Page 16 of Fractured Empire

A piece of chocolate, I realize.

Chuckling, I take the offering, unwrap it, and pop it into my mouth.

“One for you too, Papa,” she says, tossing a piece to my father. “No need for the kids to smell your stinky adult juice. Leo told Apollo he smelled spicy and icky after he used bourbon to glaze the steaks tonight.”

“Of course he did,” I huff with a chuckle.

Leo loves to crinkle his nose and declare things icky if they don’t smell like something he’d like to eat.

“Well, come on. I think you might just steal the attention from Vaughn. They miss their daddy and you’ve only been out here an hour.”

She knows just what to say to snap me into Dad mode.

All the guilt and resentment that flowed out of me earlier is quickly replaced with fondness and love for my children.

Maybe things are going to be okay faster than I expected.

Chapter Seven

Katya

“Itold you!”

Being woken up by my best friend’s loud brand of enthusiasm is not exactly a new occurrence, but not a common one either. Groaning, I ignore the sound of her voice and the rocking of my mattress—no doubt from her jumping on it and standing above me. I can feel where her feet are dipping into my sheets, pushing the memory foam down under her weight. Without a word, I scrunch my eyes shut harder and pull my spare pillow over my face, trying to hide from the world for even a moment longer.

“Oh, nonono,” she sings, dropping down to her knees as she reaches out to snatch my pillow away. “I come bearing news, my beautiful friend, and it’s time to wake up and hear it.”

“My alarm hasn’t gone off,” I grumble, reluctantly allowing my eyes to crack open. “That means it’s not even 8:00 a.m.”

“Pshhh.” Chloe waves a dismissive hand. “Who cares how early it is when there’s news to be heard?”

I care.

I very much care.

She’s just jostled me out of a very restful, peaceful sleep. As far as I’m concerned, she’s just committed an egregious friendship sin. After the busy week I’ve had of helping my mother wrangle my little sister, nearly pulling my hair out while trying to compose music, and dealing with Ares’ newest foul mood—this sleep has been the most relaxation I’ve felt in days.

And now it’s ruined.

“This news couldn’t have waited until I woke up?” I ask with a disgruntled huff. “This is the second time this week that you’ve barged in uninvited with news, Chloe.”

“Uninvited?” she gasps, clutching her heart as if I’ve stabbed her in it. “Katya, I’m hurt! I thought your door was always open to me?”

“My door, sure. My bed? Not so much.”

“Oh you wish I’d get into this bed more. Admit it, you want to snuggle me.”

“Smother, more like,” I snark, not hiding my poor attitude. “It’s too early for this.”

My best friend rolls her eyes, unaffected by my grumpy mood. “Girl, I almost woke you up an hour ago. Thank your mother for keeping me out of here until then. She distracted me with coffee, pastries, and gossip.”

My mother is a saint.

“She knows that I don’t like being woken up unnecessarily on the weekend,” I remind her in a low drawl. “These are the only days I choose to sleep in even a little bit. You know, most people consider waking up at eight to still be early. Imagine if I tried to make it until ten?”

She snorts as if the thought is ridiculous. “Yeah right, you always have to be up and doing something. You’re the most productive person I know. If you slept in for an extra two hours, you wouldn’t know how to make up for the lost time.”

I can’t deny her claim, but I can’t brush off my mood enough to agree with her either. “Can you please just tell me why you’re waking me up and in my bed jostling me around so I can go back to sleep?”