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If anything, they could be described as cold, but I won’t tell Evander that. There is no need to spill all my family secrets—not that it’s that much of a secret. I’m pretty sure most of the fae know, considering my father fought the marriage, even on the day of the wedding. But they needed a spare. Turns out, maybe they were right.
Just as Evander and I make it to the court yard, Stellan’s mother comes running out the back door.
“I heard what happened.” She grabs Jason from Evander’s arms and squeezes him against her. “Is everybody okay?” She pulls Evander into her embrace. The teenager dutifully takes the embrace for a few seconds before pushing her away.
“Mom, I’m fine,” Evander says. “I wasn’t even there.”
Dove turns her attention to me. “You were unharmed?”
I nod.
“Wisteria is the one who saved Jason and took down a male dragon.” Evander gives me a look that I can’t quite read—bewilderment, maybe.
Is it really that big of a deal? Then again, if Natalia, a member of the royal family, couldn’t take him down, maybe female dragons really are a lot weaker than male dragons.
Dove looks at me with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for protecting my grandson.” She, unsurprisingly, gives me a hug. She keeps her embrace short, likely thinking of my comfort. “I’m glad everybody is unharmed.”
Evander slings an arm over my shoulder and guides me toward the large glass door that leads inside the…castle?Mansion? I’m still not sure what to call this place. It doesn’t look like a typical castle, but it’s bigger than the castle I grew up in. It’s like one of those modern beach houses I’ve seen on TV shows, but much larger. I still haven’t seen the entire place yet, I just wander around until somebody gives me directions.
“Wisteria is coming to dinner,” Evander informs Dove.
Dove grins warmly, her eyes seeming to soften as she looks between her youngest son and me. “Good. I imagine Warrick and Stellan will be back as soon as they hear what happened.”
Warrick, I recognize, is King Basilicus’s name, though I’ve never heard him called that before. Everybody, even the fae, respects the dragon king’s power.
“Wisteria,” Dove says.
Evander drops his arm that he has slung over me, turns to wave, and keeps walking. I turn to face my mother-in-law, curious about what she is going to say.
“Whenever Stellan gets back, he’ll be upset. Just be patient with him.”
I want to question her about it. What could Stellan possibly be upset about? But before I can get the words out, she walks in the opposite direction of the rooms I share with Stellan.
Okay, that was weird and I have a lot of questions for Stellan. First, why did that dragon attack us? Second, howdid they attack us on a royal beach—shouldn’t there have been wards, guards, or something? And third, most importantly, who attacked us? From what I understand, dragons are loyal, like wolf shifters. They’re unable to go against their alpha, or in the case of dragons, their king. But clearly, I was mistaken.
I have no idea what to expect for dinner. At home, we’re always expected to dress nicely for the occasion, and it’s always awkward. With my father sitting on one side of the long table and my stepmother on the opposite side, my siblings and I always sat in the middle, not willing to pick a side in their squabbles. Do all families have strange dynamics, or is it just mine? I suppose I’ll just have to wait to find out.
From what I’ve seen so far, dragon shifters are a lot more chill than fae. Even my wedding, which was nice, wasn’t near the level a fae wedding would be. So I decide to risk it and dress a little more casually. I still wear a dress, a purple one that matches the color of my eyes. When Iwalk into the dining room, I am happy to see that Evander is wearing a pair of bright colored shorts and a t-shirt. He stands when he sees me come in and he pulls out a chair, motioning for me to sit.
“Thanks,” I say, as he helps push my chair up to the table.
He sits down directly beside me. “Natalia will be late. She always is. She’ll blame it on Jason, but the truth is, she’s been late for everything since we were kids. So we’re likely to be waiting a while.”
I smile, loving the sibling dynamics between Natalia and Evander, but it makes me miss Cypress. He would love it here. I hope he can come to visit soon—he’ll need a break from the toxic monarchs.
“What about Stellan?” I try to ask casually, but I’m desperate to know more about the man I married.
Evander snorts. “If Stellan isn’t, at least, fifteen minutes early for something, he’ll throw a fit. Hehatesbeing late.”
I try to imagine Stellan ‘throwing a fit,’ but I can’t quite picture it. Though, maybe Evander is right.
“Let me guess.” I turn in my chair to face him. “Natalia is the bossy one. Stellan is the virtuous one. And you’re the chill one.”
Evander nods, a smirk playing on his lips. “Absolutely, but don’t tell Natalia about the bossy thing—she’ll hate it.”
I can’t help but grin back.
“As for Stellan, he is virtuous. He has a great sense of duty—it comes with the territory of being heir.” Evander frowns, looking down. “As bad as it sounds, I’m glad I’m not the oldest.” But he looks up again, grinning. “Though I do have to say, you’re not as stuffy as I thought you’d be. Fae are usually more...” he pauses as if searching for a word.
