Page 207 of Sky’s Edge

Bainon’s mouth got tight, he hesitated very long, very annoying moments, before he jerked up his chin.

“Now someone needs to make drinks,” Aleece decreed, like the kickass princess she was.

Manny moved back to the drinks cabinet.

Uly went to help him.

Tanyn looked to me.

And I really wanted to hold on to my huff of earlier, but he took Gayle’s back, therefore, I couldn’t.

So I stole his air kiss thing and sent him one.

One side of his mouth hitched up.

And he joined Manny and Uly at the drinks cabinet to see about the belated delivery of my martini.

Chapter 21

Normal

One would think, with all the beings I loved most in the world (save Mom, Dad and Monique) sitting at one table, dinner would be fabulous.

But it was awkward as all hells.

I was casting around in my head for a conversational gambit to take the edge off when I caught Tanyn’s gaze.

And suddenly, all that was happening melted away (and other things melted too).

He was not feeling discomfort.

Manny and Zyr were there.

Nayden and Uly.

Regardless of what was going on, Aleksei, Cormac and Bainon were all there too, and I knew he liked and respected all three (even Cormac).

And I was sitting at the foot of his table.

His hostess.

His queen.

Tanyn wasn’t wreathed in smiles and cracking jokes.

He was Tanyn, quietly content, surrounded by beings he cared about.

And after all he’d endured all his life, I loved seeing it.

I just wished his mother (and father) had lived to do so too.

He dipped his chin and looked at me from under the lush fan of his lashes, a gesture I’d never seen, therefore I had no idea how, but I somehow read (and what I read wasn’t just that it was hot, but I read that too), and I nodded for him to go for it.

“We have one more thing to discuss,” Tanyn announced.

“If you think Bain is moving in with me at the Celestial Palace, you can think again,” Aleece declared.

“No, sweetheart,” Aleksei entered the conversation to address his sister. “We need to talk about the fact that the males went over this on our journey to Gehenn, and we feel the best way forward strategically, considering our instincts have been tripped to indicate a very real threat is facing our mates, that, in the short term, we all need to stay close together.”