Chapter 24 All For Her
Zane
Seri was going to lose her moon-damn mind, and I couldn’t wait to see it.
Our first chance to celebrate Seri publicly! Seri in the limelight instead of the shadows! And fuck, yeah, I was going to make it a whole thing!
Two hours ago, this place had been just another pretty spot on our property. Now? It was a wonderland of celebration waiting to explode the moment our little witch arrived.
And cruor, did she deserve it. Creating an anti-siphoning ward wasn’t just impressive; it was revolutionary. I knew we needed to make a spectacle out of celebrating her achievement. Go big or go home, right? And since we were already home, we had to go absolutely massive.
Enter Zane Cimmerian: Party Maestro.
Brumous trotted by, sporting his tiny black top hat. He looked ridiculously adorable, and I crouched down to adjust the hat to a more rakish angle.
“Looking sharp, Brumster,” I told him before he licked my hand and bounded off.
The guest list for this shindig was small, but significant: Mrs. Wentzel and Addison and Kaori, with whom Seri had grown surprisingly close through their video calls.
Same with Sebastian, who’d been to Evermere so often since we found her that Seri had started referring to him as her “big brother.” It made all of us happy that she liked Seb and he liked her, since he was so important to us.
Unfortunately, that meant we also had to invite him.
I grimaced. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how easily Seri had accepted Lucian, calling him Papa and actually hugging him like she cared for the old leech. But if having him here for one night made her happy, my brothers and I had agreed we could suffer through it.
“I say we don’t invite him,” Ko had muttered when I mentioned it.
“Already texted him. Besides, this is for Seri.”
“This being the draft of his invitation?” Cas had held up a yellow sticky note that read,
Yo, Pops,
Come celebrate Seri tomorrow night. Lakeside at dusk.
Hugs,
Your Wayward Sons
“Yeah, why?” I’d shrugged as Ko had barked out a laugh and Cas rolled his eyes. “What? This is her debut as the most precious thing in the fang-rotted world, remember?”
And of course, Foster was coming, too. Not only had Brummy claimed him as part of our ‘ohana, Fosterino was Seri’s first real friend. In fact, he and Seri were at a nearby town right now, off on an exploring adventure, which was our cover story for getting her out of the house.
“Zane!” Koa’s deep voice pulled me from my thoughts. He was standing by the refreshment table, clipboard in hand, checking items off. “The banner just arrived. Is The Great Suck No More Gala really the name we’re going with?”
“I refuse to let the whole siphoning pun go.” I hurried over to inspect it.
“What about The Great Drain No More Gala? Semantically, it’s more accurate.”
“Semantics? Really? This is a party, not a thesis defense, Koala Bear!”
“Absolutely not.” Cas wore his zero-chill face like it was custom-made. “Neither of those.”
“Fine!” I spun around, spreading my arms wide in frustration. “What brilliant suggestion does the committee have?”
“Seripalooza?” Ko offered with a slight smile.
“Seripalooza.” I tested the word, letting it roll around my mouth. “That’s actually not terrible.”
Cas merely raised an eyebrow, which I took as his tacit approval. Or at least, the absence of outright rejection.
“Seripalooza it is!” I declared. A quick paint job would fix the banner right up. “But the dress code remains ‘ethereal and/or unhinged.’ No arguments.”
The location, our lake with its covered dock, had been my choice from the start. The energy was epic. Open enough for giant inflatable swan floaties—because I was never again touching a live waterfowl—and for the games and challenges I planned, yet serene enough for conversations and dancing.
“The cake arrived.” Ko consulted his clipboard again. “Mrs. Wentzel outdid herself.”
I rushed over to the dessert table. The three-tiered masterpiece was decorated with buttercream swirls in shades of blue, with “You Did It!” piped across the top in elegant script. Mrs. Wentzel had incorporated edible gold leaf and tiny sugar moons around the edges.
“It’s exquisite,” I breathed, already imagining Seri’s face when she saw it. “Did you get the playlist sorted out?”
“Loaded and ready to go.” Ko nodded. “I still think the transition from aggressive pop remixes to string quartets is going to give everyone emotional whiplash.”
“That’s the point! Life isn’t a straight line of emotions! It’s a zigzag of highs and lows and unexpected beats. The playlist is a metaphor!”
“A metaphor for your attention span, maybe,” Cas muttered.
Pooh-poohing him, I moved on to my next masterpiece: Hand-painted party hats shaped like crescent moons. I’d stayed up until three this morning finishing them, and they were glorious, each one decorated with tiny stars and personalized with the wearer’s name.
