Chapter Thirty-One
They walked down a hallway toward the library and then turned down a smaller hall, which led to a set of enclosed stairs.
“Be careful on the stairs,” her grandmother called out. “They aren’t very wide, and we don’t want anyone to fall.”
The steps ended in a well-lit room, or rather, many rooms which flowed into one another through giant archways. There were several sets of couches and chairs in various areas. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covered one wall, and a row of shelves contained toys for children of all ages. At the far end of the room, wait staff set trays of cocoa out on what looked like an enormous buffet table. Platters of cookies and bottled drinks were also set out along the buffet.
“Is this some sort of bunker?” she asked her grandmother.
“It’s a shelter that can keep out weather or enemies, as the need arises.” She cleared her throat and spoke in a loud voice. “Please help yourself to cocoa or snacks and make yourself comfortable. Children, help yourselves to the toys. We have our own fully stocked kitchen. If you’d like anything besides what is being served on the buffet, just ask.
“Bryn, come with me,” her grandmother said in a normal tone of voice.
She followed, bringing Lillith with her. They stopped at a set of cream-colored couches. Once they were seated, her grandmother took Lillith’s hand.
“This shelter has enough food and provisions to last six months. The walls are designed to be earthquake-proof so that even an Orange dragon can’t blast through. You and your baby are safe.”
Lillith blew out a shaking breath. “Thank you. I know it’s ridiculous, but twice before this I lost—”
“No need to explain,” her grandmother said. “I understand better than you know.”
Her grandmother had lost a baby, too? What the hell?
“Can I get either of you anything?” Bryn asked.
“Why don’t you bring us some cookies and cocoa,” her grandmother said.
Bryn did as she was asked. After she approached the buffet, other women did the same. Had that been her grandmother’s plan?
Back at the couches, Bryn kicked off her shoes, which made her grandmother’s eyebrows shoot up.
“If it weren’t for my current obligation, I’d be up there helping with the counterattack. Consider shoes off to be a small rebellion by comparison.”
“Then it’s good Jaxon asked you to take care of me,” Lillith said. Her color seemed to be returning.
“If he hadn’t, I would’ve dragged you down here kicking and screaming,” her grandmother said. “And I could do it.”
“I have no doubt about that.” Bryn laughed. “Now I know where my stubborn streak comes from.”
The sound of women talking and eating drifted through the room. Bryn glared up at the ceiling. “We can’t even hear what’s going on, can we?”
“Sonic wave–proofing has the side effect of soundproofing. Which isn’t bad.”
Unless you wanted to know what was going on. Bryn tried to focus on what she could do, which was talk to Lillith and keep her calm.
“Have you picked out a theme for your nursery?” she asked.
“Theme?” her grandmother said. “What do you mean?”
Okay, so she’d never decorated a nursery herself, but she’d seen nurseries on television and seen the things for sale in the stores. “You know, some people decorate with ducks or Disney characters.”
Lillith pressed her lips together like she was trying not to say something.
“Most of the nurseries I’ve seen are decorated either blue or pink,” her grandmother said, “None of them had a theme.”
“Jaxon’s room had the cutest teddy bear theme,” Lillith gushed. “Ferrin didn’t think it was masculine enough but I loved it.”
Bryn filed that information away for later. For right now, she’d keep Lillith talking to keep both their minds off the attack. “Have you picked out something for Asher yet?”
“I can’t decide. There are so many cute things but I can’t ask Ferrin, because he’ll say none of them are masculine enough, and Jaxon practically runs from the room whenever I ask him to look at anything baby-related.”
“I’d be happy to look at baby things with you. It sounds like fun.”
“Really?” Lillith grinned like she’d just received the best Christmas present. “That would be wonderful. Maybe we could go shopping one day and have lunch.”
“I’d like that.” The funny thing was, she meant it. Lillith was fun to hang around with and she laughed at Ferrin’s pretentiousness. How she lived with the man without killing him was a mystery.
