Page 88 of Phoenix Falling
Clara stood in front of me, one toe digging into the ground, her full bottom lip pulled between a gap in her teeth where she’d just lost a tooth. “Will they like us?”
I smoothed back the wisps of curly black hair that had escaped from her braids. Nerves were normal, especially when faced with meeting a whole clan of people all at once like we were about to do. It even had me nervous, and I’d have Demetri at my side. Sun planned to announce the planned coronation and our matebond ceremony, both of which would take place in a few short days, to the Archai tonight. We were being introduced at the same time, sort of a worse version, if one could call it that, of the “we have a visitor; raise your hand” moment everyone hated being put on the spot for. “Of course they’ll like you. What’s not to like?”
She seemed to consider that. “I don’t share my chocolate.”
“People aren’t going to not like you because you don’t share your chocolate.”
“Tabby doesn’t like for me not to share it,” she piped up, because of course she had an answer for that one.
“That’s because Tabby can be…cranky sometimes.” At certain times of the month, specifically. “That’s a problem with her, not you. Besides, we’re sisters. We stick together.”
She leaned against my side where I sat in my chair. “Are we going to have to move?”
“No, no moving. These people live in the caves too, in an area connected to ours, so we can easily go see them and vice versa.”
“Are there kids?”
My heart couldn’t take any more. “Come here.” I pulled the little girl onto my lap the same way Demetri did when he needed comfort, or I did, and wrapped her in a hug. “You know we love you, right? We’re your sisters, and we love you. But yes, there will be kids you can get to know and play with. There’s even a school.”
That perked Clara right up despite the nerves. “A school?”
I laughed. “Yes, a school, where you can check books out of a library and learn math and even other languages. And they will keep teaching you how to control your gift.”
“What about Lyris?”
“She’ll still help you, but the teachers at the school have a lot more experience with little girls like you.”
“Because there are lots of little girls like me there?”
“Yes.” I stuck my nose into the crook of Clara’s neck and made funny noises until the little-girl giggle that we all loved made an appearance. “Lots of little girls like you.”
Lyris came in, a female I hadn’t met before trailing behind her. Clara jumped from my lap to run up to Lyris. “Lyris, I’m going to school!”
“You are?” Lyris fawned over her while I eyed the female with her. When the woman’s navy-blue eyes met mine, I gave her a welcoming smile.
Clara ran off to share her exciting news with anyone who would listen. Lyris watched her, chuckling. “I’m glad we all share parenting duties. Sometimes that one has more energy than I can fathom.”
“Me too.”
Lyris turned to her companion. “Risk, this is Imogen, Demetri’s mate.”
So this was Risk. I could see why she’d captured Sun’s attention. Not only was she beautiful, but there was something in her eyes that told you she was more than just a pretty face. I wondered what she looked like without the glamour—Demetri had said she’d refused to drop it since she got here. I held out a hand. “So nice to meet you, Risk.”
Risk shook my hand, though somewhat reluctantly. I didn’t take offense. She’d been through a lot, something I could definitely relate to.
“I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.”
Demetri walked up in time to hear the words. “You’re definitely not supposed to be, at least according to Sun.”
“Yeah, well now we’ve got a trump card,” Lyris said, practically rubbing her hands together in glee.
Demetri narrowed his eyes on his twin. “How so?”
She tugged a cell from her pocket and wiggled it in the air. “Got a call from Nala.”
“Isn’t Nala’s supposed to be here?” I asked, glancing around.
“She got called away,” Lyris explained. “Turns out that Risk’s best friend is the female we’ve been keeping an eye on, if you can imagine that. Nothing like a coincidence to get things rolling.” She smirked. “She was attacked tonight by a group of human wannabes while searching Nashville for Risk, whom she hadn’t heard from in days. For her own safety, and because she insists on seeing that Risk is actually safe, Nala has decided to bring her into the lair.”
