Page 100 of The Outcast
“You don’t need to carry me,” she protested with laughter.
“How are you feeling?” he asked and helped her out of her jacket.
“I feel fine. The burn wounds have healed faster than expected. Maybe because of Linea’s and Athena’s healing sessions.”
“Do you want something to drink or eat?” Archer asked and found cookies that he placed in front of his daughter.
I’d never had a family myself, but I looked on in awe at how her parents and brothers all showered her with love and devotion.
Sparrow smiled at them all and gestured for me to join them at the living room table where she had taken a seat.
“Is everything fine at the school?” Sparrow asked.
“Simas broke a window in the gym, but otherwise everything is normal,” Archer said.
“They have all asked about you daily,” Kya said. “It was impossible to hide how worried we were and I’m afraid some of them overheard Christina and me talk about you being kidnapped.”
“You mean they eavesdropped,” Ryder clarified.
Last summer when I had stayed at the school for a few days, I’d gotten to know Sparrow’s family and each member was wonderful. Ryder was two and a half years older than Sparrow and loved to prank Aspen, who was the youngest of the three siblings. Where Sparrow was a beautiful mix of their parents, Ryder was his father’s spitting image while Aspen had Kya’s curls, wide nose, large lips, and toned skin.
“I’m still reeling from what happened,” Kya said and accepted the cup of tea that the house-bot brought her. “It will haunt me for years.”
“It will haunt all of us,” Aspen said and rubbed Kya’s back.
Archer set down a cup of hot cocoa in front of Sparrow and squeezed her shoulder. “We’re just so grateful that you were saved in time.”
Kya’s eyes teared up. “It’s so surreal to think that you died, my love. You had stopped breathing in that lake and if…” She sniffled and glanced at me with a grateful look. “Thank Mother Nature that Banni got to you in time or we wouldn’t be sitting here with you.”
Sparrow leaned forward and hugged her mother. “Don’t cry. I’m all right. You’ll have to believe me.”
Archer sat down next to Kya and handed her a tissue. When she dried her eyes, he pulled her sideways to him and kissed the top of her head. “It’s been a rough week for all of us.”
Eager to make things better, I said, “Then it’s a good thing that we’re here to share great news.”
“Oh?” Dabbing at her nose, Kya looked from Sparrow to me and back again.
My heart was speeding when Sparrow said, “Yesterday, Thor, Freya, Indy, Aubri, and Banni went back to France to negotiate a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” Archer asked.
“A deal that makes it possible for Banni to stay here forever if he wants.”
Ryder and Aspen, who sat on either side of me, patted my shoulders. “That’s great. Congratulations on joining us free men.”
“The reason Banni wants to stay,” Sparrow continued with her eyes sparkling with joy, “is that he and I fell in love.”
The room turned silent except for the home-bot buzzing around in the kitchen.
“Come again?” Archer said with a frown.
“Banni and I love each other and we’re getting married.”
Kya was the first to light up in a huge smile. “Oh, honey, I can tell how happy you are. Congratulations.”
“When did this happen?” Aspen asked and drummed his fingers on the table while giving me a direct stare. “Did you seduce my sister?”
Sparrow pushed at his shoulder. “Banni has been more of a gentleman with me than Dad was with Mom.”
