Page 61 of Invidia

Honestly, I was wondering that myself, considering how much of a stir Evrin and I had caused by greeting each other at dinner. Then again, Austin didn’t live at court, and Selene didn’t strike me as someone who would even notice gossip, let alone relay it.

“Well—” I cut myself off as Lochan appeared in the entryway, charming smile perfectly fixed in place.

“Ah, the Thibaut cousins, together at last! Austin, I was beginning to think your presence here was just a myth.”

“Mm, I did think about stopping by and saying hello,” Austin replied, not bothering to offer any explanation for why he hadn’t. Why didn’t I get those Thibaut genes? The I-don’t-give-a-fuck-about-your-opinion genes?

I’d got Grandfather’s everyone-is-out-to-get-you paranoia genes instead.

Lochan’s eye twitched ever so slightly. “I really was hoping to chat with you both. I was just making tea. Do you guys want some?”

I was absolutely craving a cup, in all honesty. Was this what a pregnancy craving was? It was less aggressive than I expected. I didn’t feel like I was going to murder someone if I didn’t get a cup of tea soon.

Though, I did feel like I was going to die if I didn’t get a cup of tea soon. Huh.

“Yes, please. Where are Sebastian and Cora?”

I did my best to give him a genuine smile. He was being nice. I could be nice. I’d passed Astrid in the palace and she hadn’t given me any indication that last night’s drinking games had gone badly. Maybe in her investigation of Lochan, there had simply been nothing to find.

“Apparently, Cora feels that I’m cramping her style,” Lochan said, sounding unimpressed. “She requested that Sebastian be the one to accompany her to meet with her new friend today.”

He shook his head slightly as he headed toward the kitchen, muttering something about baby sisters.

“Why did you agree?” Austin hissed as I led him into a drawing room. “We can’t talk properly if he’s around.”

“I feel like I’ve given you the salient information!” I whisper-shouted. “I’m pregnant. Evrin is the father. We were planning on moving in together. I think we still are? Obviously, he was pretty taken by surprise when I told him.”

“What did he say?” Austin asked sharply.

“Nothing bad! I think he was just in shock. He mostly seemed worried about me and my comfort.”

Austin cut me an alarmed look as we sat down on opposite ends of the chaise. “I’m also worried about your comfort. I’m not sure your insides are built to withstand infant Shade claws.”

“Thanks for that,” I deadpanned.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, though,” he added hastily. “I mean, it’s going to be great. Our kids will grow up together. How awesome is that?!”

The idea actually hadn’t really occurred to me until Austin had said it. “They will, won’t they? That’s amazing. And if they’re, you know, different from everyone else in the realm, they’ll have each other.”

Austin’s usual bright and easy grin turned a little softer and more sentimental. “Yeah, they will. Kind of like us when we were growing up, right?”

I laughed. “I’m not sure we were ever that close, Austin. Though, it was sort of hard to get close to anyone, considering we were basically in a herd.”

He snorted. The Thibauts were prolific breeders—our family was enormous. It was a great point of pride for Grandfather. I’d lost count of the number of cousins I had at this point.

“Do you ever miss it?” Austin asked. “Home?”

“I miss some things, sure. But the negatives vastly outweigh the positives. What about you? No regrets about choosing the nuclear option?”

I hadn’t given it much thought before, but at least I could go back to the human realm if I wanted to, though I’d have to avoid all Hunters forever. Austin had publicly made a scene—he didn’t have that luxury.

He grinned. “Not one. I’d do it all over again if I had the option.”

We fell silent at the sound of Lochan’s footsteps approaching the drawing room, and I did my best to stay positive. This was a good opportunity to get to know Lochan, with the benefit of having Austin here as a buffer.

And if there was something shifty going on with him, maybe being able to talk to him without Sebastian around would help me figure out what that was.

Chapter 22

---