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“Now you know why he’s so quiet,” Desmond teased in Claire’s ear.
She rolled her eyes and shoved him with her elbow playfully. For all of her chattering, the woman seemed lovely and it was clear to anyone that she cared deeply about Everett.
Mara laughed at Desmond’s soft ‘oof’. “Good,” she said smiling down at Claire, “I was worried when Malcolm first sent us word that these boys would steamroll their Fourth. I needn’t have worried.”
Claire tentatively returned her smile. That felt like a compliment? And maybe a soft insult to her Triad?
“Everina,” Mara called out. “Aren’t you going to come meet your daughter-in-law?”
Everina stopped chattering as if remembering why Everett was home. She turned and saw Claire and squealed. Before Claire could blink the tall, blond woman was in front of her cupping her cheeks.
“Aren’t you just beautiful? Isn’t she beautiful, Mara? Oh, Everett, you are so lucky. I hope you are treating her like a queen like we’ve taught you.” She jumped from topic to topic so quickly that Claire’s head swam a bit trying to keep up.
She placed her hands over Everina’s on her cheeks and brought her hands down in between them. “It’s so nice to meet you,” Claire smiled. “Everett’s told me a lot about you.”
“Oh, you are exquisite,” Everina said. “Unfortunately for you, Everett and Malcolm were tight-lipped about you in return so I have so many questions.” She let out a laugh. “I’m a talker in case you couldn’t tell.”
“I haven’t had very many people to talk to until last year but I’ll answer what I can,” Claire said honestly.
Everina’s face softened and a look of shared pain passed between them. Everina for all her light and laughter knew of pain and loss well it seemed.
She tucked herself in on Claire’s other side and looked at Mara. “Come on, my darling daughter. Let us show you around and you can tell us all about you.”
“Mama…” Everett broke in, clearly thinking about the last time Claire had met parents and how she was uncomfortable from being separated but Claire stopped him. She appreciated his concern but she had grown a lot since first arriving at Brandlevine. She was the Queen of the Elves for the Realm’s sake. She could handle two curious mothers. Both women felt warm and like they had good intentions and Claire trusted her instincts.
“Everett, it’s fine,” she said with a small smile. “Fill your fathers in on the last few months and I’ll do the same with your mothers.”
“We’ll meet up in an hour or so for dinner,” Mara said as they guided Claire towards the cavern’s opening.
“Puck, are you staying with them?” Claire asked. He had traded her shoulder for Malcolm’s when Everina had approached. He settled down onto Malcolm’s shoulder and Claire had her answer. “Okay, be good.” She laughed as his tail covered Malcolm’s eyes briefly. Her grumbly dragon let out a soft growl and Puck jumped to Everett’s shoulder, preening proudly for Roderick and Brantley.
“Claire, tell us everything.”
17
Mara and Everina guided Claire deep into the cavern. Once her eyes adjusted, she could appreciate the massiveness of it. The cavern extended for three wingspans deep before the mountain wall. A few shifted dragons could lie in wait in the cavern and never be seen by the outside because of the darkness. Several torches dotted the mountain wall highlighting person-sized doorways.
Hans and Renfe, the cousins, passed them with Claire and her Triad’s packs in their hands.
“They’ll put your things in your rooms,” Mara said as Claire looked over the bags and breathed out a quiet sigh of relief that Desmond kept his satchel. Her mother’s journals were still in there and even though the dragons seemed trustworthy, she didn’t want to risk them.
“We had to clean those rooms out and tidy them a bit,” Everina laughed.
Mara let out a throaty chuckle compared to Everina’s tinkling laugh. “Yes, they still looked like teenage boys’ rooms unfortunately but now there are fresh sheets and towels.”
“Where did you grow up, Claire?” Everina asked.
“In a little coven called Windshire,” Claire said as they walked down a large well-lit tunnel.
“Is that where your family is from?”
“No, I grew up in the orphanage there,” she said, causing Everina to gasp and slide an arm around her waist in a side hug. “It wasn’t too bad. I didn’t know who my parents were until recently.”
“When you went to the Elven Forest?” Mara asked carefully as they entered into a large meeting hall that could easily seat hundreds of people.
Claire hesitated. She wasn’t sure how much she should share or how much her Triad had already shared.
Mara must have known the reason for her hesitation as she squeezed her hand. “I understand if you would rather wait for dinner for that conversation. Malcolm told us you were going into the Forest but nothing else.”
