There now… much better attitude.

Until the leader’s gaze slid to Zarya in a way that said he thought she was on the level of something that needed to be flushed out an airlock. And that set fire to Darling’s temper.

Don’t punch him… It took everything Darling had not to. But it wouldn’t go well for him to show off his temper right now. It would be the biggest mistake he could make.

You say one word to her and I swear, politics or not, you’re on the floor, asshole.

The leader must have sensed that he was dancing with the devil. He cleared his throat and changed to a more respectful demeanor. “That is if you don’t mind, Majesty.”

Taking a deep breath, Darling gave him a curt nod. “Gather them, then. I’ll be there shortly.”

As soon as the gerent was gone, Maris wagged his eyebrows at Darling. “Train them right from the start.”

“Working on it.” Darling turned to face Zarya. Even though she appeared every bit the lady, there was a light in her eyes that showed him just how vulnerable and uncomfortable she was here. He hated leaving her, but he had no choice. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise. Caillen, Nyk, Kiara, and Desideria should be here any minute to help keep you two entertained and out of trouble.”

As if on cue, and dressed in Caronese guard uniforms, Hauk, Chayden, and Fain walked through the doors and headed straight to Darling. Something that caused the delegates and their escorts to start gossiping all over again since it was obvious the two hulking mountains weren’t human and therefore definitely not Caronese soldiers.

Thank the gods they’d finally arrived, now he wouldn’t be so worried about Zarya and Maris and could focus on his task of dealing with pompous assholes who hated him.

As soon as the entire group reached them, Hauk gave Darling an arch stare. “Damn boy, there’s nothing to be that nervous over.”

Darling was completely baffled by his comment. “Excuse me?”

“You’re sweating like you ran a marathon.”

Amused by that, Darling shrugged. “I’m sure Zarya will fill you in. Right now I have to meet—”

“You’re not going in without us,” Hauk insisted.

Darling opened his mouth to argue, then caught himself.

While Hauk busted on him as if he were Darling’s older brother, he, like the rest of the Sentella High Command, was extremely protective of him. There was no way the Andarion would allow Darling into an arena with that many enemies and not be there to pull him out if things went bad.

No amount of argument would sway the Andarion. Hauk was even more stubborn than Drake and Zarya combined.

Then, Ryn gave him that big-brother-knows-best stare that didn’t help his temperament in the least. “Chay is coming to the meeting, too, as the Qillaq ambassador. And we’re”—he indicated Drake and himself—“going in with you. Let the bastards know up front that for the first time in decades the Cruels are united. They’re not going to be able to use one of us against the other. Ever.”