“Sebastian.”
Theo’s voice rips me from my trance and my eyes pan over to his. We step into the kitchen.
“What?” I ask.
“How are we going to get out of here without alerting Clarissa to the fact that she isn’t involved in them?”
“We tell her she’s the second line of defense. She’s strong enough, and she knows it. We head out to the edge of the woods and fight this battle before it even gets to her,” I say.
“You think that’ll work?”
“It’s all we’ve got.”
“We have to go,” Clarissa says loudly to us from the other room. “We have to get to the edge of the woods.”
“I have a plan,” I say walking out of the kitchen.
“What is it?” Vlad asks.
“We’ll need two lines of defense if they aren’t going to reach the village. A few people to meet them at the entrance to the woods and a few people back here about a half mile out from the village.”
“Then I’m coming to the front line,” Clarissa says.
“No, we need you to be our second line of defense. You’re strong. Anyone who can get past us won’t get past you. But if they still want to kill you, then that gives you a fighting chance to take out who we can’t,” I say.
“You’re lying, Sebastian. I know it.”
“Take it or leave it, Clarissa.”
“It’s a good battle plan,” Joel says. “But we have to go now. My men are gathered a half a mile into the woods, so they’ll stand at the side of your second defense. But we can’t pussyfoot any longer. Come on.”
I brush past Clarissa as she growls at me. She can be as pissed off as she wants, but it isn’t changing. She isn’t fighting on the front lines, and if we do our jobs well enough, she isn’t fighting at all. I love her. I want what’s best for her. No matter what that means.
I turn and look back at her as Theo grabs my wrist.
“What?” I snarl.
“We need to talk. All of us,” Theo says.
“We’re about to head out to war, and you want to have a pow-wow?” I ask.
“I think I know what Theo’s about to say,” Vlad says. “And you should listen.”
“Can you make it quick?” I ask.
“Joel told me Clarissa’s pregnant,” Theo says.
My eyes pan over to Vlad, and he nods his head. I sniff the air deeply, turning my nostrils over toward Clarissa. She’s sitting at the table wi
th the fake battle plans I told Joel to show her once the time came. To keep her off our trail. I sniff deeper again, and the pungent garlic smell is tinged with something I did recognize.
A slight floral scent.
“How sure are you?” I ask.
“I’m one hundred percent positive,” Vlad says.
“How?” Theo asks.