Chapter Twenty-Five
Elio
Having the extra hands around to carry our luggage through the Other World was a blessing. Minter darted here and there and eventually, Fred put him on his hip and didn’t let our squirming wiggle worm down again no matter how much he protested. Our poor kiddo wanted to explore the in between but we were homeward bound. At least to see the place Freddie once called home.
“What if I let you move into the main house?” Fred asked Sequin halfway through our walk.
“What? Where are you going to stay when you visit then?” Sequin asked.
“Would you not let us visit?” Fred laughed.
“I would but I know you like your space. Besides, you never know. You might move home,” Sequin shrugged.
I tried to imagine never seeing Starscale 1 again.
“It wouldn’t be like that,” Fred said as soon as the thought crossed my mind. “Besides, maybe your mate is a Starscale and you’ll move before it matters.”
“Maybe you’ll want to see other worlds too. Like one year for Yule we could visit my parents,” Nelum added in. “They might even give you a wooly pig if you promise not to eat it.”
Sequin fell silent and I let out a long, slow breath. The kids had once told Fred they had it all worked out but I was starting to see that they hadn’t worked anything out at all. Teddy was asleep from a resurgence of grief. Daliah was pushing Sequin out of his own home and Sequin was hinting that Fred should move home for good. Duke seemed to be doing alright, but Lotus had been his stepmother, and he had his own kids by the time she passed. He didn’t have time to lose his mind properly or for good. I wanted to help them all get it figured out but had never known where to draw the line. I’d never be Lotus. I’d never be their carrier but I wanted to help them.
“I appreciate that,” Sequin said, picking up on my thoughts over the family link. “I wasn’t trying to make you leave your home. Daliah is just easier to handle with Dad or Teddy around.”
“We always said that about you,” Fred pointed out.
“Well, I’m not her person anymore. I’m not pink enough and my boobs are too small,” he rolled his eyes.
“What do you do besides fight with your sister?” Nelum asked and I waited for Sequin to bristle.
He laughed and scratched at the silver star-shaped scale on his chest instead.
“We all work for Cromwell Enterprises in one way or another. We have lots of businesses under our umbrella. Mostly startups that we funded. Hell, we’re funding Teal’s seed bombing. Just don’t tell Clarence. It’s driving him crazy. They seed bombed his golf course and no matter how much or often they cut it, the flowers keep growing back. I think he wanted to make a statement on how much food the golf course could grow or something. I dunno. Teal doesn’t seem to be the sort to do something just to annoy his grandparents but his dad is Cade. So, maybe he is.”
“Maybe,” Fred nodded, not hiding his amusement very well.
“But what do you do?” Nelum asked.
“Basically, I just float around doing whatever I want. Sometimes I’m helping startups. Sometimes I’m producing art or makeup. I opened a salon but mostly other people work there now. Good jobs for them. Puts them right under the Cromwell Umbrella so they get a lot of those perks. Teal wants to start up a farming co-op. We’re investing in that. Clarence doesn’t know yet but he’s not our boss. There is an actual treaty between him and our grandfather where he won’t stop any of our ventures unless they’d damage land or livelihoods of the flight. Sure, seed bombing causes some issues but it’s not hurting anyone. A co-op would only make more food and help everyone out. It’s funny because we own some grocery stores and we’re investing in something that would just give away food. Though, we’ve never filed theft charges on anyone who felt the need to nick something either. If someone is that hungry or impulsive, damn, let them eat. I’ve done a lot of research for Teal while I was on the island. Clarence can’t trace what we’re searching from there because it’s not his internet.
“I think maybe I’ll travel more though. Well, if I can’t find a way not to descale Rosemary in her sleep for nearly breaking one of Mama’s embroidery hoops. She stepped on it! Why was she even in the sewing room? It’s my sewing room! It’s not like Daliah ever cared to come in there unless I was measuring her for something.”
Sequin’s monologue carried us right to the Other World gateway that would let us out near the city limits of Moonscale London.
“Down now?” Minter whined. “Have feet!”
“I know, egg brat, but not yet,” Fred laughed and kissed the top of his head. “You have to stay up here. There will be cars soon.”
“We ride?” Minter’s eyes lit up.
“If our sister is on time, little dude,” Sequin laughed.
“And if she remembered the booster seat,” Fred added. “If she didn’t, they’ll ride and you and I will fly over.”
“Want to ride,” Minter shook his head. “Want to ride in car.”
“We’ll see, baby,” I said, flashing him a knowing grin. The world was so big and new to him that he wanted to see it all. There would be plenty of safer times for him to do that.
Daliah was on time and taller than I thought she’d be. I knew she was an alpha but often forgot that because she and Sequin always reminded me of the other. She and Rosemary arrived in a pink-lemonade colored mini-bus and Sequin rolled his eyes as he hugged his sister and avoided hugging Rosemary. I gave the woman in the pink sun dress a hug instead. When everything was said and done, she might feel like none of us liked her but that wasn’t true. If the house had technically belonged to Daliah, I’d have told Sequin to move over and find a way to deal with it.
Minter squirmed right into Daliah’s arms after she hugged Fred. Her little brother kissed her all over her face and ran a hand over her dyed black hair. He pet her long locks all the way to the car as she rambled on about her kids who were with Rosemary’s parents at the moment. Two babies the first time was always a lot, but they seemed to be making it work.
“We weren’t sure how much Minter weighed. So, we bought three boosters just in case,” Rosemary said. “I think Amarnath will fit in one of the ones we use for our egg brats.”
“That’s not your word,” Sequin rolled his eyes again.
“It’s mine and she can use it,” Fred said.
Rosemary smiled, even though it was forced, as she opened the door and showed me where they fixed up the car seat for Amaranth. It was the perfect size for our little one. Minter wasn’t thrilled about being strapped into the booster seat, but Fred managed to wrangle his flailing arms and legs enough to get him buckled in. He calmed down once he realized everyone had to wear a seatbelt and we weren’t just tying him up because we were mean like F pigs.
Neither Sequin nor Daliah spoke for the duration of the drive. Sometimes people grew apart, but I hated that they were fighting over something they shared for a long time. Things change but change didn’t always have to tear apart relationships. Fred shot me a sidelong glance and I let it go for the moment. Couldn’t we all just have a nice visit before Nelum dived into his past life?