I hear that there were no casualties amongst those who made it to us – everyone who needed to get to a hospital did.

“We have a limited number of patients left, all from the military,” dad says, his voice low and steady.

“All patients from the Children of Solace have been sent on to face their next steps, whatever those are. If you consent to it, I’ll keep the ones who are still here in place while they recuperate and wait for their next orders.

Two or three days of rest should see them all on their feet. ”

“That’s all good,” the King says, looking down at some paperwork on his desk. “We’ll double-check the figures, but preliminarily, that sounds fine.”

“Good,” dad says, his voice snappier than I thought it would be. I look up at him, confused, but he doesn’t look at me.

“Ms. Lind?” the King says, turning his attention to Rose. “Any updates on your investigation?”

“Nothing to report yet,” Rose says, leaning forward towards the King. “I’ve got lots of cameras going in the desert, but, as you’d expect, that just means I’ve got a lot more footage to sort through. I should have a preliminary report this evening.”

My eyebrows rise when I realize that this means she’s been looking in the desert for the children, my heart rate rising at the news. I mean, I admit that I’m not much of a Rose fan after everything, but if we can find a way to help the kids from the Children of Solace, I’m glad she’s working on it.

“All right, please send it along when you have it done,” the King murmurs, clearly distracted, looking down at the paperwork. “And inform General Amir, Captain Kincaid, and Captain Stanzor of your discoveries when you get them.”

Rose nods to him and then looks over at me, smug.

“That’s all for now, Ms. Lind. You’re dismissed.”

I have a chance to raise an eyebrow at Rose, smug in turn, before she snaps her face back to the screen. “What?”

The King lifts his eyes to look at her evenly. “What part of that was confusing, my dear?”

She sputters a little, looking over at me, the source of her displeasure quite apparent. But when nobody says anything or invites her to stay in the tent, she scowls and leaves, smacking the tent flap out of her way in frustration as she goes.

“Is there anything else?” Ethan Kincaid asks, looking around at us, far more composed than me.

“Yes,” dad snaps. I turn my eyes back to him – again surprised. “Your Highness, every single patient we saw last night was military.”

I watch, fascinated, as Stanzor turns to frown at my father. “Why is that a surprise?”

“Because it was a serious military engagement with civilians involved,” dad says, turning his glare on Stanzor now. “And yet we didn’t see one civilian patient? What’s happening – what aren’t you telling me?”

“We’re not keeping anyone from you, General Amir,” the King replies, slowly shaking his head. “There would be no reason for that. If you’re not seeing anyone but military, it’s because there’s no one else to see.”

“That’s impossible,” dad snaps. But his focus has shifted to the ground, a hand running through his salt-and-pepper hair, clearly more confused and frustrated than suspicious.

I bite my lip, my hand turning over my wooden wolf anxiously in my pocket.

Dad is so rarely unsettled like this, it always makes me nervous.

“The mission is ongoing,” Ethan says, looking tired.

I study him, wondering if he also missed a great deal of sleep, managing this from afar.

“The largest batches of patients came through last night because that’s when the majority of the actual fighting happened, but we’ve got the cave system surrounded.

Slaken is inside; once our troops are able to capture him, I’m sure whoever is within the caves who needs help will be sent to you. ”

Dad sighs, shaking his head, still frustrated.

But I turn to Cole, confused about why he’s unsettled.

And then I frown, staring up at him, wondering how…

How the fuck I knew that he was unsettled.

I mean, he definitely is – he’s wearing that studious frown that he only gets when he’s thinking through something.

And unlike other people whose eyes go unfocused when they’re thinking hard, his are staring directly at the screen, which means he’s putting something together.

I frown too, turning back to the computer, realizing that I must have picked up the nuances of his expression in the tiny box in the corner that shows our image. Yes, that makes sense. Even if it is…tiny. And grainy.

“Dad,” Cole says, his voice tense and thoughtful. “Have you inspected –“

But pounding footsteps outside of the tent interrupt, and we all spin towards the entrance as it flies open.

“Sir!” a panting private says, holding out a phone to Stanzor. “It’s urgent!”

I glance back at the screen to see the King picking up phones as well, realizing that they’re all getting the same call. My heart starts to pound as I realize that something is happening right now .

“Come on, Nadia,” dad says, stepping to my side and putting a hand on my lower back, applying some gentle pressure. “Let us work – you have your own job to do.”

“But,” I sputter, wanting to know. My eyes lock on Cole, who looks quite grim. “I –“

“Your boy will fill you in,” dad murmurs, urging me toward the entrance. “You won’t be any help in all this military chaos, my dear – and that’s not me being cruel, it’s just the truth. It’s not your field. Come on.”

Cole glances over at me, giving me a steady nod, letting me know that he agrees with my dad’s assessment and that he will indeed fill me in.

I sigh, giving in to both of them and turning towards the flap. Dad and I step outside, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. “Go on, daughter. You need a bath, some food, and some work to set you straight.”

“In that order?” I grumble, looking up at him.

He smirks at me as we start to cross the camp. “Not necessarily. But shower first. You smell…wolfy.”

I huff a laugh, shaking my head and resisting the urge to cover my face in embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, girl,” dad says, giving me a final squeeze before dropping his arms and walking steadily at my side on the way to the nurse’s tent. “They’ll sort it out, and beat each other up, and you’ll patch them up on the other end.”

“I have trouble not knowing,” I mutter.

“Because you enjoy being in control, like me,” dad says, patting my shoulder as we reach the dorm tent. “I’m proud of you, Nadia.”

I turn to him, a bit surprised. Dad can be a little withholding sometimes when it comes to things like praise and encouragement. So, when he says it aloud…he really means it.

Dad smiles at me, intuiting my thoughts. “You did well last night.”

“Thank you.”

He nods. “Keep up the good work.”

I grin at my dad for a moment before tossing myself forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a big hug. Dad laughs and hugs me back, rocking me a little and pressing a kiss to my head. “Love you, baby.”

“Love you too, dad.”

He’s still smiling as he lets me go, urging me towards the tent. “Short shower, there’s a job to do! And don’t let Grace and Shayne distract you with chat.”

“No promises!” I call, waving to him as I step into the tent, my emotions torn between love for my dad and worry for what’s coming next. Whatever that phone call was, it didn’t sound good.

Which, in this situation, just means more injuries and more work for us.

I sigh, straightening my shoulders and heading for my bunk to collect my shower stuff, eager to get this started.