“Maybe you should think about living a bit! Pretty certain there are cobwebs down there. Have you ever even seen a dick?” Finian challenged. He was usually quiet and kind, but he enjoyed teasing me more than most.
My face blazed.
“Yes, I’ve seen a penis.”
The boys laughed.
“First, no one calls it a penis. Second, facilitating intimacy doesn’t count,” Peytor said as he ticked points off on his fingers.
I rolled my eyes and waved them off as I turned back toward the window. We’d made our way through the downtown area of Katiska and would soon be met with the farmland that characterized the majority of Hestin’s territory.
“Any word about dinner tonight?” I asked absently after the boys were thoroughly through with discussing their poor conquest’s fake moans of pleasure.
“Apparently there’s a surprise? They got back from their trip to the Borderlands last night, so I would expect they’d want to discuss what they found there. Plus, your Awakening is approaching and I’msureMother will coach us on exactly what we have to say and how we’re expected to act,” Peytorsaid flippantly.
“They found something in the Borderlands?” I asked, suddenly interested in tonight’s dinner.
Finian shrugged. “That’s what my father said. But who knows. It’s apparently a mess right now with the constant fighting between Lord d’Refan and the Matriarch. It’s only gotten worse the farther south you travel. My father said they saw a few rebel cells, even.”
I shuddered involuntarily and was extremely glad my parents made it back home safely. We were allied with Lord d’Refan in his fight against the Keepers, which seemed like such an intangible thing. Though, the aggression from the rebels only grew recently, and the southern part of Hestin wasn’t far from the Borderlands. It made sense that my parents would travel there to try and gauge the security threats, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
The rest of the ride home I thought about my parents’ trip and the surprise they brought back.
Maybe it’s a prince for me. I smiled to myself at the thought.
Chapter 10
Ellowyn
“AKeeper?!” I whisper-shouted at my father. “You brought aKeeperhere? With Lord d’Refan coming for my Awakening later this week? Are you mad?!”
“Ellowyn! Do not speak to your father that way!” Mother hissed and lightly smacked my hands from the air.
I huffed in indignation, both at her action and my father’s actions.
Why would they bring a Keeper here?! They’re putting usallin danger.
“What happens when he finds out?” My voice shook and I hated that I gave away my nervousness.
“He won’t,” my father said confidently.
I sighed and sat back in my chair, crossing my arms against my chest. Tears formed in my eyes and I rapidly blinked them away. I was mad, not sad, and hated that I often cried for both emotions.
“Ellowyn, pull yourself together. This is not about you, stop making it about you,” Mother hissed from next to me, and my father sighed. Peytor and Finian stayed blessedly quiet throughout the entirety of dinner, even after the news Father decided to spring on us while eating our main course.
There were two little surprises from my father; a Keeper was in the house, and Lord d’Refan would be attending my Awakening Ceremony. He’davoided Peytor’s and Finian’s, but was returning for mine. His attendance, coupled with the smuggled Keeper, put me on edge.
“Ell,” Father said gently, “I know you’re nervous about your Awakening . . .”
“This has nothing to do with my Awakening and everything to do with the fact that you’ve put all of us in danger by having this Keeper here. Put him back where he belongs . . . out of this house,” I huffed, angrily wiping at the tears falling down my cheeks.
“He’s here for a few days, at most. He’ll move on when the time is right and it’s safe to do so, but we need him here, Ellowyn. You know they can see the future, and your mother and I have some questions for him. Fate led us to him, and we plan on using him while we can.” His tone was gentle but brokered no arguments.
I loved my family more than anything, but I didn’t always agree with their decisions.
Pushing back in my chair, I kept quiet as I studied his face. My father was older now, the stress of leadership and fatherhood painting deep lines on his forehead and by his eyes. His normally dark beard and hair were peppered with grey, and his eyes were shadowed by dark bags. The only thing that hadn’t changed as he aged were his eyes—they were still the clearest grey that sparkled when he was particularly happy or entertained. Now, though, they were dull and weary.
I didn’t look like either of my parents—both had brown wavy hair whereas my hair was light blonde and curly. The only thing we had in common was our height and grey-blue eyes. Peytor, of course, looked almost exactly like our mother—tall with deep chestnut-colored hair that waved if it grew too long. While his broad nose and square jaw were all Father, his rounded eyes and high, almost feminine, cheekbones bespoke of Mother. My eyes were the light grey of the d’Aelius line, but they weren’t quite rounded like Mother’s and not quite almond like Father’s. My face was sharp and angular, my nose small and thin. It seemed like everything on my body was thin, a stark contrast to the stockier build of the rest of my family.
