Page 75 of Echoes and Oaths
Raven leaned forward, voice low and wicked. “I couldtrainthe goat to deliver the rings. With a GoPro.”
Eira lifted her eyes at a strangled gasp. Her mother stood in the doorway and looked one second from stroking out. “Ladies,” Eira said calmly, “I love you. But if this turns into a barnyard battle royale, I’m eloping in Vegas with a bouquet made of antelope jerky.”
There was a moment of stunned silence before Raven raised her tea mug. “To jerky weddings.”
Jinx steppedinto the kitchen with absolutely no clue what he was walking into. At the table, Eira was surrounded by Post-it notes and something that may have once been a wedding seating chart but now looked like an explosion at a Crayola factory.
Raven was sharpening her throwing knives and watchingSay Yes to the Dresson her phone.
Eira’s mom was … praying. To whom, Jinx wasn’t sure. But it soundedserious.
Teo, wearing one of Raven’s tactical vests, was dragging a stuffed donkey around while mooing.
Jinx blinked. “Should I … come back later?”
Eira’s mom turned toward him with the intensity of a soap opera villain. “You.”
Jinx took a careful step back. “Me?”
“You’re the reason we are hosting abarnyard weddingwith potentially armed livestock and assassin bridesmaids. You proposed.You opened this portal to chaos.”
Jinx slowly raised his hands. “Okay, that’s fair. But, just for clarity…who gave Teo access to gear?”
“I did. Things are getting rough in here,” Raven said without looking up. “And honestly, I respect that. Strong women, strong opinions.”
Eira looked up at him and sighed, “What kind of cake do you want? You don’t get to have feelings about color schemes, but I’ll give you cake input.”
“Chocolate,” Jinx said automatically, eyes wide. “With caramel. Maybe whiskey glaze if no one’s morally opposed.”
“See? Now, that’s aman’sanswer,” Raven grunted and turned up the phone. “Oh, here, look, Eira, is this what you were talking about?”
Eira stood up, her eyes slightly wild, her ponytail halfway collapsed like a flag of surrender. She took the phone and jumped up and down. “Yes! Screenshot that, please?”
“Got it, girl,” Raven said and grabbed the phone back. “I love some deep research. I knew we could find it.”
Jinx started to back out of the kitchen. Things were warped into a weird little wedding world right now. But Eira turned on him and pointed to Raven. “Did youknowthat if we invite your full Guardian team, we’ll probably need security for thesecurityif they are like my friend here?”
“Wait, are you inviting Phantom?” Raven asked, suddenly alert.
Jinx frowned. “Of course, I’m inviting him.”
“Oh, good,” Raven purred. “He owes me money. I’ll make him wear a sash, too. He’s gullible.”
“No one’s wearing a sash,” Eira’s mom thundered.
Raven laughed. “No promises.”
Jinx slowly walked over to Eira and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her gently to his chest. She let out a sigh that was part exhaustion, maybe a small part exorcism.
“I love you,” he murmured into her hair.
She leaned into him. “I just spent the last hour arguing about whether an imaginary flower goat should wear boots.”
“Did you win?”
“No. He’s wearing boots. They light up.”
Jinx grinned and then laughed. “I’d call that a victory.”