Lillith leaned back on the couch and sighed. “Would it be all right if I closed my eyes for a bit?”
“Of course,” her grandmother said. “There are bedrooms down the hall if you’d like to lie down.”
“Thank you, but this will do just fine.” Lillith kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet up underneath her.
“I’m going to make the rounds and check on all my guests. Bryn, why don’t you stay here with Lillith so I know you won’t wander off.”
“Yes, ma’am. I can do that.” Her grandmother floated from group to group, checking on the women and children scattered throughout the shelter. Through all of it, she remained calm and composed, projecting confidence like there wasn’t a thing to worry about. How did she do that?
Lillith’s breathing became regular. Now that she was asleep, could Bryn run upstairs to check on the situation? Not without her grandmother finding out and kicking her butt. So she stayed where she was, working her way through the plate of cookies.
Were Clint and Ivy having a fun Christmas Eve? They lived next door to each other, so they were probably celebrating together. Valmont was probably knee-deep in homemade food. What else had he told her they did on Christmas Eve? Some kind of tournament. Ping-pong, that was it. His family had a ping-pong tournament. Which was kind of strange, but in a fun, wholesome family values kind of way.
What she wouldn’t give to have Valmont here right now. Not that she couldn’t stand on her own two feet, but having backup in the form of a handsome knight would be a bonus.
Boredom and a full stomach made her eyelids heavy. How long had they been down here? An hour? Women and children slept on the couches. Her grandmother sat across the room speaking with the ladies who’d shared their table during dinner. They looked to be the same age as her grandmother. Maybe they were her friends.
Falling asleep on the sidelines while Jaxon fought upstairs was not an option. Time for caffeine. Standing up, she made her way over to the buffet and asked for coffee. While she was there, she grabbed another plate of cookies.
Now what? Polite conversation with strangers would be awkward. She walked over to a bookshelf and spotted a sudoku book. Maybe that would keep her mind off how little control she had at the moment.
Five completed puzzles later, a phone rang. Everyone turned toward the sound. The phone, which Bryn had overlooked, hung on the wall by the entrance into the shelter. Keeping a sedate pace, Bryn’s grandmother crossed to the phone and answered it as if it were any other phone call.
Bryn moved to the edge of her seat, clutching a throw pillow while she watched her grandmother. The set of her jaw and her relaxed stance gave nothing away. After hanging up, she turned to face everyone.
“The attack is over. The Directorate has everything under control. Even though they feel it’s safe to return to your homes, you are all invited to stay the night. We have more than enough bedrooms for everyone’s comfort.”
Women picked up their children and headed toward the steps. No one ran or panicked. They walked at a leisurely pace. All she wanted to do was race upstairs and demand answers. Was she the only female who’d wanted to fight? How was that possible? Ivy would’ve joined the battle if she were here. Was it a Clan thing or a class thing?
Who knew? Either way, it was damn irritating.
A hand touched her arm. “Don’t march upstairs demanding answers,” Lillith said. “Even though the men will appear calm and act as if they have everything under control, they’ll still be on high alert. I’m sure your grandfather is ready to rip someone’s head off over this incident. His Christmas Ball was disturbed by an act of war.”
“Act of war?” Chill bumps broke out on Bryn’s arms.
“What else would you call attacking the estate where every single Directorate member is known to be?”
She hadn’t thought of it that way. “Will you stay the night?”
“Ferrin will make that decision, and I’ll let him because it will give him the sense that he is in complete control of something. A Blue male with wounded pride is one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet. Remember that in your dealings with Jaxon.”
“Are you afraid of your husband?” Uh-oh. Boredom must’ve turned off her filter.
Lillith stared off in thought. Which was scarier than an outright answer. “I never fear for my safety or Jaxon’s. However, I do fear for the safety of others.”
And suddenly Ferrin seemed scarier than he’d ever been. Great.
Bryn stood. “The crowd has cleared. We better go find Jaxon before he accuses me of losing you.”