AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hi, Mom,” I said weakly.
Immediately, her shoulders fell away from her ears. She opened her arms and I rushed into them. Once I started sobbing, there was no stopping. Rhoan stayed nearby, always within reach if I needed him—until he went to the fridge for my Dad’s spicy pickles and sat at the table to munch on them.
Nonetheless, Rhoan was still within reach.
Spending time with my mom helped ease a knot that’d been in my lower stomach for weeks now. I let out a breath and felt myself truly relax. Watching her move around the kitchen as she filled me in on everything happening at work and with the Pack, I remembered why I was doing what I was doing.
If I didn’t remove Beryl from power, she could keep targeting the people under my protection. She could eventually start a war with the Pack and force my family and friends to fight. No one needed that.
What we needed was a time of prosperity and growth now that Alvin was gone. The fae needed it, too. Beryl was their version of Alvin. She ruled with power and fear and used it to keep herself entertained.
Of course, there were times where I wished this duty didn’t have to fall on me. I didn’t particularly want to have to be the one fighting. But I didn’t think anyone wanted to fight. No one woke up in the morning and saidwhat a wonderful day to spill some blood!
Okay, maybe Alvin and Beryl did, but that’s why we worked to remove them from positions of power.
Mom handed me a hoagie sandwich. The smell of chopped pickles and mayochup reached my nose. My stomach growled greedily. I took the sandwich and went over to snatch a bag of jalapeno kettle chips from the top of the fridge. At the table, I asked Rhoan to trust me as I pried open both of our sandwiches and heaped a pile of chips on top of the lettuce, tomatoes, meat, and cheese.
He raised a questioning brow, but I ignored it and squished my bun overtop of the chips. The chorus of crunching chips made me feel somewhat normal again. I was a teenager running home from school to make an afternoon snack all over again.
Rhoan took one bite of the sandwich and his brow shot up in surprise. I loved watching his dark, expressive brows display every little thought that went through his head. He took another ravenous bite of the sandwich. Mine sat in my hand, my chips going slightly soft as I watched him enjoy a very mortal delicacy.
“I’ve never had anything quite like that,” he told my mom.
She beamed with pride and patted his head. “Wait until you try my lasagna casserole!”
Mom wasthatkind of woman. She knew how to turn any casserole into a…casserole. Though, to be fair, it was a delicious dinner for a cold New York winter. We would have to come back for it sometime.
But for now, I needed to get back to the castle.
CHAPTER 21
RHOAN
Ostara had decorated the central hall for a fae party. There were delicate garlands of flowers and silk on every surface until Hilda went along behind her and undid everything that the fae woman worked on and replaced it with paper streamers. Watching Ostara grab ahold of the paper streamer and start to tear made me grimace.
Hilda immediately flipped into her boggart form and glared ominously at Ostara. Slowly, Ostara put the paper garland back where it belonged and patted it nicely. I could see a bit of tightness at the corners of Ostara’s mouth, though. She hated the garish paper, and she wanted everyone to know.
Just as I was about to step in, Hilda shrank back into her brownie form and gave a conceding nod. She wanted to see what the silk sashes would look like with the paper. A meeting between two worlds, she called it.
In the end, with the paper and silk hung, the lights caught on both and created an effect that could only be found somewhere like here. I nodded appreciatively. Hilda gave me a thumbs-up from across the room while Ostara continued to stare at the paper and silk as if her entire life had changed.
The music started thumping, with Hilda behind the DJ table I was pretty sure she stole from storage at the fairgrounds. People piled in with hot dishes in hand. Cerri showed them where to put the dishes and what crunchy snack to pair with them. Everyone gathered around the largest pan of buffalo chicken dip that I’d ever seen. It had them entranced in a way I never would have expected.
Yet, as the party continued to grow, there was a very obvious semi-circle around me. People didn’t dare step too close. All the talk from earlier had done nothing, it seemed. I could feel various eyes on me, like they were waiting for me to turn and crash my own party.
My gut tightened. I swallowed but somehow kept my head high even though I wanted to run out of the party. When Vi burst out of the crowd and extended a hand to me, I couldn’t deny the relief I felt. Light danced along her skin in waves of color. She was her very own glow-stick. The way she tossed her hands and kicked her feet made her look like she was at a rave, not the equivalent of a fae prom.
I laughed at Cerri’s friend until a man with platinum blonde hair pulled her back into the crowd. Tal sidled up beside me and leaned in to ask:
“Who is the man with the antichrist?”
It always threw me for a loop whenever someone called Vi the antichrist, so it took me a moment to get back to Tal’s question. Once again, I searched out the tall blonde in the crowd. The man had sleek style and pallid skin.
“I believe that’s Vi’s vampire friend. Cerri has visited his library a number of times to get information, but I’ve never met him in person.”
Tal adjusted his tie. A nervous flush reached his cheeks. It seemed that the vampire man had caught Tal’s eye. I urged him to get on the dance floor. He needed a rebound after Foxglove’s last temper tantrum—yes, I fully believe that kidnapping Tal with a curse and nearly turning me into a spider counted as atemper tantrum.
While Tal slipped into the crowd, I backed away. I couldn’t bear the stares any longer. The party was supposed to help us reconnect as a court, but there didn’t seem to be a place for me among them. They kept their ranks closed, and I was afraid to see them pull away if I stepped too near.
