Don’t make a move.It felt like we were dealing with a wild crocodile and not my father. Thanks, Warbright, for blowing our secret.
Warbright turned toward my family. “Oh, you must be Ava’s parents. How lovely. I’m certain you’re very proud of your new son-in-law.”
“Over the moon,” Daddy seethed.
Mama did her best to salvage the situation. “We’re happy to welcome Charlie to the family. If you don’t mind, we were actually—”
“Oh, of course,” Warbright said cheerily. “Important to get to know your relatives and all. Don’t let me hold you up. Congratulations again, you little lovebirds!”
Warbright waddled away.Awkward, Oberi peeped, glancing between us.
Daddy sputtered. His face got red as he shouted, “What in the name of the ancestors is going on?!”
“Not here,” I said through clenched teeth. I rounded on my heel and continued in the direction of our cell. Charlie stayed at my side, though Daddy didn’t take his glare off of him for one second. I planted myself between the two of them, in case Daddy got any bright ideas to start swinging.
Once we were all inside our little apartment, I shut the door and let out a quick breath. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“But it is,” Charlie added.
“And it’s not,” I finished. “It’s… complicated.”
“Exactly how long has this been going on?” Daddy yelled. “And why weren’t we informed?”
“Lower your voice and give her a chance to tell us the truth,” Mama scolded.
At least Mama was open to the idea. I braced myself and said, “We got married in October.”
“Two months ago?!” Daddy yelped.
“I didn’t say anything because I wanted to tell you in person,” I begged. “I swear I was going to tell you guys everything over Christmas, when I got home. And… I kind of hoped you’d pay for Charlie to come back with me, because we’re married now.”
Daddy scowled. Mama pursed her lips.
“Honey, you can understand why we’re confused,” Mama said slowly. “The last thing we knew, you and Charlie were broken up. Now you’re married. We don’t understand what could’ve made you take such a big step.”
“Were you coerced?” Daddy demanded. “Didheforce you to do this?”
“Are you kidding me? You’d think I’d do that to her?” Charlie shouted. His rage exploded across our bond, and he took a few steps forward.
For fuck’s sake, nowCharliewas the one who was going to toss punches. The last thing I wanted— or needed— was my husband and father getting into a brawl, and that thought pushed me over the edge.
“Everybody needs to stop!” I said, and I put my hands over my ears. “You guys are gonna push me into a panic attack, and that’s just going to make everything worse, so give me a minute to catch my breath!”
That made everyone pause. No one in this room liked it when I fell apart. It had devastating consequences for everybody.
“Let’s sit down,” Mama suggested, and she guided Daddy to the couch. Oberi hopped between them, and put his drooling mouth on Daddy’s lap. Daddy frowned, but patted Oberi’s head.
“Geez,” I mumbled. I was burning up in here, so I unzipped my jacket and tossed it on the counter. Daddy’s eyes got huge when he read the inscription on my t-shirt, and I looked down. The shirt I’d put on this morning literally saidI’m His Mrs.and I didn’t even realize. Oops.
It didn’t help that my notebooks on the floor hadAva-Marie Wahkinwritten all over them in cursive with little tiny hearts everywhere.
And Charlie’s prescription for birth control was still on the counter.
Fuck.
Charlie remained standing, leaning against the wall. He didn’t like sitting when situations were this precarious.
I sighed and took a seat in the crappy armchair across from the couch. “The Warden was blood testing people for Elven ancestry, and sending the people who tested positive to the Underground. We tried to avoid the test as long as we could, but Charlie had to take it eventually. The Warden was going to send him to the Underground unless we stopped it. Marcus found a loophole— that married inmates at the Institute can’t be separated. I’m the daughter of a chieftain, so if I married Charlie and the Warden kidnapped him to the Underground—”
