Trent was waiting for us at the RV.

  I wasn’t sure why he had an amused look on his face, but I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to like what he was going to do with it.

  “Is Fray here?” I headed off whatever remark he was about to give.

  “She showed up over ten minutes ago.” His brown eye sparkled. “I heard you’ve been busy.”

  “Really?” My stomach growled as I opened the side door for my team.

  “I thought you went to the cafe?” My father teased.

  “I saved it for the road.” I motioned at the door. “Can we just go?”

  “Sure…” Trent shrugged. “But when do you plan to tell Mister Mitchel that you promised his spot to someone you want to add to your harem?”

  “I’ll talk to him when we get back.” I shook my head. “And technically, all I promised her was if he left the team, then I’d give her his spot.” I wrinkled my brow. “And wouldn’t the Nobles get bent out of shape if we added a Mundane to the team in his place?”

  “She is from Tres…” Aelin motioned at Fray, who was sitting at the booth. “She could be from a family that is waiting to recognize her.”

  The green woman bristled. “They’re not…” Her eyes met Justia’s and her voice faded.

  I’d seen the resemblance before, but I’d simply assumed one of Justia’s relatives on her father’s side was Fray’s father. It hadn’t crossed my mind that the resemblance could be from Justia’s mother’s side.

  “It’s okay.” Justia shrugged. “I don’t claim them as family either.”

  “But we’re…”

  Justia slid in the booth next to the trembling woman and took her hands. “Fray, we were family before you knew who your dad was.” She smiled. “Knowing that we’re blood kin doesn’t do anything but make that bond stronger.”

  “But, you’re going to have to kick me off the team now.” The green woman sniffled.

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  “We’re not kicking anyone off the team.” I closed the door to the RV as Miel got on last.

  The protector slid open the visor to the top and climbed up without a word. I knew that she and Trent were expecting trouble, but nothing should bother us until we were a lot closer to the edge of the Ward.

  Aelin started up the RV and backed it out of the parking spot. It felt weird to be in this one again. I knew that it had been through so much, yet I couldn’t find a scratch on it. Compared to the ones that Gesai kept getting, which ended up trashed very quickly, I would bet that Trent’s vehicle was armored with a much higer Tier material.

  “You’re not going to replace me?” Fray looked between Trent and me. “Even though Gesai is my sister?”

  “You’ve never really been on board with joining the harem in a physical capacity…”

  Justia glared at me.

  “What?” I motioned at Fray. “It’s true, the only reason why she entertained the idea was because she thought if she refused, we’d kick her off the team.” I motioned at the Cathedral behind us. “But once we added Jen, Shelly, and then Astrid, she realized that it was possible to be on the team and not have to be with me.” I shrugged. “I’m not upset. I’m just glad that she finally feels safe enough to be honest that she doesn’t want to join the harem in a physical capacity.”

  The vehicle quieted as everyone took in what that meant.

  “So what are we going to do about a closed circle?” Aelin piped up from the front.

  “For now, nothing.” Trent settled into the couch on the wall behind the driver’s seat. “I suspect that there will be some changes coming at the end of the year.” He glanced up at the roof where Miel was riding.

  “You’re going to give Miel a team?” I swallowed. “Whose?”

  “It depends on if we all live that long.” Trent shrugged. “Teaching contracts are harder to get out of than student ones, but not impossible.” A smile crossed his face. “Mavery might be distancing himself from us, but he’s not going to work against us.”

  I tried to think of which team might need a new teacher. I doubted it was one of the other original teams, which meant that it had to be one of the new teachers. Alos seemed like he was ready for a new job. Paul Mite and Arlo Heema were Trent’s allies, so I doubted he’d advocate for either of them to give up their position, but Arlo was Trent’s nephew and the new God of what had been the Desolation of Wurn.

  “You’re not going to tell us what you’re planning.” I slid into the seat next to Ether.

  “My boy, I’m always planning things.” Trent closed his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. “Enjoy the ride because trust me. Once you get involved, you’re in it until you die.”

  There was a part of me that wondered if it was fair to agree to bring Bridget into this mess, but she’d sought me out more than once. But that was something that I wasn’t going to have to worry about until Shelly either went home to claim his seat as the heir of his family’s company or his sister had him shipped off to a different Ward in a political marriage.

  There were plenty of things to worry about right now. I opened my mouth to remind my father that he hadn’t given us the return stones he’d promised to make when I heard a soft snore coming from his direction. A grin crossed my face.

  “He finally is getting some sleep.” I slid my arm around Ether. “Well, what do you think we should study on this trip?”

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