He inclined his head to Syn, who quickly explained the drug to her.

She frowned as she considered it. “What do you think?” she asked Hauk.

“I trust Syn completely, but it’s up to you. I won’t make this call.”

She rubbed his arm. “Then let’s do it. As long as we have enemies after us, I don’t want to be down. I need all my fighting strength.”

“All right. I’ll get it ready. As soon as you’re done here, we’ll inject it.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you, Syn.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Just remember, if you grow another head or other appendage, I did warn you it was experimental.” He headed off.

Laughing, Sumi took Hauk’s hand as Kiara showed the clerks out of the house. “Want to come see what I’ve picked out to wear? Give it your Andarion approval?”

He offered her a lopsided grin. “I’m sure I’ll like whatever you’ve chosen. Besides,” he leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I prefer you naked.”

She tsked at him. “I don’t think you’d let me leave the house like that. But I did pick out a dress very similar to Eleron’s for dinner at the palace.”

All the humor left him. “Excuse me?”

She laughed. “So you do care.”

“Relax, Hauk,” Shahara called from inside the room. “Her sedate taste in clothing makes mine look like a hooker’s.”

That made him feel a lot better. Shahara had always been very circumspect in her wardrobe choices.

“Daddy! Look!” Kalea came running up with her doll fully clothed. “We all match!”

Kneeling down, he smiled at her. “So you do.”

“You need to get leggings and a shirt like ours! Then you can match us, too!”

“Um… yeah. I don’t think I’d be so adorable in it.”

“He’d also get beaten up by smelly boys,” Maris said with a laugh.

Kalea arched her brow. “Really?”

“Probably.” Hauk ruffled her hair. “And I’d be teased by your uncle, Fain, until I was forced to kill him.”

“Oh. We can’t have that. Never mind.” She ran back to Lillya.

As he rose to his feet, Sumi tugged gently on his arm. “What’s bothering you?”

“Besides the fact that I have to put the woman I love in a ring to fight for my worthless ass tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I can tell something else is on your mind.”

Hauk hesitated before he answered. “One of our bases was attacked and destroyed.”

Zarya, Desideria, and Shahara drew closer.

Maris joined them. “What happened?”

“League. What else? Kyr escaped and went after them.” Just as Hauk started to tell Maris his family was downstairs, he felt a hush come over the room.