Page 69 of The Daughters of Nyx

But she looked between Elias and I for a moment longer before extending her hand. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you,Elias.”

I narrowed my eyes. Oddly well behaved. Thea and I shared a look. When was the last time she’d beenniceto someone either of us brought home?

Never, I reminded myself.She’s been mean to everyone.

Elias, however, took her hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Eloise. Happy birthday.”

My sister preened, her eyes sweeping over me, then Thea, to the big bag of gifts. “Is that all for me?” she asked hopefully.

Thea and I nodded. “Have at it, birthday girl,” Thea replied. “And you’re welcome.”

Eloise rolled her eyes but took the bag and ran back to her seat. As she did, Kerry finally made her appearance, wearing a floral apron. “Oh, good, you’re here!” She came towards us with a fake, cheerful smile and hugged Thea first. “It’s been too long, honey. How is the restaurant?”

Thea sent me a look that said ‘kill me’ before smiling. “It’s been good. More hours coming up with Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m looking forward to less late nights.”

My mother gave Thea a faux sympathetic look before turning on me. “Ivy. I’m so happy you said you’d come.” As she hugged me, she kissed my cheek before pulling away and holding me at arm’s length. I wondered if she approved of my clothing; tonight, I’d braved a short, black skater dress over a white turtleneck and thick stockings. A long, grey, tartan-printed wool coat covered my shoulders, which I’d shrugged off as soon as we entered the house. I would have cared before, but now, I felt nothing as she looked me over with a disappointed look.

Her gaze turned on Elias and she gave him a once over, approval shining in her eyes. “Elias, I amsoglad to see you again. How have you been? I was worried when I heard the two of you broke up.”

Elias tightened his grip before offering my mother a smile. “I’ve been busy. And we didn’t exactly break up—we were planning on taking a short break, since my work has

been so exhausting. I thought it wasn’t fair on Ivy, with all our conflicting shifts.”

I’ll give him that: he was a good liar. I almost believed him.

Kerry’s gaze flickered to mine, and I nodded. “It’s been hard. That’s why I wasn’t sure about dinner. But we worked it out—for now.”

She clapped her hands together. “Brilliant. Dinner is almost ready. Make yourselves at home. Girls, I have wine on the counter. Ivy, why don’t you grab Elias a beer?”

At that, she turned and left us in the living room. Maisie was off somewhere, probably bothering Ginny, and Eloise looked less inclined to talk to us now that she’d opened her gifts.

Thea leaned into me and muttered, “Seems like Kerry hasn’t changed her beliefs.”

No, certainly not. My mother was an independent woman, but when she’d married my step-dad, she’d served him like he was the fucking king, and she held me to those same expectations. He hadn’t been a terrible husband—other than the cheating—but he hadn’t been all that great, either. He’d been a good dad to the girls up until the day he left, even a good step-dad to me, so it still surprised me that he was capable of walking out.

Shaking my head, I released Elias’s hand and started for the kitchen. “Do you want a drink?” I asked.

He followed close behind, his warmth searing my back. “Beer is fine. It won’t do anything to me.”

“Really?” I asked, whipping around to face him with my brows raised.

He gave me an amused once over, smirking. “We need something much stronger if we want to get drunk.”

The way he saidwemade me shiver, but I turned back to the kitchen and found Thea already pouring two glasses of wine with her back to my mother. When I entered, she grimaced, but I headed for the fridge, pulled out a beer, and handed it to Elias.

“Hey, Ivy!”

I turned to find Ginny at the dining table, her ruddy cheeks pinched in a smile. Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun, likely from dance class, wet from sweat and some strands still clinging to her face. She leapt from her seat and ran over, hugging me softly with another mumbled‘hello’to Thea.

“Who’s that?” she whispered, pointing at Elias.

For a nine-year-old, she was usually outgoing, but her eyes were wary as she looked the shifter over.

I stiffened, smoothing her hair down. “That’s my boyfriend, Elias. Why don’t you say hi?”

Her blue eyes met mine, then flickered to him. She sucked in a breath, puffed out her chest, and offered her hand. “Hi, I’m Virginia Sullivan, but everyone calls me Ginny because my real name sucks. You can call me Ginny, too.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched the shifter. He looked a little tense in the shoulders, and I wanted to blame that on Kerry, but I wondered if it meant more to him if the kids liked him. Eloise hadn’t really given her opinion on him, and I hadn’t thought to check if he was okay with that. But Ginny was younger, and maybe he wanted to impress her.

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