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I chuckled. She really was a merry little songbird, and she had given birth to a bard. Either name was entirely fitting.
"And you may call me Agate," Bach's mother said sedately, a small smile playing about her lips. "Or Aggie, if you absolutely must." Then she gave Fife's mother a fond, exasperated look. "Bird, come sit down and let the poor girl breathe. These lovely refreshments and treats are going to waste. And I really would like to hear the boys talk. I've heard no voice but yours droning on for far too long now."
I held back a surprised laugh at Bach's mother's words. Mirri's mother didn't seem at all offended. She simply waved a dainty hand in a dismissive gesture and went to take a seat. "Fine, fine. You are absolutely no fun at all, you know, Aggie."
I caught Adder's gaze from across the room, and one corner of his mouth twitched. He gave me a small shrug, as if to say "What can you do?"
He started when Fife's mother gripped his wrist and yanked him into the chair next to hers. "Adder, love, how are you faring? Are you keeping Fife in line?” She placed a scone, a heavy scoop of cream, and Cook's heavenly lemon sauce on a plate, then shoved it and a fork into Adder's hands as she spoke. "You two aren't making Kat feel neglected, are you? I know you've always had trouble sharing your things with others."
She smiled prettily at him. As if she hadn't just made an innuendo and publicly asked my most reserved mate about the details of the three-way relationship between him, her own son, and their new mate.
Adder stared at her with his dark, impassive eyes and shoved a bite of food into his mouth to avoid having to reply.
Bach snorted. Mirri patted my back and moved to sit by Bach's mother, taking a plate of snacks for himself. He seemed amused and completely content to watch the back and forth between Bird and the others. Apparently, this was all just…normal for them.
Fife rolled his eyes and took my hand, drawing me over to a seat with the others. "Don't worry," he said in a loudly whispered aside, "she might seem rabid, but my mother doesn't bite. Usually."
He urged me into a seat, then picked out all of my favorite foods from the table and handed me a fully loaded plate before turning to his mother, crossing his arms over his chest, and glaring down his nose at her. "Will you please stop embarrassing Adder and scandalizing my mate? Just…stop being so you for half an hour so she can get used to you, at least."
Bird gave him a tolerant look. "So stodgy, Fife. Has all this responsibility really made you that boring? I thought you enjoyed a little scandal, my love."
He lost the battle to maintain his serious expression, and a melodious laugh escaped him as he bent and kissed his mother's cheek. "You're too much, mother. As always. I've missed you."
She patted his arm, then winked at me when he moved off to get his own food and drink, and my heart swelled at the love between them.
"In all seriousness," Bach's mother said in a more sedate tone of voice, her expression still kind, but much calmer than her friend's. "I hope we weren't too rash in coming unannounced. Bach's last letter said you were all still adjusting, so we wanted to give you time. But with the Harvest Festival coming up, we thought perhaps this was a good time to pay our respects?"
I glanced around at my mates, but they seemed to be waiting for my answer. So, I smiled at Agate and spoke truthfully. "Bach was right. If you had come sooner, we might not have been very good company, I'm afraid. It has been a trying couple of months. But I think this visit is perfectly timed. Things have settled down a bit, and the upcoming festivities will be a perfect chance for you to enjoy all Larkwood has to offer."
I was not going to be the one to tell her we had just finished handling an assassination plot. Bach could fill her in, if he hadn't already.
"Thank you for honoring my request for some time to ourselves," Bach told his mother evenly. "But where is father?" He glanced at me with a wry smile. "He hardly ever passes up the opportunity to travel."
Bach's mother glanced at Fife's, and they had some silent conversation. "He'll be along," she said with a shrug. "He had some business to attend to first."
The slow, smug smile that curled Lady Merriweather's lips was identical to the expression Fife wore when he was plotting something wonderful and devious. "He's doing a favor for me," she said over the rim of her teacup. "He should be here in time for the festival."
I arched a brow at her, but she just gave me an enigmatic smile and said, "You'll see."
The rest of the day was filled with laughter and stories about all of my mates as children. It was so different from the experience with Mirri's parents. Night and day. The men were happy and at ease. Their mothers doted on each of them in their own way. And I was pulled into the midst of their love and affection as if I had always belonged.
When I climbed into bed that night, all of my mates joined me. We didn't always sleep in a group like this. Some rare nights, I was alone. Some nights, I had one male in my bed. Other nights, two or more. But a sense of closeness and peace had settled over us and brought us closer all day, and it just felt right to bask in that together.
We didn't even get up to anything too salacious, though I did get to witness Fife kissing Adder into silence when the silver-haired male insinuated that Fife talked as much as his mother did. Instead, we settled in with a sleepy sense of contentment that I never wanted to end.
Time was creeping by. Every day, every week, every month that passed brought us that much closer to the one-year mark. And I knew now, with startling clarity, that I wouldn't be able to carry on without these men in my life. I needed to convince them to stay.
Chapter 31
The Harvest Festival was the biggest event of the year in Larkwood. It stretched on for three days, but by far the most magical was the first night of the event. The town square in Mistvale was aglow with hanging lanterns, enchanted candles, and the darting sparkles of playful pixies who loved to bedevil the gathered townsfolk.
The center of the town square, in the grassy garden area, was transformed into a dance floor ringed with local musicians playing on hand-crafted instruments. People danced and played barefoot on the soft grass with abandon, filled with local food and drink. Food stalls and vendors of every type lined the main thoroughfare and the side streets, and local businesses threw their doors open and hosted all sorts of activities and fun for the locals.
And in between all their revelry, patrons took a moment to stop by the shrine that had been set up off in a distant corner of the garden square, where the lad of the harvest was plied with food, drink, kisses, and more, as tribute to the old gods for this year's harvest. It was a time of wild merriment that had first started in the early days of settlement, when a good harvest wasn't always ensured, and the yield could mean life or death. And a hint of that old magic lingered in the air today.
Now, the citizens of Elfhaven were far more secure from threats like famine or lack. We had capable rulers who would always make sure everyone had what they needed if there was a lean year. But all fae needed an excuse to let loose and revel in their free spirit from time to time. And we embraced that here.
Mostly.
