“This is Noria Melcott, the younger sister of Sunaya’s close friend, Annia Melcott,” Iannis said. “It is by coincidence that she turned out to be at this compound, and she was not directly involved in the production of diseases or experiments on children. She will be taken back to Solantha for trial.”

“Speaking of Annia,” I said quickly, before Noria exploded, “she’s back at the clearing with the mage and shifter children we rescued. They’re still asleep now, but they’ll need water, food and clothing when they awaken, and a nursemaid to care for them until their parents can be located. There are ten in all.”

“Excellent.” Lord Logar turned to two of his mages, a man and a woman. “Fetch the children, then get them into the carriages. They can eat in there. They need not witness what we are about to do. In fact, they should be sent to safety as soon as possible.”

“I’ll escort you,” Rylan said quickly, stepping forward. I suspected he wanted to personally ensure that they treated the shifter children with care, and I held back a smile as warmth spread through me. Rylan would always put shifters first, no matter what the situation. The thought eased the last of my fears about him defecting back to the Resistance—if he hadn’t been convinced they were planning to betray him before, this business with the shifter children would have done the trick.

Rylan led the two mages away, and Iannis set to disabling his wards. He looked well rested despite getting less than four hours of sleep, and, somehow, his long hair and robes were perfect. I’d had to bundle my rat’s nest of curly hair into a bun before coming down here, and some lovely bloodstains marred my wrinkled clothes. A great way to make a first impression as the Chief Mage’s future wife.

Stop that, I scolded myself, standing a little taller. I wasn’t some fucking princess; I was Sunaya Baine. Half-shifter, half-mage, all warrior. If the mages couldn’t handle seeing me in disarray after kicking ass, that was their problem, not mine.

I glanced back at Elnos as the mages opened the gate and drove the first of the transport carriages through. He was still standing close to Noria, with Fenris flanking her other side. Conflict drew lines of tension in Elnos’s youthful face. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was thinking about letting Noria escape, to spare her whatever sentence Iannis decided to mete out. But would life as a perpetual fugitive be any better in the long run? I doubted Iannis would give her a life sentence, so it was probably better just to endure whatever punishment he decided upon.

“Don’t let Noria out of your sight,” I told Fenris. “She looks ready to bolt, and I’m not sure Elnos has the guts to stop her.”