Page 44 of Mated in the Stars

I shot him a puzzled look because he’d scooped Minter right up as if he were around kids every day. If Minter understood what his brother said enough to take offense, he didn’t show it. Instead he poked and rubbed on his brother’s shiny silver scale as we all made our way to the table again. He pulled Minter’s plate in front of them and Minter returned his attention to his breakfast.

“Are you and Dal fighting?”

“Not so much fighting. There’s only so much mate and baby talk I can handle. So, I’ve been on vacation. Met a lot of really cool people. Had a friend stay the night at my vacation rental and he met his true-mate because he was the owner of the place. Then I had another friend stay over and he responded to the pizza guy. It’s been wild really. Like I’m some good luck charm or something. Then this thing came up when I stepped through the doorway. I stopped and talked to Selt for a minute to check on Teddy. He didn’t tell us he was planning to nap, and I thought it might be because of him but you know,” Sequin sighed.

“Okay. Give it to us. What do you think is wrong with Rosemary? What did she do to you?” Freddie asked his son.

“She’s like a giant pink doll,” Sequin sighed. “She literally makes my eyes bleed!”

“She can wear what she wants, kiddo,” Freddie laughed. “You don’t have to like it but she gets to do it.”

“Yeah and she keeps trying to boss me around. Daliah doesn’t even get to boss me around. It’s our house. Daliah is the one who changed shit. She should have to move out, not me.”

“Oye,” I said under my breath and excused myself before they really got into it. Territory disputes between draconic siblings were never fun.

“You don’t have to go,” Freddie said.

“Yeah, I do. It’s not my place to say anything and I don’t know anyone enough to have an opinion about things,” I shook my head.

“We’re not going to yell,” Sequin said as if he read my mind. “I left, didn’t I? I just don’t see why I’m the one who had to. If Rosemary wants things her way, she can get her own house. She can get her own things and use her own things and quit eyeing things that Mama gave people because it’s not hers.”

Freddie let out a long deep breath. For a second, I thought he’d say that something cliché like Lotus wouldn’t want them to fight over stuff like that but Freddie only shook his head.

“I’ll talk to Daliah. It’s not what you want to hear but meeting your true-mate changes how you see things. She sees Rosemary as family and she is.”

“Yeah, but she’s new family. Daliah and me go way back,” Sequin shook his head.

“If you two argue about stuff and can’t work it out I’ll literally sort out every belonging in that house that was your mother’s by her will,” Freddie said. “That’s all I can really do.”

“And I still have to move.”

“Technically, no,” Freddie shook his head, and I paused in the doorway. “She and Rosemary have to move twenty-five feet away into the empty house that is Daliah’s. That house is yours by the way the deeds were set up. You’re right about that much. Back when you two decided to live together, it didn’t matter as much, but your mother handled that paperwork and that one is yours. You could be nice and trade her but it’s yours.”

“Why is it on me to be the nice one, though?” Sequin asked. “Because I’m the single one? Because I’m a guy? Because what?”

“It’s not on you. I just said it was an option.”

Sequin rolled his eyes and sighed.

“I know it’s none of my business,” Elio yawned, walking into the kitchen, carrying Baby Amaranth against his chest. “But I agree with the egg brat, Fred. He was there first. It was his home for a long time. Anyone coming in can’t just take over. Some siblings can live together forever but others can’t. Marsin and I live separately because I wouldn’t let you take over the house that’s always been his home. In an ideal world we’d all get along but that’s not how it works.”

Elio circled around the table and kissed Sequin on the cheek as if he knew him all his life.

“Hey, papa,” Sequin said.

“They’ve met over a lot of video calls,” Fred told me, reaching his hand out to me again.

I came back into the kitchen properly. I never really made it out in the first place. While I had no wisdom to add to Sequin’s problem, I was invested in ensuring both him and Dally were happy. Dally? Huh! Where’d that come from?

“We’ll get it worked out while I’m there. If it comes down to it, we’ll help her get her stuff moved. But who knows? Maybe you’ll find your mate while you’re here.”

“Huff!” Sequin laughed, saying the actual word aloud. “I’m just the good luck charm for everyone around me to find their mate.”

“That’s good. We’ll charge people in London points to rub your belly for good luck,” Elio teased him.

“Money. Not points,” Fred pointed out.

“No. I’m going to charge them points. Award points on their cards or plane miles or whatever they call them. Teddy told me all about that stuff,” Elio laughed. “They’ll all be mine. Muahaha.”

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