Page 154 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
I wondered what would happen first, Phoebe giving birth or the bitkal? Would that affect Lorcan’s decision to compete? I supposed he had the winter to figure it out.
“Speaking of which, where are they?” the Faegud shifter asked, lifting a brow.
Aidan gestured at us to begin walking through the keep’s main thoroughfare. “In the castle, watching our children with Bailey’s mother supervising.”
“Nothing is like I expected when you first came six years ago to negotiate a treaty with my toriq,” Lorcan said, shaking his head.
I kept my gaze on the cobblestones, noting someone had cleaned them before the celebration. So many things ran smoother since Aidan took charge. I hated to admit I didn’t know half the things he did around here, but with the war over, I planned to help where I could. The past month or so taught meit never hurt to forge tighter bonds. I wanted to continue building the clan’s trust and getting to know them better. This would be my home for as long as I lived.
We reached the castle, where we found Ruari, Freya, and Zoran chatting and drinking ale. The males appeared happy and content like two brothers should be, and it warmed my heart. Freya's expression was perturbed.
“What are you all discussing?” I asked, stopping at the top of the steps.
Aidan and Lorcan paused as well.
“They’re debating whether Zoran could best me in a duel.” She rolled her eyes. “As if that is even a question.”
I grinned. “My money is definitely on you.”
“This is why you’re my favorite sister-in-law,” she said, beaming at me. It wasn’t often Freya smiled without it preceding a deadly strike.
“Uh, thanks.”
Zoran put his hands up. “I have no desire to fight my brother’s mate and did not suggest such a thing.”
“But he refuses to acknowledge she is better than him,” Ruari said, annoyed.
I decided to settle this once and for all: “Aidan would beat all of us and Freya and I would tie for second. You two can battle over the rest of the pecking order on your own time. Tonight, we celebrate defeating our enemy against all odds by uniting—not arguing.”
“Well said, mate.” Aidan put a hand on my lower back. “Perhaps we should go inside to seek food and ensure the children aren’t setting the castle on fire.”
“I thought the whole place was flameproof.”
A look of amusement danced in his eyes. “With shifter children, anything is possible.”
Inside the great hall, we found the children were throwing food at each other, so there was some mischief happening. Phoebe had a piece of potato stuck in her black and silver hair. Ozara had some kind of sauce running down the front of her red camrium tunic. Orion and Leilany appeared to have rolled in their food with it covering them. Both would need baths after this.
“What happened?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips and pretending outrage.
Aidan’s sister shrugged. “They’re celebrating. Who are we to stop them?”
I should have been upset, but she wasn’t wrong. Though the children might not have been in the battle, they’d still experienced high levels of stress and worry. I’d been told Orion had nightmares every single night that made it difficult to sleep, and during those final evenings when the fighting was directly outside the fortress, Paul and my mother told me he’d hardly slept at all. After we returned each day after dawn, he’d crawled into our bed and put one hand on each of us. I couldn’t begrudge him a little fun after all that.
“How about you feed Mommy some food?” I suggested to Orion.
My son grinned. “Okay.”
Anything to distract him from tossing more food.
I sat, and he’d just begun feeding me pre-cut pieces of steak when my mother came from the kitchen with a couple of plates. Interestingly, she had food on her clothing as well.
“Oh, good.” She smiled. “You’re here. I went to get the children more food, hoping they might eat some this time.”
There were plenty of servants, but Mom insisted on serving herself and the children when she ate in the great hall. I suspected she enjoyed going to the kitchen to chat with the staff.Kayla especially got a lot of her attention since she had no parents looking out for her.
My mother treated her like a second daughter, which I appreciated. The twenty-one-year-old woman had suffered some lonely years under Nanoq’s reign when none of us were around to socialize with her, and the tension in the keep made everyone paranoid. She’d still been jumpy when I first returned from North Carolina, but she’d gotten better and happier.
Zoran sat on the other side of Orion, allowing my son to feed him bites as well while Aidan moved around the room, speaking to other shifters. He was doing all he could to learn any post-war concernsso that he could address them quickly. I couldn’t figure out how he thought he wouldn’t be a great pendragon when he was completely natural at it. The best leaders were the ones who didn’t seek power, rather it found them instead when they were needed most.
