“Oh, no. I’ve had enough of looking at murder places now. I’ll be ready to go whenever you are. Just remember, that baby has been sleeping for a few hours, and he’s going to wake up at some point.”

“I have a few questions for the station commander, but I’ll make it quick.” Her expression made him pause. “What is it?”

“You know, anybody who would want to launch an attack against us is probably going to know how the odds will be stacked against them in this situation.” Her gaze was both clear-eyed and sober.

He frowned. “What’s your point?”

“If I were that person, I wouldn’t launch an overt assault that would be expensive and probably doomed to fail.” Her smile twisted. “I would want to send someone in secret, someone who could pass the checkpoints and get through customs, because they look innocent and normal, and they would appear to have legitimate business. Maybe someone who everybody thinks of as a friend.”

A chill passed down his neck. “You mean an assassin.”

She searched his gaze. “Am I wrong?”

He shook his head. “That’s what I would do, so no, you’re not wrong. I’m just saddened—and again impressed—that you realized that.”

“He’s my child too,” she whispered.

He put his hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to be in a more sheltered environment overall, but that doesn’t mean we’ll relax our vigilance. There are two levels of stations, and they are populated by the smartest, most capable people I could find. We will also continue to have guards in the city where we live, along with personal guards. And just as soon as Niall is big enough, we’re going to train that boy how to stab things really well.”

A grim kind of hilarity entered her sharp gaze. “He’s going to love it.”

“Yes, I think he will.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Give me two minutes, and then we’ll head for home.”

“Okay.”

He located Malan Wei, the station commander, soon enough. She was a tough, experienced soldier with a long record of exemplary service in the Wyr demesne. Her Wyr form was one of the nastiest Dragos had ever encountered, a giant, spider-like creature called a Jorogumo. She had a poisonous bite and could move like lightning.

To a Wyr of Dragos’s strength and size, her poison was akin to a mosquito bite or bee sting, but for the gryphons it could cause temporary paralysis. For any creature smaller, it could even cause death. Malan could have easily been a contender for a sentinel position, except she didn’t want to interact so intensely with the civilian population. The position of station commander suited her to perfection.