Rooke huffs under her breath and shoots Cerson a look. "That seems to be the case for many of us. Let's all just do our best to enjoy our dinner without resorting to bloodshed."
The doors open and prove that may be an impossible task as Aura steps through, flanked by her husband and a seething Reed. I shoot Airlie a look but her teeth are clenched tightly together she stares at her parents, bickering as they make their way in to the dining room with little regard for anyone's reactions or protests. Recovering quickly, she leads everyoneinto the dining room and by the informality of the seating, I’m confident she’s on my side when it comes to the goblin princes.
When Reed moves as though he’s going to take up watch, still scowling at Aura's back, Airlie waves a hand at him. "I'll be insulted if you don't eat with us, Snowheart."
He glances to me but when I nod he slips into the seat next to Cerson easily, giving her a polite smile before dipping his head at Roan respectfully. The maids bring out dishes laden with food, enough to see those at the table fed and not a single crumb more, and my cousin murmurs her praises to the females, her tone warm. Aura does the same, her own tone far less affectionate, but her husband sneers at the dishes as though he hasn't been sitting in a dungeon cell for days with barely any rations.
Airlie steers the focus away from him with ease, turning to Gideon with a smile. “I had no idea that King Galen had sons before Rooke came to Yregar; there isn't ever any news from your lands but I know we’re to blame for that. Soren’s been learning the goblin tongue but I fear lack of sleep is preventing me from doing the same for now.”
Gideon gives her a polite smile back. “We have three sisters as well.”
"And do they look like him or were the other’s cursed with the same fortune as you?"
The table stills in shock at Rydern and I turn to Aura's husband with a fury that ripples out of me just as dangerously as my magic when it follows suit. He startles as it washes over him, clawing at his skin in a threat as I struggle to stop it from tearing his throat out.
When I finally yank it back into my chest, I snap at him, "Leave,now."
He all but flees from the table, scrambling up from his seat without looking at Aura or Airlie. Rooke picks up her goblet and takes a mouthful of the goblin wine, as though she's trying toforget the male spoke in the first place, but Gideon shrugs at her. "I'm both aware of the high fae's opinions of my family and not the least bit offended. All my father's children are proud of their bloodlines, as they should be. Fates help that male if he survives long enough to meet the rest of the Briarfrost heirs."
Gage picks up his own goblet, murmuring under his breath, "It'll take more than the Fates to save him from Khylla."
Airlie's mouth has firmed into a furious line but her tone comes out carefully even. "My father was also vehemently opposed to my Fates-blessed union and ismost distressedthat my son has inherited his father's eyes."
"He's a miserable, self-obsessed cunt, and he should stay in the guest wing with the rest of them until he learns some fucking manners," Tauron snaps, and though Aura startles at the vehemence, she doesn't argue with him, and the table falls silent as we eat.
When Gideon finally chuckles under his breath, I raise an eyebrow at him. “The Fates are certainly fickle in their weaving. I spent years in Aysgarth being tormented by my cousins for looking this way, furious at being so different to my siblings, only for the high fae here to applaud it. Ashes above, my torment only stopped when Khylla caught wind of it.”
Gage cackles gleefully, ignoring the careful looks Reed and Roan both send him. “When half a dozen children showed up atMahman’sdoor clutching broken bones and bleeding wounds, she… took care of it.”
Gideon sends him a conspiratorial look, his grin roguish. “An important lesson for all involved; it’s unwise to piss off the healer tending your wounds, and never tellMahmanwhen there’s trouble because she’s infinitely more terrifying thanVahro.”
Rooke smothers a grin in her napkin, nodding along I send her a questioning look. “Our family was the opposite. My motherwas peaceful but while my father chose that path, it didn’t come naturally to him. He used to tell Pem it was ‘the joy of the forest life’, though he often said it through gritted teeth.”
Gideon smirks. “It’s good to know that this face can be used against the arrogant within the Unseelie Court.”
“It’s your eyes,” Airlie murmurs, sipping at her drink and sharing a look with Tauron. “The Court have always been obsessed with the true Celestial blue. Soren and I have them, a handful of others. To see a male they reject and despise with them… it makes it impossible to forget you’re descended from the First Fae just as they are, just as all of high fae blood are.”
Cerson grins and shares a look with Rooke. “The Unseelie Court does seem to be clinging to their prejudices rather tightly. It was difficult convincing some of them to come with a ‘filthy witch’. I was hoping it was merely shock and not a guiding belief, but if they’re not planning on accepting the new order of things here, their days are numbered.”
Cerson looks around the table carefully, smiling warmly in the way a predator coaxes its prey before making the killing blow. “Of your future queen’s family, please know that I’m the reasonable one. The others spent far too long in the trenches of war, dealing with endless high fae arrogance and idiocy. It’s left them all a little… unhinged. If you value your life, don’t ever disrespect my Æfanya. Hanede Loche has more pardons from the Sol King for treason under his belt than most of you have noble deeds, and every one of them was for killing some prince who thought he could question a Favored Child.”
Hanede.
Rooke’s head drops as she looks to her hands, a fine tremble there at the mention of the little boy the Brindlewyrd mourns… only that was centuries ago and he’s no longer a witchling but a male. One who has my Fates-blessed mate on the verge ofweeping over at the mere sound of his name. Tension ripples across the table but I ignore it, my attention solely on Rooke.
“He’s the one you left behind? That’s why the forest welcomed you… because?—“
She cuts me off quickly, her tone filled with an ache that ripples through our mind connection despite the wall between us and seizes my lungs. “The injury I bore from the Fates War should’ve killed me. If anyone else found me in that state, it no doubt would have, but he alone had the ability and the determination to save me.”
Gage’s eyes flick down to her waist as though he knows of it too. How that’s possible, I don’t know, and all the options are intolerable to me. A snarl tears out of my chest at him but surprisingly, he bows his head and looks sharply away from her.
Rooke doesn’t seem shocked at the respectful gesture, she’s clearing her throat again like she’s trying not to cry but with her own head turned away I can’t know for sure. “There are very few witches with enough magic to be able to see me through such wounds and even less fae with blood I’m able to receive. The Brindlewyrd Forest recognized Hanede's blood in my veins and welcomed me home, assuming I was of the Loche bloodline. My family helped him to the Northern Lands safely. He’s never forgotten that selfless act and when my brother and I arrived at the Sol City he was the first to greet us. He never let a single person speak poorly of me."
Cerson nods, shooting me a hard look. "There were those amongst the Sol Army who knew of the power of Favored Children and Hanede spent quite a lot of time ensuring none got their hands or influence on my Æfanya. He owed the Ravenswyrd witches a life debt and he intends on killing anyone who so much as side-eyes her."
Gideon’s eyes peel back, the whites bright around his irises, and he leans into his brother to mutter under his breath, “I’drather walk dick first into the jaws of a starving Ureen than anger Rookesbane Eveningstar so we’re safe if that witch is on his way here as well, but I don’t know about the rest of them.”
Eyes narrowing at them both, Reed is the one to ask, “Why do you say Rooke’s name like that?”
