Harren’s face turned bright red. “You wouldn’t be offended if I asked her out?”

“Hardly, and neither would she. Her last boyfriend was a mechanic in the Sentella.” He jerked his chin toward the open window, then returned to their original topic. “The assassins came in through the north side. Preskitt and Xheris have that patrol. Since they’re not due to check in for another twenty minutes, you might want to start with them and make sure they’re okay.”

By his expression, she could tell that stunned Harren even more.

Before Harren could move to obey, Darling turned to get away from Hauk. The moment he did, the assassin tattoo on his back was plainly visible. Harren gasped audibly.

Darling faced him. “Is something wrong, Captain?”

He gestured toward Darling’s back. “You have a soldier’s mark, Majesty?”

Hauk gave him an arrogant smirk. “Sentella, actually. It’s a trained assassin mark.”

“You’re a member of the Sentella?” Harren asked Darling.

It was Hauk who answered. “He’s been with us since almost the beginning.”

Harren gaped in her direction before he met Darling’s gaze. “I’ll have all of the patrols check in immediately, Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

Harren bowed respectfully. “You’re welcome, my lord. And I’ll personally see to it that there are more patrols added to secure your chambers.”

“I appreciate your diligence, Captain.” Darling gestured at the bodies on the floor. “But as you can see, I can take care of myself.”

Harren appeared to want to argue, but as the Sentella medic brushed past him, he gave Darling a formal military salute. “Call for me if you need anything at all, my lord.”

Zarya had a sudden childish urge to say “I told you so” to Harren, but somehow she managed to keep it inside.

After he left, Fain let out a low whistle. “Either you’re winning them over, Dar, or he hit his head. Hard.”

“I vote for head injury.” Darling dropped his shirt to the floor so that the Sentella medic could tend him. “Hi, Kerste. How’s your daughter doing in her new school?”

Kerste smiled. “She’s adjusting well. Thanks for asking.” He pinned each of them with a pointed stare. “Now, if we could have the room, it would be a lot easier to seal this.”

Fain inclined his head to the larger of the two bodies lying on the floor. “I’ll take fat ass,” he said to Hauk, “if you can grab the other.”

“Uh-huh, give me the bloody one while you get the broken neck. Thanks, big brother.” Groaning in protest, Hauk took his by the legs so that he could drag him toward the hallway while Fain threw the other body over his shoulder.

Zarya started to ask them about waiting for investigators to inspect the bodies, but then reconsidered. It wasn’t like they didn’t know what had happened.

While Kerste tended Darling, she followed the Andarions outside. As soon as they had the door closed, the brothers started searching the assassins for credentials and information.