Page 48 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
His eyes flared in surprise. “I think it would be best if you kept it. The orb was made with my sister’s magic, and the last time I held it, her magic called to me. I worry I won’t be strong enough to ignore the pull.”
“You didn’t answer at your weakest,” Teddy said, referring to his weakened state during the mage battle. “You’re stronger than you think.”
Alastor gave her a soft smile. “Do you know what startled the young Kieren when you were speaking to Brenton?”
Teddy ran a hand over her arms. “His father is among the missing fae. It caught him off guard when I told Brent about Sebastian taking y’all to the compounds.”
There it was, that festering wound I kept picking at. Kieren was one more person I’d let down. I wasn’t sure how he could stand to look at me, knowing his father was missing because of me. But I’d get him back. I’d get Etienne and every single fae back, even if it meant I had to leave the human realm in ruins.
But for the next few days, I’d hide in the refuge of our news and pretend everything was normal.
Chapter
Nine
TEDDY
While I would’ve preferredto celebrate at home, we decided to ask everyone to meet us at the castle in the hopes Elias’s mom would join us. It was a good thing too, since Elias had meant “feast” in the literal sense. Where I had imagined a regular dinner with our friends and family, Chef Xander and the castle employees had prepared a banquet hall with enough food and drinks to feed a small town.
It made me think of the people in the human realm. Back in Colina, Elias had worked tirelessly to provide us with food while the castle boasted more than we could eat.
Brenton rushed to the dining table, taking a seat in the middle. When Elias sat next to him rather than at the head of the table, I joined him. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when the girls insisted on sitting next to George, making Everly sit a couple of spots away from him. It also separated whatever bromance George and Donnie had going on that evening. Donnie took his seat beside his best friend and future brother-in-law.
While Koa and Bon lurked by the room’s entrance, Juanitaconvinced their kids to join them at the table. Although shy, the seven lirio younglings seemed eager to be included. At Alastor’s urging, the mated couple finally entered the room. How strange it must be for them to be in the castle of the royals they’d once been compelled to fight. I only hoped that any fae they’d encountered on their walk here hadn’t treated them poorly. Despite the deeds they’d been forced into, Koa and Bon were good. Over and over again, they and the other lirio had shown me warmth, welcoming me into Tera Insaldame as if I belonged.
While I didn’t consider Hayden, Ximena, or Finley close friends, I was glad Elias thought to include them as well. Though Finley sat on the farthest side of the table, away from Brenton.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about her for hurting my brother so many years ago, but from everything I’d witnessed, Brenton went out of his way to make her feel comfortable. He’d tried to seek her out multiple times while she was obvious in the way she avoided him. Eventually, with his shoulders slumped forward, he’d given up even looking in her direction.
As everyone took their seats, the castle employees busied themselves setting champagne flutes in front of us.
My heart seized in my chest at the way Victoria grabbed her glass. “I think the girls should probably get regular cups.” I delicately held the fragile stem of my glass. “These look entirely too expensive for the girls to play with. Ryenne too.”
I grinned at my friend, who nodded in agreement.
Elias wrapped his arm across my shoulders. “If the flutes break, they break. The girls should be part of our celebration. Ryenne should get a kid’s cup, though,” he teased.
Ryenne lifted her middle finger.
“And what exactly are we celebrating?” Brenton asked, arching a brow in curiosity.
Two ladies dressed in light blue dresses went around the table, pouring champagne into each glass.
“Are the older kids getting champagne too?” I asked, ignoring Brenton’s question.
Elias ran his fingers over my bare arm. “I think it’s best if those under the legal drinking age abstained. We have juice or cider for the younglings.”
“If we were in the human realm, I’d be of legal drinking age.” Aidas leaned forward to prop his elbows on the table.
“If we were in the human realm, you’d be dead or in a nursing home,” Javier said.
“Hush now, child,” Grandma Richter scolded, waggling a finger at Javier. “I’m well over seventy, and if my grandchildren even thought of putting me in a nursing home, I’d make sure to haunt them after I died.”
“They’re a lot older than seventy,” Javier told her, earning a playful shove from Aidas.
“What’s a nursing home?” Seated on Javier’s other side, Delaney tilted her head in confusion.
With both their hands beneath the table, I wondered if they were holding hands.
