I thought about that for a minute. "You're probably right."
"I usually am, Kid."
I had to fight back a smile at the choked sound DG made behind me. There wasn't much in the world I liked better than teasing her. Well, kissing her. And touching her. And I was pretty sure—that's enough of that!
Having Glitch's voice in my head was going to get old quickly, but it didn't seem inclined to go away anytime soon. If my conscience had to pick someone to sound like, there were better choices it could have made. Although I guess there were worse ones, too. It could have sounded like her father. I held back a shudder and forced myself to focus on the task at hand.
The hallway outside our—her, damn it—room was cool and quiet. The two guards I'd ordered stationed at the door brought their fists to their chests as soon as they saw me. They were both a few years older than Jeb, but still young, faces clean shaven and eager. I wondered for a second if I'd ever been that young. Right now, it didn't feel like it.
"The corridor is secure, Commander Cain," the one on the right said, voice crisp.
By the way he was looking at me, I knew some sort of acknowledgement was in order. I bit back a sigh. "Excellent work—" I paused, not sure how to address them.
"Grear, Sir. Southern resistance. And this is Michaels." He gestured to the man beside him. "We've been serving under Captain Jeb for two years now, Commander Cain."
At the sound of his name, I glanced to the right, searching for my son. He stepped forward, face a blank mask, and nodded at the guards. "Will the princess be staying here? Grear and Michaels are very trustworthy—"
I managed not to jump when I felt a pair of slender hands on my shoulders and a warm body brushing my back. "Nice to meet you guys. Thanks for guarding the bedroom and everything. Never know what kind of bad guys might be lurking in a busy hallway. Cain, you're blocking the door."
Hammerheads hit me, she felt good pressed against me. Did she know she was driving me crazy? I gritted my teeth and ignored her, keeping my shoulders angled so she couldn't get out of the room yet.
"No. She's going to go upstairs and join Tutor," I said in answer to my son's question. I glanced at Grear and Michaels. "And she's going to need an escort."
As fast as the words were out of my mouth, hands flew to chests, and the guards bowed. "It would be an honor, Sir," Grear, who apparently always did the talking for both of them, said, voice earnest.
Behind me, I felt DG stiffen. I braced myself for her reaction to the news that she was going to have two shadows with her. The issue was nonnegotiable. She was going to have to get used to the idea anytime I couldn't be with her. Maybe not telling her before we left the room had been the coward's way out, but I didn't care. One more fight with her, and I was either going to muzzle her, or throw her back on the bed and find another way to keep her mouth occupied. While either one might have been fun, we really didn't have time for the second option, and the Queen and Ahamo probably wouldn't look favorably on their little girl being gagged.
They hadn't spent enough time with her yet to appreciate the efficiency of the method.
To say I was surprised when, instead of a strangely-worded fit listing the reasons—none of which would have been good enough for me—why she didn't need watching over, DG's voice coming from over my shoulder was calm and surprisingly—friendly.
"Cool. So, do you guys have first names?" She sent them a smile that, from the dazed expressions that came over their faces wasn't just affecting me. All at once it occurred to me that Grear and Michaels were about DGs age. I wasn't an authority on what made men attractive, but there wasn't anything particularly ugly about either one of them that I could see. Before I could think of a reason to change my mind and make Jeb go find two different guards—preferably married ones—she'd taken advantage of my distraction to duck around me and into the hall. She linked her arms through the guards' like she'd known them for annuals and without waiting for an answer about their names and said in my direction, "You'll come find me when you're done?"
It wasn't so much a question as it was a—dismissal. At least, that's how it felt. I clenched my teeth, surprised words even managed to slip out my jaw was so tight when I answered with a terse, "Yes."
Jealousy was a new thing for me. I didn't need practice to know I didn't like it.
DG flashed me another smile, nodded, and then turned her attention back to the men flanking her. She was talking as she expertly turned them away from Jeb and I, guiding them toward the stairs. "So how do you guys feel about animal rights? Are you opposed to rolled up newspapers? Because I have a feeling—"
Her voice faded as they turned the corner, and I realized my fists were clenched when Jeb said a tentative, "Dad?" and gestured toward them. "Are you—ready to head down?"
My, "Yeah," came out more as a growl than a word, but Jeb didn't comment. Smart boy, my son.
We fell into step silently, taking the same route DG and her guards had taken, only turning left to go downstairs instead of right. Envy was still knowing at my gut, but I was gamely trying to focus my mind on the list of problems Jeb had started reeling off before DG came out of the washroom.
I glanced sideways. Jeb was half a step behind me, shoulders straight, head up, expression closed. It jolted me a little when I realized how similar his posture and stride was to mine. He must have noticed me watching him, because his chin rose a notch and he looked back at me.
"Is there a problem?"
I had to fight the urge to reach up and rub my temple. Reconciling the image of him as an eight-year-old boy, running to me and throwing himself at my legs, with the man beside me was enough to make my head spin. It was the height of foolishness, but all at once I wished I had brought DG downstairs with us, and it had nothing to do with jealousy. Dealing with Jeb was easier when she was there. It was like he and I had a common ground—our uncertainty as to how to deal with her. Now, on my own with him, I was at a loss.
"Yeah. Lots of them. Just working out how we're going to solve them."
Jeb paused. "We?"
My frown deepened into a scowl. "Yes, we. I agreed to take command—temporarily, at least—but that doesn't mean—"
"I thought Tin Men usually worked alone?"
I felt a muscle in my jaw clench. "What are you really asking me? Because right now, I don't have time to play games, Jeb."
There was a long moment of silence, and then Jeb looked abruptly away. "Nothing. I'm sorry. Let's just go on down."
He edged past me and started down the stairs at a fast trot. I closed my eyes and sent up a quick prayer. I didn't know who I was asking for wisdom from—maybe Adora. Something was wrong with Jeb—beyond the obvious stress of the situation—but I didn't know what. And I didn't know if I should push him about it now or not. He was half a flight ahead of me now and didn't show any signs of slowing down.
"Hells," I growled in the back of my throat. I clenched my fist again and started after him. I caught up, but we didn't speak again until we hit the first floor landing. I was surprised to see that the situation wasn't near as out-of-control as I'd expected. There was confusion, yes, but it was holding together.
I raised an eyebrow at Jeb. "You're responsible for this?"
He grimaced, and something I didn't understand flashed in his eyes. When he replied, I could hear anger edging his voice. "Look, I did the best I could. I'm not you. If you want to—"
"Son, you're doing well." I interrupted him. My tone was harsher than I meant it to be, but I don't think it mattered. Jeb didn't look like he believed me, and I didn't know what else to say. "Really." I finished lamely, trying to hold his gaze.
"Right." His eyes were fixed somewhere just over my left shoulder. "So, where do you want to start?"
I bit back a sigh but firmed my jaw and put on my Tin Man face, effectively hiding any emotion I might have felt. "Take me to where you're housing the people you freed from the dungeons. Lets see who the witch didn't want getting away from her."