“These are mandatory,” I announced, placing one atop Ko’s head. To his credit, he wore it with dignity, adjusting it slightly so it sat at a better angle on his samurai top knot.
I tried to place one on Casimir’s head next, but he dodged.
“No,” he growled, checking that his hair was still perfect.
“C’mon, Cas! It’s for Seri!”
“I will do many things for Seri. Wearing a fang-rotted party hat is not one of them.”
I knew when I was fighting a losing battle. Instead, I focused on setting out the rest of the hats on a table with a prominent label of “REQUIRED ATTIRE” in glittery letters.
Koa, meanwhile, had been busy with his own contributions to the celebration. He’d worked with Mrs. Wentzel to create custom cocktails and mocktails with names that made me snort with laughter. Siphon Slayer, Moonbound Bliss, and my personal favorite, The Darkling’s Regret.
He’d also set up what he called a “memory tree,” a small willow at the edge of the lake where guests could hang written notes for Seri.
It was sentimental as hell, but I had to admit it was a nice touch.
I’d already secretly written three notes, one heartfelt, one hilarious, and one that would make her blush to the roots of her honey hair.
Koa had prepared a toast, too, because, I mean, Koa. He never missed an opportunity to emotionally devastate a room, but always in the best way possible.
Cas’ contributions were harder to spot, but no less significant.
He’d been lurking in the background all day, his face set in an expression that revealed nothing.
He only intervened when I got too close to creating an actual fire hazard, which, to be fair, happened more often than I’d like to admit.
But I’d noticed the extra staff, the attention to detail in the table arrangements, the subtle security measures that ensured the celebration would be both safe and flawless.
I’d bet Beatrice, my motorcycle, that he’d secretly paid the entire staff double to ensure everything met his exacting standards.
I didn’t ask, and he didn’t mention it. That was our dynamic: I created beautiful chaos, and he made sure it didn’t burn down the world.
“You should get ready.” Cas raised an eyebrow at me. “Foster will be back with Seri soon.”
He was already dressed in a white button-up, and Koa in a black one. They looked like gods. I, in only a pair of cut-off sweats, looked like a dishwasher.
“All right, but while I’m gone, don’t try to tone down my artistic vision. We aren’t exercising any restraint. We have officially pulled that muscle.”
I raced back to the house, had a quick shower, and donned a white lace shirt, left unbuttoned of course; I didn’t have washboard abs for Seri not to see them.
Whipping on a pair of shredded white jeans, I finished the look with the pièce de résistance: My silver sneakers with LED lights in the soles.
Looking in the mirror, I nodded with satisfaction.
Ethereal enough to pass muster, unhinged enough to be true to myself.
Hustling back to the lake, I paused at the dock to breathe in my own genius.
Floating giant swans. Twinkle lights. A towering cake.
Party hats. Music. All her favorite people.
I didn’t know how Seri would react, but my money was on waterworks.
Still, nervousness twisted my stomach. Not because I doubted the party, but because I wanted it to be perfect for Seri. She deserved perfect.
She deserved the world.
Then, “He’s here,” Ko muttered.
I straightened up and shot a quick look at Cas, who gave me a reassuring nod. We could do this.
Lucian and Kaori climbed out of their SUV just as the sun slipped behind the horizon. I had to admit they made an impressive sight, Lucian in a tailored black suit and Kaori in a glittering white dress that showed off her warm brown skin beautifully.
“Zane.” Lucian greeted me with a slight nod. “This is more tasteful than I expected.”
High praise coming from him.
“Don’t sound so surprised, Pops. I have tasted many things.” I gave him my most charming smile, the one that always made him suspect I was up to something. Which I usually was. “Seb not coming?”
“Unfortunately detained by matters of state,” Lucian said smoothly, which translated to, “Hunting the traitor among my sycophants.”
Kaori stepped forward to give me a hug, which I returned. I liked her not just because she somehow managed to make Lucian marginally less of an asshole, but because she was smart, funny, and treated us like we mattered. And Seri liked her.
“It looks wonderful.” Her dark eyes took in the transformed lake area. “Seri is going to love it.”
Cas extended a hand to Lucian in a gesture that was cordial, but far from warm. Ko greeted the vampire king with a brief nod and kept his hands in his pockets.
For a moment, silence fell among us, then Brumster bounded over, his top hat now askew, and nudged at Kaori’s hand for pets.
“Brumous, my fine friend!” she laughed as she indulged my good boy with ear scritches.
Then my phone buzzed. Fozzerella. Five minutes out.