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“Okay,” Orana says. “Wait.EW!”
Oretta’s fit of giggles turns into wheezing and Orlena joins her with a loud burst of laughter. Embarrassed beyond belief, I drop my face into my hands. I do not want to talk to Orcus’ family about the mechanics of sex.
“Stop, the lot of you!” Orshana demands. “The dinner place is no table to talk about these things.”
“The. Dinner place,” Oretta says around a laugh. “Don’t you mean thedinner tableis no place to talk about magic saliva?”
“You know what I meant,” Orshana retorts. “If you scare Daisy off, your brother will really never come back.”
While the comment is made lightly, there’s a deeper-seated fear in those words. I slide my hands from my face and meet her gaze. Her children are all still laughing, but the mother looking back at me is anything but tickled. There’s hope in the way she watches me, like I might be the one to bring her son back, and the longing scrawled across her face hits me square in the chest, reminding me too much of my own pain.
“So about this whole taking the throne thing,” I say louder than necessary to catch the attention of the sisters. “What does it involve?”
Orshana’s features soften. “You two would need to complete the bonding ceremony.”
“We’re bonded already.”
“Oh, yes, but this is more celebratory in nature. The ceremony is a way of formally announcing newly paired mates to the world. The ceremony will happen before Orcus can truly take the throne.”
Okay, so one royal wedding. No big deal.
The rest of dinner flies by as they all take turns telling stories about Orcus and his friends. Apparently, they were more than a little out of control. Thick as thieves. The more his family talks, the more I realize how much Orcus must’ve missed everyone while he was alone in his cave. But now he’s here, doing everything he wanted to avoid because of me. That thought niggles away in the back of my mind while we eat and laugh.
After dessert, Orshana shoos the sisters away and asks me to join her for a walk in her garden. I follow after her, scurrying to keep up with her stride. She slows when she notices my struggles, but I still have to take three quick steps for every one of hers. Luckily, the gardens aren’t far from the dining room.
The flowers are in full bloom, and while the sun has dipped below the horizon, a soft glow of light brushes over the vibrant purple, pink, red, yellow, orange, and blue petals. There are some that resemble roses, and others that don’t look like any flower I’ve seen before with their unique shapes and textures. The path winding through the sprawling garden grounds is covered in small pebbles that crunch beneath our feet.
“So, Daisy, how do you find my son?”
I pull my attention away from a beautiful yellow bloom. “He’s great. A little grumpy, but he’s good to me. He’s caring.” I smile at the memory of him scolding me after my first run in with the cyclops. I haven’t even told him about the second run in. He’d probably be furious. “He’s a good ogre,” I tell her. “And I suppose I have you to thank for that.”
“He’s always worrying about other people, so it’s nice for him to have someone to worry about him.”
A cramp hits my thigh, but I don’t falter. This conversation is important and I won’t let a little ache ruin it. “I hope our being mates isn’t… disappointing to you.”
“Disappointing? Why would I be disappointed? It’s clear to me that you two were meant to be. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him smile the way he does when he looks at you, like he’s actually happy. Hecate was wise to make the match, but with everything happening…” She trails off.
Silence settles between us as we acknowledge that which can’t be said aloud. The furies. The vampires. His father. Does she know what her husband’s done? Does she agree with him? If she doesn’t, there’s no way she’d tell me. I look up and study the small lines of displeasure pinching around her eyes and mouth. No. I don’t think Orshana approves, but who is she to tell the king what to do?
“I wanted to ask you if it would be all right for me and the girls to be a part of the planning for the bond ceremony. I understand if this is something you’d rather do on your own.”
“Oh, no. You’re more than welcome to help me. I honestly have no idea what to do for a bond ceremony… I never exactly expected to find a mate.” Or a husband. Or even a boyfriend. I’d been prepared to live out my days alone on Earth.
A beautiful grin breaks across her face and she gazes down at me. “Thank you, Daisy. The girls will be thrilled.” The twinkle in her eyes tells me she is as well. “We’ll start tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes,” she says, shifting her attention across the horizon. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of coordination that goes into these things.”
Orshana begins to rattle off everything that needs to be done before the next full moon. The more she mentions, the more out of depth I feel. A simple event sounds better to me, but this is her first child’s bonding ceremony and she’s so happy. With Orcus’ family helping plan things, it can’t be that bad.
THIRTY-ONE
Father of mine
ORCUS
I find my father and Maddox in the war room, standing over the stone table that acts as a map of the territories. Little pieces with red paint dripping down the tops serve as vampires and large green pieces represent our side.
