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“Alri
ght, tonight we wallow. Tomorrow is a new day and we need to figure out how to turn you from an Earth girl in a fae disguise, into a regal hybrid queen. Nothing big,” he declares, like it’s a done deal. The fact he watched me change before his eyes and still wants to be here is everything.
“I love you Jacob. You didn’t even bat an eye at me being a living disco ball. You embraced it and are helping me figure it out. That says so much about you, don’t ever doubt how much you care about someone. You put everything you are into those you love," I remind him in a firm tone. Jacob has the biggest heart, he just forgets sometimes.
“I love you too, and that’s exactly why. You didn’t turn into a different person because of all of this. Well you did physically, but that isn’t what I mean,” he jokes. I laugh and drag him over to the couch. Now that the heavy shit is out of the way, we spend the next few minutes trying to find something to watch and I try to continue ignoring that awful tugging feeling that never really goes away.
“Hurry up, Queenie!” Jacob yells from the couch. I’m pulling a batch of brownies out of the oven and finishing cooking a ludicrous combination of his favorite foods.
“I’m coming, Prince Jacob!” I bellow back. I start lining up the food on the breakfast bar and pull out ice cold champagne and beer. We’re fancy like that.
“Oh! I love that title!” he announces, turning the corner to join me in the kitchen. He looks around at everything I’ve laid out and his eyes go wide. “You really are the best friend ever,"
“Whoa," Andras looks overwhelmed at the amount of food I prepared. “Are we expecting an army?”
“No, just Gwen and River. They had to stop for something first," I reply as I set aside the shrimp I made for his favorite tacos.
“Andras, do you eat seafood, or does that count as meat for fae?” I ask, the pout strong in my voice.
“We eat certain meats from Faerie, but here we can’t tolerate any meat, including seafood.” He looks sorry to be breaking the news.
“I couldn’t even swallow my first bite, that can’t be normal," I argue. It hadn’t even had a chance to make me sick.
“That probably has more to do with all of your power being released. A strong intuition was a royal trait of the Spring Court. We’re weaker here, so I’m impressed by how much power you do have. Even if you were born here, that’s an unheard of amount. That might be why hybrids were unheard of,” he muses. At least Andras isn’t afraid to explain things, no riddles or cryptic moments. But I’m mostly just happy he isn’t bowing down to me anymore. That was too weird to handle.
“Is it done now?” Jacob asks, already pulling a plate free.
“Yours is, prince. Dig in. I’m going to finish up these black beans. Then I’m going to eat them and pretend it’s meat," I grumble. Jacob has the decency to give me a sympathetic look that lasts all of half a second, before loading shrimp onto his tortillas. His sympathy’s clearly on point.
“We have the rest of the supplies!” Gwen announces as she walks into the kitchen with River trailing behind her. She hands over her bag, which has orange juice inside. I add it to the counter, next to the champagne, quickly making up a few mimosas. They’re another Jacob specialty.
“Alright, it’s done! Time to eat, guys!” I announce as I bring over the black beans for the vegetarians.
I wait until everyone makes their plates before piling food on my own. I’m about to join the table when Gwen groans. I looked over and she has her eyes closed in pure happiness.
“This is the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever tasted,” she proclaims as she opens her eyes. “We’ve only had the boxed kind.
“Girl, Queenie is the best cook I know," Jacob announces proudly. “She knows the way to my heart.” He gives me a fake dreamy look that has me laughing. I’ll take his cheesy jokes over sad Jacob, any day.
“Thank you for cooking for us, Arabella," Allwyn announces formally, with a slight bow of his head. At least he didn’t call me his queen this time. Progress is progress.
“You’re welcome. This is just what we do when one of us is sad. We feed them until they’re too full to function. Then we snuggle them on the couch with a good movie.” I laugh at Allwyn and Gwen’s wary looks. Allwyn especially doesn’t seem like the cuddle on the couch type.
“How are you feeling, Arabella, is the magic overwhelming?” Andras asks.
“I’m okay, the weird tug in my stomach won’t stop, but other than that I feel pretty much the same.” I shrug it off, taking another bite of cheesy goodness.
“The healer couldn’t explain the tugging. Maybe it’s your magic settling into your body?” Gwen suggests. Now she’s studying me with the same intensity that Allwyn does, like she knows more than she’s saying.
“Maybe? I wish it would stop though. I can ignore it if I’m busy, but it’s always there," I reply.
“If it doesn’t stop soon we can call the healer back in,” River offers, giving me a sympathetic wince. “It sounds annoying.”
“It is,” I sigh. We all go back to picking at the food, but it’s half-hearted now.
“Okay, is everyone done? It’s movie time," Jacob announces, heading into the living room.
“I’ll be right in, start without me," I call after him, finishing the last few bites. The others get up to join Jacob and I started in on the mess. After collecting all of the plates and throwing away what I don’t need to put in the fridge, I start on the dishes. I’m halfway done when I hear a throat clear behind me. It's sharp in the quiet and I jump, turning to find Allwyn standing there.
