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Sierra
The rest of the day, I spent with Mother and Hannah, mostly going through various warm clothing they could find for me last minute. Blankets, towels, medicines were procured and packed. I hadn’t seen my men since this morning, each off and about, readying for our trip in the morning. By the time dinner came around, I was starving and anxious about leaving my parents, leaving Providence and the safety of its confines. But above all, I was more than happy to spend time with Mother. Now that she knew the truth about what I was and who I’d married, our future correspondence would be more meaningful, and I made it goal that we’d visit next year, but in summertime. By then, I figured, Lucius and I would be ready to leave Odessia and head back to Ordelpho.
At least, I hoped that was the case.
When we all sat down to dinner it was at a full table. The Ongahri leaders, along with Phobius, Pateus, and Demos, had been invited. I sat next to Lucius on Father’s right, Mother and Fadon across from me. Beside me was Demos, across from him Chantis, the leader of the Halifax. An older alpha and a close friend to Lucius—more like a father to him— I had enjoyed his company these past weeks. Quiet and wise, he seemed very pleased that his “adopted son,” as he’d called Lucius, had found a wife.
Around me conversation branched off in many directions, but the undercurrent was layered with anticipation. Father had been more than hospitable to such a surprise visit from the Ongahri, showing nothing like the anxiety he had felt when the Trajan envoy had come during the Autumn Festival, our first time in seeing the mythical people. Whether it was familiarity or the news of his own political brothers in Titus being duplicitous, I didn’t know. But he was relaxed, offering his many years of experience and all the aid he could to help our cause.
I couldn’t have been more proud of having him be my father. Interestingly enough, each of my mates had all lost theirs in one form or another; Lucius and Fadon sharing the same blood but, apparently, from different men: King Gregoras the adored father, and Gregoras Trajan, the reprobate.
And of course, I knew nothing about Demos’ parents. He had once told me that he had been raised by his aunt. He had never mentioned Phobius, and I assumed they must have led separate lives when they were small. I planned on getting to know him better as soon as I could. It seemed like there was never an opportunity for a private moment.
As if he’d heard his name, Phobius eyed me, smiling slightly in a polite manner. Such a curious man. I half despised him and half not. Mercurial by nature but also not at all. He was another one I planned on getting to know better. If anything had taught me about people’s characters this past year, it was that bias and assumption rarely told the whole story. Just looking at the way I had initially read Lucius and Neil proved that.
Beside Phobius, sat Ander. He was another I had misjudged. It was funny how much these men, Neil included, had come to mean to me. They were my family in every way but blood. And once again, I prayed that the gods and the Mother would keep them safe.
“…not deer, but very similar, Alyssa,” Father was saying to Mother. “I had the opportunity to visit Elusian Fields once… Gods, I think before Sierra was born? And there I saw moose. Huge animals. These cervos sort of remind me of moose.”
“And are they really rideable?” Mother asked, cutting into her flank of roasted meat.
“Oh indeed, Lady Linden,” Fadon answered. “A villager just happened to know of someone who had a ranch. Lucius saw the brilliance in purchasing them for our journey. Never would have even considered it, myself.”
I almost choked on my wine, hearing Fadon throw Lucius such an obvious compliment. There really was hope after all in this arrangement we had.
Lucius bowed his head in appreciation. “Our poor mounts have endured enough to last them a lifetime. No horse should ride out in that.” He nodded his head toward the window, where the cold wind beat against the panes.
“One less thing to worry about, I guess,” Mother replied, smiling sadly at me. We had both cried out our goodbyes in advance already, but our eyes leaked every now and then when we looked at each other.
Under the table, I felt Lucius’ hand touch my knee. He had felt it through the bond, my sadness, my not wanting to say goodbye. Fadon caught my eye, and he too must have picked up on it. He winked at me, making me blush.
Gods, how was I going to survive having three handsome men to touch and kiss and more… every day, every night?
Demos cleared his throat, and I glanced up at him with pursed lips, trying to hide my smile. My scent must have changed, letting on what my mind was picturing as the others kept talking.
Right.
Before the dessert was served, Father stood and made a toast. “To new allies and friends, to new members of the family, and to, what I hope, will be a new age, where we remember what really matters to us. May we promise to always fight for what is right and what is good.”
“Hear, hear!” everyone toasted.
The words flowed around the room and echoed in each heart. It was a new age, Father was right. What I was witnessing was unprecedented. Ongahri from all directions, all over Titus, were joining in a toast with a Constant and Servant of the Owl, and all with the intention of saving its people, whether they knew the details of what was coming or not. It was in the air, this monumental shaking of ground.
I looked at each face, memorizing this moment. A moment of truce and hope for a better world. I hoped it wasn’t going to be a one-time thing, the Ongahri coming out of hiding only to retreat from the world once more.
An image of Mari Trajan came to me, and I wondered how she was faring. She was the one element missing here at this table. I missed her charm, her ability to bring beauty and intrigue to a room with just a lift of her red lips and a dark eyebrow. And I simply missed her, my once-upon-a-time sister.
We finished our meal, and the bulk of the party parted to their respective rooms and guest houses, others finishing up with last minute preparations. Father and Mother invited Lucius and I to the drawing room, seeing that Fadon and Ander were busy in the library studying maps, while Demos sat with Cook in the kitchens gathering ingredients for tinctures and tonics.
The four of us sat in the cozy drawing room, where the fire burned. I was content, warm, and full from a real meal, one I would miss once we were on the road again.
“Are you happy, Sierra?” Father asked, looking at Mother with his hand hovering over his pocket, where he kept his beloved pipe. When she nodded at him, his sheepish smile warmed my heart. Mother was indulging him. He lit his pipe and the sweet smoke of many a night scented the air with nostalgia.
“I am, Father.” I grabbed Lucius’ hand and held it. We were sitting side by side on the divan. Father in his chair, mother on her own divan, tapestry hoop on her lap. “I know it wasn’t what we had planned.”
“Nor what I had agreed to.” He raised a rueful brow, but his smile told me he wasn’t chastising me.
“True. But it worked out for the best and beyond. Lysander and I are just friends, and really, it wasn’t meant to be, a marriage between us.”
