Page 80 of Ulune's Daughter

Chapter27

Parental Gilt

RHODES

Kellan shifts on her chair for the tenth time in a minute.

I don’t think it’s the conversation that’s making her so uncomfortable. Her parents are desperately dodging any mention of her sister and her ex. So much so, there are slightly discolored spots on the walls in the hallway and living room where I think pictures of the questionably happy couple have been hastily removed.

“You’ll invite us to the grand opening, won’t you, hon?” Kellan’s mother asks. “I’ve been watching the Bevington Arcana for an announcement but I haven’t seen anything.”

Kellan clears her throat. “There’s a V.I.P. reception the week before the opening. Of course, you’ll get an invite. I, uh, I’ll check with the museum curator when they’re going out.”

They’ve gone out. I’ve got mine. I’ve got two, actually. Kellan gave me one and then Luca asked me to come as his plus one. Which has the potential for disaster. Thank the Mother I’m out of town at a meet so I had an excuse for both of them.

I gather Kellan’s parents were not on the V.I.P. list.

Kellan’s mother rises to clear the table, but I beat her out of her seat, picking up my empty plate and Kellan’s. “She who cooks doesn’t clear,” I say, reciting my mother’s mantra.

Kellan’s mother, who asked me to call her Grace, subsides back into her chair with a smile. I’ve worked hard to charm both Grace and Kellan’s father, Pete, throughout the evening, while Kellan’s been stiff and slightly cold. I understand how hurt she is, even if she’s covering it with apathy.

It helps that Pete works for the Aedis Astrum in a department not all that distant from the one I’ll be working in. He gives me fatherly advice about keeping good records and I nod in the appropriate places.

“If you wash, I’ll dry and put away,” Kellan says. “I know Dad’s perfect plate system.”

She winks at her father, who grins at her.

I’ll admit that domestic spells aren’t my best thing. I’m more likely to cause a flood if I try to dust, but I can wash dishes and clothes with my magic. Kellan dries the dishes and lofts them to their spots in the kitchen cabinets with flicks of her fingers. I’ve never seen Luca use his Air-magic like that. Dishes and clothes usually sit in their respective appliances until I put them away. Luca and his brother are a lot of things, but domestic is not among them.

“You and your Dad used to do the dishes together, didn’t you?” I whisper to her so my voice doesn’t carry into the dining room, which is only a thin wall away in the Wyndham’s tidy, middle-class ranch house. They live in Hoosick Falls, just on the other side of the state line from Bevvy. It’s a cute town and Kellan pointed out the sole bar, the Oxbow, which is open late, in case her mother’s meatloaf proved inedible, as we drove through.

I managed two slices of meatloaf. It was a little dry and dense, but my Water magic is good for lots of things. I’ll take Kellan for a drink after dinner, though, to help her unwind.

Kellan nods. “Every night.”

I open my arms to her and she steps in for a hug. “It’s okay to miss him. Them. Even if you’re angry at them.”

She sighs and buries her face in my neck. “Am I the asshole for not forgiving them? Chels and Mitch got married years ago. Should I have moved on?”

I stroke her back. “You’re entitled to your feelings.”

“Am I, though? I know I put them in an impossible situation. They couldn’t choose between me and Chelsea.”

“Don’t make them. Look for opportunities like this, where you can see your parents without your sister and ex. Invite your parents to the V.I.P. opening. Let them be part of your success.”

She hiccups into my throat. “You’re assuming it will be a success.”

“No, I’m not assuming. I know. And I’ll celebrate it with you.” I reach down and squeeze her round ass cheek. “In my own way since I can’t be there.”

She chokes on a laugh. “Are we talking back-door celebration?”

“Yes, we are.”

She pushes at my chest lightly, but not even hard enough to move out of my arms.

“Are you objecting to a back-door celebration?” I ask, my breath hitching. If she says no to anal, I’ll respect that, as I’ll respect all her limits. But I’ll be sorry because it’s one of my favorite things, and I have plans to share her with Luca that way once we get everything out in the open. I can’t wait to feel him filling her at the same time I do.

“No,” she whispers.

---