Pyxlevir scooted over so Gramlithyn could squeeze into the chair alongside him. “Dasan found a druid willing to take him to Europe, so he was saying goodbye.”
“Okay, that was Gram’s idea, not mine,” Dasan said. “I was just going with the flow. Best friends for life and all that shit.”
“I was running away from a gorgeous but possibly demented elf,” Gramlithyn argued. “Thankfully, Fate, or whatever, intervened, and I was told to drag my sorry ass home to beg for my parents’ forgiveness.”
“I don’t remember the begging part,” Semira called out from the yard as she headed in their direction.
“Turns out I’m a shitty kid and took weeks to apologize once I returned,” Gramlithyn replied.
“You’re a wonderful kid,” Semira corrected. “One I’m proud to call my son. Now I get to claim Pyx as mine too. Someday I might steal Dasan from the centaurs. I’ve always wanted more children, but Fate has been stingy.”
“Your card is programmed so you can come over here whenever you want,” Pyxlevir said. “I love adding parents to my life, and now I’m lucky to have the four best ones anywhere.”
“Laconifel had your cards adjusted too,” Semira confided. “The three of you are welcome at our house whenever you want. Drop in for dinner, to say hello, or even run the vacuum.”
“Run the vacuum?” Gramlithyn asked. “I hated doing that as a kid, I’m not showing up for yucky chores.”
“Vacuuming is better than doing dishes,” Pyxlevir remarked. “Plus, I can’t reach half the damn shelves to put stuff away.”
“Too many people in the Council are tall,” Dasan commented.
Pyxlevir nodded. “Agreed, and it’s ruled by dragons who are all giants. It sets unrealistic beauty standards for the rest of us.”
“Oh Pyx, few on this planet rival your beauty,” Semira said with a bright smile.
“Wrong,” Gramlithyn corrected. “No one rivals his beauty.”
“I disagree,” Pyxlevir responded with an eyeroll. “To me, you’re the handsomest person ever.”
“You two are so wonderful together,” Semira remarked, her brown eyes sparking with happiness. “Now that your bond is complete, I can finally admit that I may have asked Fate a few times to put you two together. Your friendship was so tight, and you took to each other immediately. It surprised everyone in the room. I’ll never forget how shocked Kalthekor was. You were a shy kid, Pyx, but that didn’t stop you from running off to play with Gramlithyn. It was adorable.”
“Don’t drag out any pictures,” Gramlithyn pleaded.
Pyxlevir took his hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Semira, I’m coming over to see all the pictures.”
“I’d love that, Pyx. My only complaint is how fast the time went. I blinked, and you were both adults.”
“You sound like my parents,” Pyxlevir said with a chuckle. More than once, his parents had lamented that they couldn’t stop the clock. As for Pyxlevir, he’d been eager to reach adulthood and start his life. He’d imagined it countless times. But at twenty-four, it was now surpassing the best of his dreams thanks to the kind, incredible hybrid next to him.
“Is anybody hungry?” Gramlithyn asked.
“You must be, you burned a lot of calories trying to keep up with Semira,” Pyxlevir responded.
“Sometimes I think he lets me win,” Semira said.
“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. I’ll never tell.”
Semira reached out and patted Pyxlevir’s leg. “If you ever need to complain about what a rascal my son is, the door is always open.”
Laughing, Pyxlevir stood and wrapped his arms around Gramlithyn as soon as he rose alongside him. “Don’t worry, I’ll do that too.”
“Thankfully, I don’t even have to leave the house to find someone to bitch about if I’m annoyed with Pyx,” Gramlithyn mused.
“Come on, Dasan, let’s go inside and find out when these centaurs are going to feed us,” Semira encouraged, leading the hummingbird into the house.
Instead of following the pair, Pyxlevir remained next to his chair. He held onto his mate and met his pretty brown gaze.
“Want to bitch about me now?” Pyxlevir asked, raising a brow.
