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Growling under her breath at the sorry excuse for an immortal, Rukia turned her attention back to the dinner party. Conversation flowed easily between them while they finished eating, all of them having gotten to know each other well over the last year.
Though Lucy and Aidan were relatively new to their community, Rukia and the others saw them often. They had happily embraced Paracel as their home base while Lucy remained in training, and they’d both been accepted into the fold without hesitation. Much to Rukia’s dismay, the few children of Paracel loved the big, black werewolf that gave them pony rides on his back.
Figures.
“Rukia, how’s Brianna’s training coming along?”
“Fine, I suppose,” she replied. “But it doesn’t help that her concentration is split. Perhaps I should remind her of the dangers of getting involved with Elemental men.”
“Bitter, huh?” Jeremiah clasped his hands behind his head and shot her an offended look. “Just ’cause you can’t find a mate doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for the rest of us.”
The booming sound of Aidan’s deep laughter reverberated throughout the room. “What would Rukia do with a mate? With all those miniature sailboats in her house, there’s hardly any room left for visitors.”
He winked and she stuck her tongue out at him.
“I’ll have you know my collection is perfectly kept, you mangy dog.” She looked back at Gideon, who wore a look of weathered patience. “Brianna will come along, but I think she’ll be slower to blossom.”
“We’ll keep her under our wing for as long as she’ll let us, and perhaps Tyee can take her into the world to explore the waters outside of Paracel. I’m fairly certain Toni will mature faster than we anticipated; she’s already showing signs of stability.”
“For a fire, that’s pretty damn impressive.” Jeremiah propped a foot on the coffee table even when Rona gave him the evil eye. “What about Josiah?”
“Still struggling, but he’ll get there.” Gideon shrugged noncommittally. “Or perhaps he’ll develop irregularly; we’ve no way of knowing. I do, however, have a feeling his attention is also on matters of the heart.”
“And then there’s Lucy.”
Rukia glanced toward the young earth Elemental in Aidan’s arms. She was clearly more enthralled by her werewolf mate than paying attention to the conversation.
Chuckling, Jeremiah settled further into his chair. “Three mentees, Gideon. Perhaps you should share the wealth.”
“I don’t mind. It gives me a break from the laptop.”
“It’s not always Gideon,” Lucy added, her attention back on the conversation. “Sometimes Aaron takes over. But he’s got his daughter, so he usually has to run after a bit.”
“Whereas Gideon takes all the time in the world with you.” Aidan raised an eyebrow at the other man. “I’d be suspicious if I weren’t one hundred percent certain of my mate’s devotion.”
Gideon mockingly clutched at his heart. “I’m wounded, Aidan. Such little trust.”
“And considering he’s married to an ancient bloodsucking vampire,” Jeremiah explained, “I’m pretty sure he’ll stay faithful.”
Rona, incredulous, asked, “Ancient bloodsucking vampire?”
“He means it only in the most loving way, little vampire.” Gideon beamed, affectionately kissing her hand.
Rukia’s nose scrunched. “Yuck. You guys are so sickly sweet you make me nauseous.”
“You just wait, Rukia,” Aidan preached darkly. “You’ll find your mate one of these days and you’ll be drowning in sickly sweetness, too.”
“I’d rather spork my eyes out.”
Before long, they were all departing from Gideon and Rona’s home, and Rukia was walking the short distance to her own. Humidity lingered in the bristling June air, a thin layer of perspiration coating her skin by the time she’d walked into the air-conditioned chill of her contemporary two-story home.
Looking around at the treasures she’d collected over her lengthy life, she sighed. What’d had meaning before felt stale now, and even the shelves of miniature sailboats didn’t seem to hold her interest.
She, Gideon, and Jeremiah had formed a cohesive family unit and been together through the drudgery of eternity, but it’d changed immensely in the last several years. Gideon spent the majority of his time with his new wife, and Jeremiah filled his with one-night stands.
Perhaps it was time for her to swim in a new sea.
Shaking her head to clear the morose thoughts, she tucked her straight black hair behind her ear and slowly walked up the stairs.
