Page 102 of He Who Sleeps

“With you guys it is. Tell me, do the Elders bleed, too, or just the sacrifice group?” she said, something tickling at her brain, something remembered just on the edges. “The thorns...” she said absently.

"Everyone does. But it's not a big palm slicing thing. We all use those little finger prick things. It only takes a drop." He glanced across at her again. "What about thorns?"

“Oh...” she said and shook herself. “The matrons, they would have roses around during the holidays...and eucalyptus and lavender grown in the greenhouse...and they always pricked themselves on the thorns. I remember that, and they would always say it was nothing.”

"You think they were sacrificing somehow?" he asked. "Makes sense. Something else to ask them when we get to the bottom of this. The place is still running."

“Is it?” she offered. “Maybe I should contact them, see how things are.”

"If they didn't tell you when you were there, I don't think they'll tell you anything now," he said, shaking his head. "Certainly not over the phone."

“No, well I wouldn’t ask them, silly.” She laughed. “Could you see it, ‘hello, matron, this is Petra Franklin, tell me, do you all worship a sleeping god?’ The scandal!”

"I doubt they even keep records there," he told her. "Just in case there's ever a raid or something."

“It’s possible. I mean the only things we have from there are our school transcripts.”

"They'll ship everything to HQ. I'll look into it while we're there," he promised.

She squeezed his hand. “Well good. I trust you to do what’s best, and to ensure all of you that things are good. But promise me you will all come back. Knowing what happened to your fathers...”

"We're coming back." His voice had gone the howling cold of an Arctic winter. "They have no idea what's coming and we've done the groundwork. We're not going to be alone out there."

“No?” she asked hopefully.

"Not even close." He reached across and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "We're going to be fine," he promised her. "I know it's scary for you, but we know what we're doing. Besides, do you really think anything is going to stop us coming back for you? They can drag us through hell and we'll still come back."

She smiled at him with that. “And I the same with you all.”

They turned the corner, the SUV ambling up the drive to the private airfield toward the hangar and the plane, and the six men standing just inside the open doors. Didn’t they just paint a stunning picture. They pulled to a stop, and suddenly Leo was right there, opening her door.

"Evening, beautiful," he grinned, his face lighting up as he escorted her out of the car with a sturdy hand. "I wish we could take you with us."

Leaning in, her lips met his softly. “I don’t. Not unless it was safe for all of us. Just come home to me, yes?”

Jack and Emerson were there then, pulling her into embraces, whispering pleasantries and words of solace to her. She kissed them each softly.

“Promise to stay safe,” Jack said. “We still have access to the feeds in your apartment from the cameras.”

She nodded. “Are they on record?” she teased. “Might have to give you guys a little show.”

"As much as I'd love that, distractions could get us killed," Finn said with real regret in his eyes. "We'll let you know when it's all over and maybe then we could have a victory dance."

She nodded. She was kidding, of course, about the little show, but seeing her guys in survival mode, knowing what they were going into...she put on a brave face for them. “Please, just promise that you will take care of yourselves and each other. I mean coups don’t happen every day, right?”

“Don’t worry on us. They did raise seven brutal killers,” Kendrix said to her.

"And some of us have military training," Carter reminded her.

"We've also got friends," Leo pointed out. "We're not going in alone. They don't know what's coming and Finn made us run all kinds of drills. It's going to be a fast and brutal strike and we'll be fine."

"I promise that we'll call you as soon as it's over," Finn said, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead. "You have my word."

She nodded and snuggled close to her love. “Of course, just remember to be my Devil,” she looked to Carter, “my Plague,” Leo, “my Stitches,” Emerson, “my Neon,” Rix, “my Ghost, “ Jack, “my Goblin,” and finally to Easton, “my Snake.”

Rix went to her and pulled her into a hug, kissing her forehead. “Stay safe.”

"Yeah. Don't make us have to spank you for being naughty when we get home," Leo whispered, hugging her tightly and making her laugh.