Page 8 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
“Of course we know that.” Teddy smiled at her. “Although if I’m being honest, whatever that was”—she waved a hand toward Finley—“I’d love to learn it. For once, I’d love to be the one making these fools shake in their boots.”
“That’s not fair,” Brenton joked, his rigid body betraying the easy demeanor he tried to assert. “You haven’t been scared of us in months.”
We all returned to our seats, the tension bleeding from the room as Teddy scooted back on my armrest. Brenton stood,his body swaying toward Finley as if he were ready to pick her up and carry her away.
“That’s because I’m still convinced this is all some fever dream.” Teddy winked.
Finley laughed, an honest, startled sound, and the rigid line of Brenton’s shoulders eased.
“You’re going on day-what of your fever dream?” Finley asked, a tease I’d never heard from her before. “You should probably see a healer for that.”
Teddy grinned, and across the table Brenton mouthed,thank you.
“All right, since this isn’t a tavern night and none of us are drunk enough to pretend this isn’t happening” —I gave Teddy’s side a quick squeeze—“let’s talk it out. Any ideas, even the foolish ones. We need a plan before morning.”
And hopefully a few hours of rest before we left.
“Do you want to see if Donnie can come?” Teddy asked. “I know he’s on your not-going-to-the-human-realm list, but he might have some helpful suggestions.”
I considered it. Donnie had been instrumental in getting humans acclimated to our realm. He’d maintained peace among his people, who continued to fear us despite the many ways my fae had tried to welcome them.
While I wouldn’t have him or any of our human friends risk going back into the human realm, I’d do well to listen to his advice. He was levelheaded and intelligent. After we started the human patrol force in Niev, he’d shown the fae as much respect and kindness as he did his human counterparts. He knew how to defuse situations I was certain would’ve turned into a brawl had Donnie not been there.
I turned to Hayden. “Could you get Donnie for us? See if Ryenne and Nate want to come as well.”
Hayden bowed before he bent space and left.
Teddy kissed my cheek. “I’ll get the kids to bed and let your mom know we’re staying in the castle for the night while we wait for Hayden to return.”
When she stood, I caught her hand. “Wait. I want to say good night too.”
Especially since I wasn’t sure how long it’d be until I saw them again.
I looked to the others. “I’ll be back. We’ll pick this up once we return.”
As I walked out of the meeting room, the tension in my chest began to release.
Just before we reached the kids’ door, I tugged Teddy’s hand and pulled her against my chest. Her immediate surrender rendered me breathless. I slid my nose down her jawline, only for her to press her lips to my chin. I nuzzled against the side of her throat, letting that rumble of pleasure vibrate through my chest when she ran her fingers through my hair.
I wanted to stay here, in the moment, where everything was right and whole. Too soon, she pulled back. I cupped her cheek, my fingers trailing down to her chin before I leaned in and kissed her.
“Do you ever stop kissing?” The sweet voice of ten-year-old Jasmine broke us apart.
From a distance, George snorted.
“I love Teddy,” I told Jasmine. It was the only truth I could give her.
She rolled her eyes, and we followed her into what had been converted into the girls’ playroom with a thousand toys. But it wasn’t all my fault. George and Brenton were just as bad, adding to the collection of wonderful things to play with.Victoria rushed to me, her arms encircling my neck when I swooped down to pick her up. Small, even for a seven-year-old, she fit perfectly in my arms.
“Time for bed,” Teddy told the girls.
Juanita groaned while Javier started picking up the toys scattered around the room.
“Thanks for staying with them,” I told him.
He waved me away as if it was nothing, but it was. He’d skipped a night out with his friends so the girls wouldn’t be left with the castle staff. He was a good brother, not only to Jasmine and Juanita but also to Victoria, even though they didn’t share blood.
“He wouldn’t let us make him a princess,” Victoria said with a pout.
