I shifted my focus from Heru to his wife, Lex—my half-sister—who was seated in one of the cushy armchairs set off to the side of Heru’s desk, silently bouncing their toddler, Reni, on her knees. Both mother and daughter had been watching our exchange, eyes opened wide and mouths forming tiny Os. Still were. Neither they nor I had expected this meeting to go south so quickly. Or at all.

I implored Lex with a single look, desperation quickening the rise and fall of my chest—like, running-up-stairs quick.

Lex inhaled as though she was about to say something but hesitated, closing her mouth a moment before giving a tiny headshake and averting her gaze. Or rather, avoiding mine.

I pressed my lips together, holding in a frustrated growl, and glanced over my shoulder at Nik. He’d been standing beside me for minutes, quiet as a mouse. He was supposed to be my partner in this. The whole save-the-humans plan was his idea in the first place. He should’ve been backing me up.

But instead, his expression was blank, like he was only half paying attention. Less than. He did that sometimes. It was his conversing-with-Re face. Except the ancient god had long since vacated Nik’s body, so I had no clue why Nik was still making these infrequent trips to la-la land.

Whatever. Right now, I really didn’t care, except for the part where he’d picked a pretty damn terrible time to check out, the prick. His plan, remember? And he was just standing there, hanging me out to dry.

“Thanks for nothing,” I hissed under my breath, my glance turning into a glare. I took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy scent of leather and musk wafting off the books lining the towering built-in shelves on either side of the study. Looked like I’d be fighting this battle on my own. I cracked my neck. No biggie. I was used to going solo, anyway.

“Listen,” I said on my exhale, forcing myself to meet Heru’s hawkish golden stare.

“I urge you to use caution, little sister,” Dom said from within the mirror pendant hanging on a leather cord around my neck.

I ignored my half-dead half-brother—aside from an eye roll, which he couldn’t even see, so it hardly counted—and barreled onward. “I’m never going to have kids,” I said to Heru. “We all know that. So why don’t you just consider whoever Nik and I transform to be my darling children?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Lex and Reni turn their faces from me to Heru. When Lex’s domineering husband—my own oath-sworn leader—failed to respond, her focus returned to me. Our argument was like the slowest, tensest tennis match in the history of the world.

“It’s only fair, isn’t it?” I said, taking another step toward the desk. Toward Heru. “Or is creating new Nejerets a privilege only meant for the good old boys’ club?” Another step. Another. My eyes narrowed to slits. I didn’t care that I was poking a bear. “How many kids have you fathered, anyway? Maybe that’ll give me a good starting quota.” Gods, but I hated my voice when it took on that snide tone. Couldn’t help it, though. Mix the hormones of an eighteen-year-old with an assload of frustration and anger, and, well . . . consider my bitch mode activated.