Foggy Bottom Way [m] el mar

Disciplined as Liri liked to believe she was, Aquillius's outburst threw her. His cries of witch! were frankly alarming and she turned her head to see if he was by chance foaming at the mouth (it would not have surprised her, but it would provide the explanation she was looking for). Germanicus took her attention then, giving a command that they stand down from the woman who threatened his life. Her lip curled at this, but she stepped aside for him, so ingrained in her was it to obey her imperator. Her father.

Cornelius, it seemed, did not have the same inclination. He drove towards their father, causing another distraction, and so she nearly missed it when the bitch broke free of her restraint and barreled forward to make good on her intentions. Valiria moved quickly enough still, lunging to meet her with a roar. She snapped her teeth hard into the thick fur just behind the woman's jaw, intent on driving the rattlesnake away from her father and put her down like Aquillius had the other wolf.

The command was still in her head. No harm. Fine, then. But that didn't mean Valiria was just going to sit back and let her father be murdered. After hearing about the decisions Germanicus had made in the past, perhaps Cornelius was right—he didn't get to make this one. His children would make it for him.