Page 165 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“It’s about time you younglings got here,” Pen called out, and a moment later she appeared, a tray of fresh fruit in her hands.

Axel swiped up a piece of melon, dropping a kiss to Pen’s cheek before he popped the fruit into his mouth. “No cookies?”

She tried to give him a stern look of disapproval, but it morphed into a smile a moment later. “In the kitchen,” she answered, waving him off.

“You spoil me, Pen,” Axel said, dropping another kiss to her cheek before taking off to the kitchen.

Tessa was staring after him, clearly uncertain as to what had just transpired. Luka stepped forward then, plucking the tray from Pen’s hands and carrying it farther into the house. She clucked after him, but let him take it. Then she turned back to Theon and Tessa, her hands going to her hips.

“Any troubles, Pen?” Theon asked, his hand landing on Tessa’s lower back to usher her forward.

“No, dear,” she answered, looking him up and down. “You need to sleep more.”

He sighed. “I know, Pen.”

“Have you slept at all since I left?”

“Of course.” Her eyes narrowed, and he sighed. “Not as much as I should.”

She hummed in disapproval. “Dinner will be ready in an hour. Then you can all turn in early before your busy week.”

“Yes, Pen,” he said with a smirk, bending to press a soft kiss to her cheek when he passed her.

“Do not try to placate me, Theon St. Orcas.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Mhmm,” she hummed, turning and making her way to the kitchen. “I swear to Anahita, Axel, if you’ve eaten that entire platter of cookies, I am not making more our entire stay here.”

Theon turned to Tessa. “Ready for a tour?”

She blinked up at him before slowly answering, “Sure.”

He only made it through the formal sitting room and lounge before Tessa was blurting, “What was that?”

He paused at the entry of the lounge. “What was what?”

Gesturing back the way they had come, she said, “That. With Penelope.”

“You know Pen is assigned to serve me and Axel.”

“Yes, but…”

He slid his hands into pockets. “Pen once had a lover. Her name was Caris. She was what one would consider our nanny, I suppose. She was more of a mother to us than Cressida ever was. When Pen wasn’t in the kitchens, she was with us and Caris. We could…be a handful.”

“What happened to Caris?”

“She died.”

“That is why Pen was assigned to you?”

Theon nodded.

“Your father allowed a Fae to have so much sway over your upbringing?” she asked curiously, shifting her weight and wincing.

“He trusted Fae under his control more than he trusted another Legacy who might try to use us against him. Take those off,” he said, nodding at her shoes.

She quickly slipped the heels from her feet, sighing in relief. “Thank you,” she said softly.

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