Page 14 of Strange Familiar

“You are wise, Grandmother,” he replied, trying to sound rueful. Instead he could only think of House Phel and how they embraced everyone who came to their door.

Which made him think of Alise, wondering if she’d gone there and what she was doing.

And if she was thinking of him.

~ 8 ~

Alise held her infant niece in her arms and could think of nothing but the miraculous appearance of this whole new life. An hour before, there had been no Bria in the world; now Alise loved this baby, this child of her sister, this daughter of a dark wizard, with every fiber of her being.

“I am your Auntie Alise,” she whispered to the red-faced baby, nuzzling the so-soft skin, the silky skein of black hair over the perfect roundness of her head. “And I will be there for you always. No matter if you are wizard or familiar. No matter what house you choose or what path you take. No matter who threatens you or even looks at you sideways. You call on Auntie Alise and I’ll take care of everything.”

“Big promises,” Quinn teased, practically sitting on her hands. The Byssan familiar who lived at House Phel with her bonded wizard and sister looked on enviously as Alise held Bria. Nic was sleeping in the next room, Gabriel sitting in with her and glaring thunderously at anyone tending to her, including Asa, the Refoel healer. That meant the visitors got to play with the baby, Wizard Qaya overseeing them with far more benevolence.

“If anyone can fulfill promises like that, Alise can,” Iliana said staunchly. The redhead wasn’t being nearly so patient, her hands partly extended, fingers wiggling. “Han and I would be in Sammael chains if Alise hadn’t saved us. She’s the best fairy, I mean, wizardly, godmother a baby could have. Is it my turn to hold Bria yet?”

“Don’t you try to take my baby,” Alise warned, not entirely teasing. Holding Bria, feeling this amazing love that seemed to be born out of nowhere, soothed her strained heart like nothing she’d have imagined could.

“I’m pretty sure that’s my baby,” a new voice announced. Jadren El-Adrel—now Lord El-Adrel, Alise reminded herself, no matter how unlikely that sounded—deftly snagged Bria from Alise’s cradling arms.

“Hey,” Alise protested. Behind Jadren, Seliah rolled her eyes, tossing back her waist-length, shining black hair.

“You don’t even like babies,” Seliah informed Jadren, who indeed held Bria awkwardly. Wizard Qaya had already intervened to adjust his hold.

“I like babies,” Jadren countered. “I like you, don’t I?”

“Ha ha.” Seliah glared at him, though she looked too pleased to make it convincing, and she tickled Bria’s cheek before glancing at the closed door, then Alise. “How is Nic? And has my brother lost his mind in an overprotective frenzy yet?”

Quinn and Illiana tried to restrain their giggles and Alise shook her head. “Just about, though both Nic and Bria are strong and healthy, so he’s backing down from full wizard meltdown.” Thunder boomed above and Alise winced. It had been pouring rain nonstop since Nic went into labor.

“Everything is flooding,” Jadren commented. “Slowed us down, which is why we’re so late getting here. Someone needs to slap His Phelness upside the head and get him to control his feelings.”

“Good idea,” Seliah said, slipping Bria from Jadren’s hold, using a very similar technique to steal the baby that he had. “You go do that.”

“Really, Lady El-Adrel,” Illiana said meekly, but with a pronounced whine, “it was my turn next.

“I’m not bearding the lion in his den,” Jadren replied to Seliah, both of them ignoring the pouting Iliana. “I vote for Baby Elal here. She’s not doing anything anyway.”

The two of them exchanged a brief glance, then turned on Alise. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Convocation Academy?” Seliah asked, frowning a little.

“She probably got kicked out again,” Jadren observed, stroking his short, auburn beard, wizard-black eyes full of teasing glee. “Getting to be a bad habit. Baby Elal here is apparently going for the Convocation record on expulsions.”

“Only because you never went,” Alise retorted. “If you had, Lord El-Adrel, no one could have hope to beat your record of transgressions.”

“Fair enough,” he admitted.

“And,” she continued before he could, “I’ve never once been expelled, only placed on probation. I’m absent from the academy at the moment with full knowledge and permission from the provost.” That was mostly true, even if Provost Uriel thought she was at House Harahel with Cillian and the Phel archives. “I’m here for the same reason you are, visiting family and a new baby. Lastly, it’s Phel now. Though I’m officially not the youngest Phel anymore, so you can’t call me Baby Phel.”

Jadren shook his head, making a sad face at Seliah. “They grow up and get mouthy so fast.”

“You bring it on yourself,” Seliah retorted.

“True enough. Always have.”

Seliah handed the baby to Iliana who accepted the sleeping bundle with a quiet squeal of happiness. “Let’s go in and see my brother and heart-sister.” She glanced at Alise, not Wizard Qaya, which came as a surprise. “If it’s all right to go in?”

Though not the highest-ranked person in the room, by any stretch, Alise realized Seliah was according her the respect of being the highest ranked of the Phel household, an acknowledgement of her place in the family and in House Phel that Alise sorely needed after the debacle with Lady Harahel.

“Of course,” she answered Seliah, who she suspected knew exactly what she was doing. “Go ahead. And tell Lord Phel we’re begging him to stop the rain.”

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