"Help! He's gonna kill me!" she screeched.

Gavriel, Darian and Colton jumped to their feet pulling their sidearms out. Over their heads heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs.

Aiden appeared in the doorway breathing hard. "Where is my mate?" he roared.

The men put their guns away with a sigh of relief and sat down. Elizabeth noticed that none of them pointed to where Meryn was peeking out from around Ryuu.

Ryuu's face was neutral. "What did she do?" he asked.

Aiden flushed. Every second that he didn't answer he grew redder and redder.

Ryuu nodded. "Ah. Yes. Well, think of it as a learning experience. Now, I know that you will be doing your 'Blind man's Bluff' drills today so I've cooked extra bacon. I put the fresh platter by your plate. Would you prefer juice or water with breakfast?" he asked, deflecting Aiden's attention away from Meryn.

Aiden looked at the platter of bacon looking pleasantly surprised and sat down without saying a word. He reached out and scraped half the platter onto his plate. "Orange juice will be fine," he grumbled. He looked over to Ryuu and his mouth twitched when Meryn peeked out again. "Get over here, you little menace, you haven't kissed me good morning yet."

Meryn hesitated, gauging his mood. Ryuu stepped to one side and scooted her forward. Meryn walked over and sat down next to her mate and Ryuu headed for the kitchen. "I'm sorry you got hurt. I didn't know they snapped back like that." She took his hand and brought it to her face and rubbed her cheek against it like Elizabeth had seen Aiden do to Meryn many times.

Aiden's face softened. "It's okay, baby, no permanent damage done."

Colton's head went from Meryn to Aiden and back. Grinning from ear to ear he said, "Please tell me you're talking about what I think you're talking about"

Aiden blushed and scowled at his best friend. Colton and Darian busted out laughing. Aiden, frowning, turned to Gavriel. "I think these two want to do extra drills today."

Gavriel nodded. "I owe Colton so we can let him slide for today. But if you're looking to hand out extra drills how about Keelan? Isn't he late for breakfast?" Gavriel asked.

Colton shot Gavriel a thankful glance before looking at Keelan's empty seat. "Maybe he overslept?"

Darian shook his head. "He's as in tune with the sun as I am, he would never oversleep."

"I'm here," Keelan said from the doorway. When Elizabeth looked up she had to blink. He couldn't be? Why was...?

"Keelan, why in the fuck are you purple?" Colton asked, taking the words out of her mouth.

Keelan groaned and hung his head before walking over to the table. He flung himself in his chair fuming. "Seems Sascha and Quinn decided to set more than alarms. A clever little trap was waiting for me when I got in the shower this morning." The poor witch was a dark plum color from the tips of his hair and over every inch of exposed skin.

Colton continued to laugh as Darian began poking at Keelan's exposed skin. "You're really purple." Darian looked impressed.

Keelan looked at him, a sour expression on his face. "No? Really? I hadn't noticed."

Aiden was fighting to keep a straight face. "I'll speak with Sascha this morning."

Keelan brightened. "Are we doing drills with Gamma this morning?" he asked. Aiden nodded. "Perfect," he said, his face taking on a diabolical expression.

Ryuu walked in from the kitchen and stared. "Oh my." He placed the double espresso in front of Elizabeth and walked over to Keelan. He leaned in and smelled the young witch's hair. "Lavender and Anise?"

Keelan nodded. "Yes, I think that's right."

Ryuu placed his hand on Keelan's head and whispered low. The purple color drained out of Keelan like water through a sieve. Ryuu lifted his hand and with the other poured Keelan a glass of juice.

Keelan stared down at his normal flesh colored palms. "How'd you do that?" he asked, twisting to look up at Ryuu.

Ryuu smiled. "What spells did you use to try and remove the color?"

"Fire spells for purification," Keelan said.

Ryuu shook his head. "Lavender and Anise are affiliated with the Element of Air. I used an Air spell to counteract its effects. It was very cleverly done. Let me guess the harder you tried, the darker the stain became?"

Keelan nodded.

"Fire feeds on Air; you basically made the spell stronger." Ryuu walked around the table filling the glasses.

Keelan groaned. "I should have thought of that. Thank you, Ryuu!" Without the pending embarrassment the spell was sure to have caused impending his appetite, Keelan dug into his breakfast with gusto.

Ryuu smiled at Keelan. "As a squire, I couldn't very well allow someone in my house to remain so afflicted."

"Your house?" Aiden asked. Ryuu ignored him. His eyes narrowed at Meryn for a moment. He stared for a bit longer before he walked over and plucked her cappuccino cup from her hand. "I'll fix you something else." He glided away from the table and headed towards the kitchen.

The men watched as Meryn's eyes widened, her lower lip trembling.

Aiden jumped to his feet. "Well men, better get a jump on our day."

Keelan and Colton grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed bacon in it before downing their juice. Gavriel stood and kissed her on the cheek. "Have fun," he whispered.

Elizabeth eyed the ticking bomb that was Meryn and sighed. She shot back her double espresso and shuddered. She quickly picked up her cappuccino and began to drink. She needed something to chase away that bitter taste.