Page 69 of Cherish

“Don’t believe him,” Jaxon tells me. “He’s obviously under the influence of something.”

“Who knew Hudson would have to travel to the Shadow Realm before he found someone who could put up with him for that long?” Flint snickers.

“Excuse me, but what am I?” I demand.

“You don’t count,” he tells me. “You got bamboozled into being mated with him. I’m talking about everyone else in the world.”

Hudson flips him off subtly so Tiola won’t notice, taking great care not to disturb Smokey as he does. Then looks at Tiola and says, “Thank you for taking such good care of her for me.”

Tiola grins, swinging her arms from side to side. “That’s what friends do. They help each other out when they need it.”

“You’re right,” I tell her, glaring at Flint over her head. “That’s exactly what friends do.”

He makes a talk-talk-talk gesture back at me, but I notice he’s the first one to offer a hand to help Hudson up. The fact that Hudson actually takes it tells me more about how their friendship is evolving—and advancing—than anything the two of them say when they snipe at each other.

“Where do you put her when she’s asleep?” Hudson asks Tiola as we climb the steps to the farmhouse.

“Usually my backpack. But she’s got a cradle in my room. I tied a bunch of sparkly ribbons on it for her, since you wrote to me about how she likes them.”

“That’s—” Hudson pauses, clears his throat. “That’s really great thinking, Tiola.”

“I know,” she says. “Mom says I’m super smart.”

“Mom says a lot of things,” an amused voice agrees as the door swings open. “Looks like you’ve brought us a whole party this time, Tiola.”

“I did, Mama. And guess what! I brought you Hudson!”

“Hudson?” Amusement changes to shock as Maroly steps through the door. “Oh, Hudson!” She throws her arms around him and gives him a giant hug. “We’ve been so worried about you!”

Smokey screeches a bit at being disturbed, but she settles back down again once Maroly pulls away.

“I see you’ve found our favorite little umbra,” she says with a fond glance at Smokey.

“I have indeed. Tiola told me she’s been keeping her safe for me.” His grin is bigger than I’ve ever seen it.

“She has,” Maroly confirms. “She kept telling us you’d come back, but we didn’t know whether to believe her or not.”

“You need to trust me more, Mama,” Tiola says, all sweetness with just a little steel underneath. “I’m a penumbra. I know about lost things.”

“That’s true,” Maroly says as she holds the door open and ushers us inside. “But Hudson isn’t lost anymore.”

Tiola appears to think about that as she turns around to stare at Hudson with eyes that seem a million years older than her actual years. Then, out of nowhere, she says, “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Yes, well, that’s not for you to decide,” Maroly tells her as she scooches her toward the door. “Now, go wash up for dinner.”

Maroly turns to the rest of us. “You’ll stay, of course. You must be starving, and we have plenty. Plus, you have to catch us up on everything that’s been going on in your life, Hudson.”

Again, it hurts a little that she’s speaking only to him. That she’s forgotten me completely. I know I’m being ridiculous, though, so I force myself to shrug it off and introduce myself to Maroly as we follow her deeper into the house.

This round of introductions takes a little longer than it did with Tiola, largely because Maroly has more questions about each of us than her daughter did. Still, we’re just about through with the intros by the time she leads us into the family room to sit down.

Flint’s the last one to go, and he’s in the middle of telling her that he’s a dragon when he breaks off mid-word. I turn around, trying to find what’s caught his attention. But before I can figure it out, he makes a choked sound and asks, “I’m sorry, but is that ashrineto Hudson Vega?”

40

Hudson’s Time

to Shrine

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