“Kitty requested a favor,” he says stiffly, not quite looking at me. “I … obliged.”
The tops of his ears are slightly pink. Lord Hereford is way out of his depth, and still utterly amazing. I brush my fingers against the inside of his wrist, out of sight of the neighboring boxes. Before I can withdraw my hand, he loops his fingers through mine, the gesture mostly hidden between our bodies.
Kitty watches the interaction, her brow slightly furrowed. “That’s okay, right, Mirth?”
“The safe in your bedroom? Of course.”
Kitty’s frown deepens, her hands coming up to grip the straps of her backpack. “Yes, but …”
I’ve missed something in the conversation. The boxes on either side of us are filling in, as are the crowded stands. I can feel attention shifting onto us from multiple directions. Kitty and Tommy are too exposed like this, next to the windows.
“Eli says we can live at Lake Thun in between semesters,” Kitty whispers so quietly that I strain to catch the words. “If we need to. Like … if Mom doesn’t come back?”
Tommy doesn’t correct her again about using Eli’s title in public. His attention is riveted to me now, watchful and a little wary.
“That’s an entire castle, right?” Kitty mumbles. “That’s yours, right?”
I sit down, grateful that I don’t misjudge where the bench seat is behind me. I reach my hand toward Kitty. When she takes it, I pull her to sit beside me. Then I pat the seat on my other side for Tommy. He sits, but he doesn’t snuggle into me as Kitty does.
I look up at Elias questioningly.
The conversation in the box fades as Bolan, Sully, and Christoph shift to occupy the seats directly behind us. Kitty watches them with wide eyes, then returns her attention to me.
Elias crouches down in front of me.
We’ve surrounded Tommy and Kitty in whatever comfort the nascent bond between all of us can provide.
“Eli tells me that the authorities are still trying to figure out everything that happened last night, including where your mother might be,” I say, easing into the topic.
Tommy snorts derisively, but I can feel uncertainty and guilt pouring off him.
“She could come back,” Kitty insists quietly to her brother. “Maybe … maybe she didn’t mean to tell those people about me …? Maybe they forced her!”
Elias, still crouched before us, clears his throat to pull the kids’ attention to him. “Because Mirth already secured places forboth of you at the Phrontistery, I thought it best to discuss all of your options. Of which living at Lake Thun Castle with all of us is one.”
“You did?” Tommy asks me. “Like, even before …?”
“Yes,” I say, feeling a little shaky. But in anticipation, not fear. “I was going to speak to your mother about allowing you to attend.”
“She’ll say yes,” Kitty declares.
Tommy’s grimace isn’t as enthusiastic.
“Plus!” Kitty practically grinds her sharp little shoulder into mine in her renewed excitement. “We helped Eli file those guardianship papers on the way here. We gave, um, statements to the judge person about how we’re part of, um, we’re both part of your bond group. Right? The judge person. In that white wig. Right, Tommy?”
“Right,” he huffs. “Eli already explained it all. But the judge asked us questions, then she explained how a guardianship works for children under eighteen in a bond group, who, like, aren’t blood related. It’s not an adoption or anything.” He says that last bit pointedly, to his sister.
“I listened,” she says. “It’s like … making sure we’re taken care of … that we have everything we need.”
My eyes fly to Elias for clarification.
“That’s why we were a little late getting here. An appointment opened up.”
I doubt that any lack of openings would ever hinder Elias from doing exactly what he wanted when he wanted it.
“Don’t worry,” Sully drawls from behind us. “Christoph kept the princess well distracted.”
Kitty interjects. “Because I’m awry like you’re awry, right, Mirth? That judge person said there was some co-dis-cell in the charter about that. Like, already a law.”
