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She felt his lips on the back of her neck.
He smiled. "Of course. Like the children, I know what's important in life. And that's to have a good time and eat good food."
"Declan?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
She felt one hot tear drop on her neck and then another. His voice was hoarse when he responded. "And I love you too, always."
Feeling more complete than she had in her entire life, she drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kari and Declan got ready. Each moving in different directions. It didn't take Declan long to get dressed, find his shoes, and make his way downstairs. After a minute, Kari smiled as the sound of the espresso machine grinding beans signified that Declan was still waking up.
She pulled on a pair of black slacks that were actually yoga pants made to look like business pants, a comfortable pair of black sneakers, a white shirt, and a black cardigan. She hoped to look professional but be comfortable during the fair. She grabbed her legal pad and walked downstairs. To her surprise, Declan stood in front of the espresso machine, a scowl on his face.
"You don't get any."
She opened her mouth to protest but then remembered why. Rolling her eyes she smiled at his misplaced concern, she'd just grab a coffee later from Sebastian. She went to the refrigerator and opened it. For someone who enjoyed food as much as Declan did, his refrigerator was surprisingly empty. She turned to glare at him. He held up both hands.
"We can stock it later. Besides it's a fair, I'm sure we'll be able to grab breakfast upstairs."
Grumbling about no caffeine, Kari walked with Declan out the door to the transport tunnel. She kept sneaking glances at his latte, which he carefully held in the other hand. Once they reached Level Six, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and they separated.
She immediately went to Magnus' side and helped to organize where the different stand locations were, who was running what event, and where to send the children. Every once in a while, she would hear Declan's laugh and would turn to see him surrounded by smiling people. Everywhere he went, he seemed to be a magnet. At first, he was helping the unit warriors with their activities for the children. Then, of course, he migrated over to the food stands. Every one of the vendors wanted him to be a taste tester. She watched her mate walk down the line, snagging treats from each stall.
She laughed as Adriel and Etain walked away with Prince Magnus. They somehow had managed to talk him into getting into a dunk tank. Magnus was a good sport, but being a vampire, of course he could levitate. So she knew
he really wasn't worried about going in the water, unless one of the children succeeded in hitting the bullseye, then she knew he would be soaked.
Overhead, the witches had charged the crystals that brought a new bright daylight to Level Six. The children were able to experience a fairground as if they were topside.
Kari walked past the stand Meryn had proposed, bobbing for apples. The witches were murmuring spells to bring the apples close to them, while the wolves were trying to use their canines to secure their prize.
Avery had a booth set up and was doing face painting for the children, Warrick at his side. The children giggled as the large warrior insisted on adding his own touches to their new looks, often dotting them on the nose with a speck of black paint. Avery rolled his eyes at his mate's artistic abilities causing the children to laugh more.
She walked along the back wall and sure enough, as Declan had suggested, Rex was sitting at the stall that was selling meat pies. He had half a dozen empty tins in front of him, one in hand, and a beer at the table. She raised an eyebrow, and he just shrugged. She was astonished when he fit the entire meat pie in his mouth and then reached for another. Seeing that he was secure and happy in his choice of stalls, she kept walking. Behind her, Emeric trailed far enough away so as to not interfere with her day, but close enough that she knew he was close by.
Law was standing directly beside Meryn, pointing out different things, causing her to laugh. Ryuu was behind her off to one side, and Aiden was with Adriel directing the warriors.
After a few hours, the vendors came out and started to set up long tables at the stalls for their buffet lunch. Large bowls of pasta salad, potato salad, baked beans, stews, soups, chilis, breads, and sandwiches were piled high. Everyone began to dig in. Kari was reaching for her second sandwich when she heard the familiar sound of a fork on glass. Everyone quieted as Magnus stood in his chair to be seen by everyone.
"I want to thank everyone for coming today. It is a first for Noctem Falls but not the last." Everyone laughed and clapped. "Today we are celebrating new friends, new family, and of course, new life."
Everyone clapped again, there was whistling and a few catcalls were heard around. Rachelle, Bethy, and Kari chuckled. Magnus was about to go on when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he turned his head. Her gaze followed his. At the back of the hall, at the transport tunnel, people were coming up, and a crowd began to appear. It was the Noble and Founding Families from the lower levels. Moving en masse, they marched through the fairgrounds, protesting the fair.
Loud shouts of 'Go home, you don't belong here!' were heard. The warriors formed a barrier between the fair attendees and the protesters. Kari began to move quickly to get through the crowd. The path behind her closed. She looked back to see Emeric cursing. She had to make her way toward Magnus to assist him in this.
She reached the opening where the families were walking. Gerald DuBois led the group as they marched directly up to the table where Magnus stood.
"We want them to leave. We were happy the way we were. Things were fine."
"We were not happy," one of the fair attending vampires called out.
Gerald hissed at the vendor. "You are lucky to have a place in the city," he said.
