Page 45 of Gift from the Wing

“I’m happy to have finally found my home.”

“I was preparing to go stand outside your ward until you came out. The wait was killing me. What in the realm took you all so long?” she asks, standing back and crossing her arms.

I chuckle as my face turns red, but Corentin’s quick to my rescue as he pulls me in close, squeezing my hip. “We were sleeping in, Mom. We had a long day yesterday. How about some quick introductions and let’s eat? I’m starving.”

“Of course, of course,” she says nonchalantly with an eye roll and then waves him off. Again, I can’t help but laugh.

She’s exactly how I pictured her. CC described her to a T. Loving and funny but with so much sass to spare. Those were his exact words, and I see it now. Although I know for a fact, she could turn this sweet and kind persona around in a heartbeat if need be. She told me once how she liked to keep her Matriarchal side away from her family as much as possible. Shewanted them to experience the less stressed side of her, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t let it come out if the situation called for it.

Her voice is light and playful, which makes the memories of her letters to me so much more animated because when I let my mind’s eye read over her words, I hear her voice now instead of my own.

“Willow, I’d like to properly introduce you to your Patera-Nexus. This is Roye, Theo, Neil, and you’ve met Dyce already,” Aurora says, pointing to each of her men.

“Yeah, her favorite father-in-law as she called me,” Dyce says as he damn near tackles me in a hug.

“I have five fathers-in-law. I won’t be picking favorites,” I say, chuckling as he sets me back on the ground and the guys pull me back in the middle of them. The rest of my Patera-Nexus all roll their eyes at Dyce then smile warmly at me.

It catches me off guard at first when they each step up and take a turn hugging me tightly, but I let the surprise go and just embrace it. I’ll have to play catch-up on learning about them.

Suddenly, appreciation and excitement hit me square in my chest, and my eyes dart behind Aurora, where I find Keeper beaming at me. I give him a small smile when I realize it was my claim of five fathers-in-law that he’s so excited about. It felt natural to say it and I don’t feel anything negative coming from Draken about it right now, so I just move on without drawing too much attention to it.

“I’m ready for another cup of coffee and some food. Whatever’s on the table smells delicious,” I say, attempting to peer over the wall Aurora and her men have created.

My eyes nearly fall out of my head at the spread in front of me. From one end of the table that’ll seat at least twenty people to the other, there’s an array of food. It’s as if every breakfast dish I’ve had since arriving in Elementra is on this table, waiting to be devoured.

“Are we feeding an army?” Corentin says, looking over the mound of food.

“Chef came early this morning and started ordering my kitchen around. Apparently, nothing but the best for you lot,” Dyce teases.

My happy hum at the first bite of a steamy breakfast casserole spurs everyone else on and we easily, seamlessly fall into conversation. It’s so normal, natural, I get choked up when I think about how this is truly the first time I’ve been in the room with all of them. It doesn’t feel that way. It feels as though it’s only been a while since we were all together.

“I wanted to wait until you all had at least a plate of food before I brought this up,” Aurora says as she clears her throat and sets her silverware down.

“Here we go,”Caspian murmurs. Even in my mind, sarcasm drips from his words.

“We figured you’d want to talk, Mom,” Corentin says, his tone the opposite of his brother’s.

“I want to explain a few things as simply as possible because Orien sure knew how to weave a confusing web,” she says, rolling her eyes lovingly before looking at me seriously. “The first time he told me about you, he told me to call youfilia meaon the day I meet you in person. He told me what it meant, where it came from, then took the memory. The night before he passed, once he’d taken my memories back already, he told me a different version as if he wanted a backup plan. He told me one day I’d meet my sons’ Primary, and I’m to call herfilia mea. He told me again what it meant, where it came from, and said I had two opinions. One, tell you its meaning, or two, allow you to find out on your own. I had all intentions of telling you, but I had no idea calling you that would cause what it did and I’m so sorry about that.” She pauses, clearing her throat again and closing her eyes while she catches her breath. “I think it’s best for you to find out on your own now.”

“It’s okay and I agree,” I whisper, reassuring her I’m not upset she won’t tell me.

She nods, blowing out a breath, then continues, “Other than the communication you and I had, he didn’t give us any warning or a heads-up about what to expect once you got here. We knew you were the boys’ Primary, and we knew Elementra was tasking you all with something beyond our understanding at the time, but that’s pretty much it. And with the way Corentin, no offense, son, has been slacking on his communications withme, I know it was because of things going on with you. I’m not upset now that I understand that, but I need to know the truth. I need to know you all are safe.”

The concern and sincerity in her voice cuts me. I didn’t really think about it until now how the aftermath of everything would make her feel. It was one thing to be left in the dark when she had no clue who I was other than a random seer, but now that she’s put two and two together, it’s written all over her face that she’s worried sick.

“We didn’t mean to hurt you by keeping Willow a secret. It was just for the best. Once you know everything, it’ll be easier to understand,” Corentin says softly and I squeeze his hand to help try to wash away the guilt I feel pouring from him.

“I believe that. I do. I just want some answers. You all don’t have to include every little personal detail, but at least the big stuff,” she pleads.

I turn my head to Corentin, giving him permission with my eyes to let everything out. There’s nothing I need to hide from her anymore, any of them, so if he wants, he can tell it all.

“Do you want me to just tell them, or would you rather show them?”he asks, and my eyes widen at the choice. I would’ve thought for sure he would’ve jumped all over the opportunity to finally spill all the beans.

“Really?”

“This is your life we’re discussing, princess. You should have the choice of how everyone finds out everything.”

My heart thuds wildly in my chest and I give him a grateful smile. I didn’t think of this being an option. Why, I don’t know. I guess I’m just used to him being the one delivering all the news, but the more I think about it, the more I do want to be the one to be honest about it all.

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