Page 85 of My Haven
“Remember how I said it was easier to just claim one another?” Darian asked.
“Pull out your big boy words and try,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Aleksandra and Amelia both began to laugh at Darian’s expression.
Darian looked amused. “All the warrior’s mates are fierce.” He pointed to a door off to one side. “Let us sit down and I’ll try to explain.”
As they walked, she looked up at Caiden. “Is this my date?”
He shook his head. “This is a quick visit, then I’ll take you on your date,” he promised.
Darian led them to a smaller room, decorated in whites and blues. It felt homey and smelled of fresh pine. The furniture was carved wood with large cushions. It looked chunky and solid, notspindly like most antiques. Under her hands, the fabric felt soft and comforting.
Once everyone was comfortable, Cord walked around and served tea.
“If we go in chronological order, Meryn and Amelia discovered they were cousins. They declared themselves to be big and baby-sister cousins, so when I mated Amelia, Meryn became my baby-sister cousin. Later, Meryn gave my adopted brother her family name, making him her older brother, thus she became my sister, again.”
“Wow,” she said, trying to follow the logic.
“Then…” Darian started.
“There’s more?” she asked, causing everyone to laugh.
Darian nodded. “We found out that Thane, Caiden’s brother is Meryn’sathair, or godsfather.”
Genevieve sat back. “Is she related to Kendrick?”
Amelia nodded slowly. “Sort of. She adopted Nigel and Neil Morninglory as her brothers of the heart. We found out later that they are Kendrick’s cousins.”
“No wonder he looked pissed when she got sick,” she said, and literally felt the temperature in the room drop.
“What has happened to Meryn?” Aleksandra demanded.
“I was trying to get that out of Caiden when we came here, mother,” Darian said.
“Mother? As in former queen?” Genevieve asked weakly.
Aleksandra just waved her hand. “The only title I am concerned with now, is ‘Grandmother’.” She turned to looked at Caiden. “Report,” she said, in an imperial tone.
Caiden inclined his head. “At her insistence, Meryn wanted to meet the Witches’ Council.”
Brennus stood and began to pace. “She would.”
Caiden continued. “The meeting went smoothly for the most part. The council members were on their best behavior and even asked for advice on how to smooth things over with Darian.”
“What did she say?” Darian asked.
“She said that if they were worried about a breakdown in communications, perhaps they should fix their ‘crystal thingie’.”
Brennus barked his laughter.
Caiden smiled. “What we didn’t know was that during the entire meeting she was suppressing her empathy. Once we left the castle, we took her to a safe location where she got ill. We called for Kendrick because the images she was seeing, kept spinning in her mind. It took Kendrick, Nigel and Neil to set her to rights.”
“What did she see?” Darian asked.
“The council members on a stage, with rotating masks,” Caiden said.
Aleksandra laid a hand on Genevieve’s leg. “Is she well now?”
