Page 16 of Fallen Demon

“Gwen, Britt, and Nate were mad at us for not bringing them,” Maggie said.

I would probably have been too.

A few minutes prior to the appointed time, the girls and I started for the dining room where the events were located. On the way, we met with Farrah, Wyatt, Daleigh, Twyla, Kayden, and Fox. I introduced them to Abbie, Maggie, and Lacey.

Farrah hooked her arm through mine. “I heard you’ve taken good care of my best friend.”

Abbie smiled at her. “She can be a little handful sometimes, but we managed.”

Everyone laughed and I pretended to glare at them.

“Thank you,” Farrah said, heartfelt.

Together, we all walked to the dining room.

As expected, Drake and Thea were already there, along with Prince Dorian, Prince Aston, Prince Gray, Prince Killian, Lavinia, Princess Lyra, Prince Ward, Elisa, and Zadkiel.

I introduced the girls to the ones they hadn’t yet met, while Farrah and her gang greeted the ones they hadn’t yet seen.

Mila stood beside Lord Drake and Queen Thea and acted as a host, leading us to our places at the tables. And that was when I noticed the long rectangular tables were gone, replaced by large round tables that seated ten each.

She took the girls and me to a table right in the middle, and I wasn’t surprised when I saw Farrah, Wyatt, Daleigh, Twyla, Kayden, and Fox arriving at the same table.

Though no one sat. A waiter arrived and offered us drinks. Each of us took a glass—I chose white wine—and we started small talk.

Kayden told me how she had gotten together with Fox—I had heard about it, but didn’t know any details—and how it was to rule the kingdom after the tyrant Shadow King.

Also, they mentioned the rumors of a Shadow Prince hidden somewhere on Earth.

Twyla lifted her hands. “My father was as promiscuous as he was evil. He might have had several children.”

“And you’re concerned they will want the throne?” I asked.

“Technically, the throne belonged to the Blaze Court before the Shadow King took it by force,” Fox said. “So even if they come, they have no official claim.”

“But they sure will have allies,” Kayden said. She explained a lot of Shadow fae were still upset they had lost their privileges since she took over.

“It’s more than that,” Daleigh added. “Because the Shadow King was evil, everyone is suspicious of them.” He looked at Twyla, his mate. “Even Twyla has a hard time with it, and she has proven herself time and time again.”

Twyla shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“It shouldn’t,” Kayden said. “Shadow fae are fae, just like the others. Hopefully, with time, this suspicion will go away.”

“Hopefully, this Shadow prince won’t decide he wants revenge and come back,” Wyatt said. “That’s the only way we’ll have peace.”

“I don’t want to talk about this fake prince anymore,” Kayden announced. She tipped her champagne glass and drank it to the last drop. “I know we’re here on official business, but we’re all together again, and that only happens once every blue moon. We should enjoy it and not talk about depressing topics.”

“True,” Fox added.

I grimaced, thinking of the topic Lord Drake and I would bring up later. That was not only depressing but worrying too.

They started talking about some festival they were planning for summer, and my attention shifted to the entrance, where Luana, Keeran, and Almae arrived.

I hadn’t seen them yet, so I excused myself and met them as they finished greeting Drake and Thea.

Luana was the alpha of the Starlight Pack, a pack of wolf shifters with amazing, magical powers. Her mate, Keeran, was the Warlock Lord, the most powerful warlock alive.

Almae was an old witch from the Silverblood coven, the same as Thea’s, and she was Keeran’s mother. She was powerful and had the gift of prophecies and visions, like Maggie, though the older witch had a lot more control and knowledge about it.

---