I step back, and Saxon takes my place hugging her. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“It’s good to be back,” she replies.
I turn to Ronan and Cheryl, but my attention immediately zeroes in on the kids in their arms.
Saxon arches his brows. “Holy shit! You made babies? How much time has passed in Ellnesari?”
Karl laughs when Cheryl glowers at Saxon. “We didn’t make babies, dumbass. Come on!”
He puts his hands on his hips. “Don’t ‘dumbass’ me. It’s totally possible. It seems to be the trend.”
For fuck’s sake. I elbow Saxon to get him to shut up. They’ll know soon enough about Vivi’s pregnancy.
“What?” Manu cuts in. “Is someone pregnant? Is it Aurora… or is it Miranda?”
“You can discuss that inside.” Mauricio gives us a hard stare, and we all pipe down.
He then turns his attention to Uncle Raphael and bows. “My king.”
“Hello, Mauricio. How long was I gone?”
“Four weeks. Nothing has changed yet.” He turns his attention to a man I’ve never seen before, and pales. “Sweet heavens. Adrian Van Helsing?”
“Van Helsing?” Saxon repeats, his eyes bugging out. “As intheVan Helsing family that wanted to kill us all?”
Adrian seems lost. “Van Helsing… yes, that’s my family name. As for wanting to kill you all… that I don’t know.”
“You’re alive?” Mauricio continues as if he doesn’t believe his eyes.
“It seems so, but I’m beginning to think that maybe I’m a ghost,” Adrian deadpans.
Saxon twists his face into a grimace. “Don’t even joke about that, man. I’ve had it with ghosts.”
I keep my attention on Adrian. “Why are you here?”
“I do not know why.” Adrian looks at my uncle. “But your king does.”
Uncle Raphael locks his jaw tight. His reaction makes me even more curious. There’s definitely a story here. After a moment, he says, “It’s complicated.”
“He helped Karl and me when we were trapped in an awful place in Ellnesari,” Manu chimes in. “Let’s not judge him too harshly. He’s been a victim of that bitch queen for longer than we all have.”
Karl draws Manu closer to him and kisses the side of her head. That’s a new development I didn’t expect. “You’re together again?”
“Yes,” Karl replies, beaming. “For good this time.”
“Is Queen Maewe dead, then?” Saxon asks.
The entire party lets out a collective groan. That doesn’t bode well.
“No,” King Raphael replies.
I run a hand through my hair, pushing it back. “As much as I want to see that vile female gone, I’m not completely upset.”
“Why the hell not?” Manu frowns. “She deserves to die.”
“A lot happened while you were gone, sis.”
“Yes, and there’s much to discuss, but not out here.” Uncle Raphael glances at Adrian before he turns into black smoke, his favorite method of departing.
