Chapter Three #2
Her aunt’s hand came out of nowhere, and Krys’s head snapped to the side. Krys lifted her hands, and they rose off the ground and flew screaming through the city, back to their house. It would take them a while before they could come back.
She returned to the mansion and the party. Getting the buffets lined up was underway, with concealment for the scents coming from the different stations.
It was time to make some announcements.
She put an illusion over her cheek and went to take the mic again and ease everyone to their seats.
She congratulated the couple and explained how they would be called to the buffet table by table.
There was plenty, but the vegetarians, vegans, and those with special food needs were going to go first.
She looked around. “I know you are here. Come on. I want to make sure that none of the curious get your food. I am aware that it is often an issue.”
A few elves got up, and then other shifters went, and Krys called the first two tables to the buffet, and the dinner began.
She called out two tables at a time. Vaia and Azreen had been given a menu earlier and had received their food directly.
They were cute and chatting together as Krys got their guests to the buffets, where every animal available locally had been roasted, grilled, or poached for the buffet.
She got all twenty-five tables out and to the buffets in twenty minutes.
It was a good thing they used multiple stations.
The vegetarians and vegans were happy. They came away with full plates for a change, and there was no cross-contamination with the meat.
The servers grabbed the empty plates, and the dishwashers began their hot work.
Nylora managed to get her meal with her partners before she had to head into the house. Demuel went with her.
Sable kept things moving and talked with the servers as they went past or waited for the next round of dishes. She had gotten the hang of things and would make a great site manager.
Krys waited until after the dinner was finished, and she said, “And now, for the first dance, Vaia and Azreen.”
The goblin singer waved her over, and he said, “I can’t sing this one. The groom gave me a video to go with the song, but I can’t hit the notes. It looks like you are up again.”
She raised her hand. “Uppies.”
He grinned and set her down on the stage. “And now, Krys-Alys.”
She sang the song that was scrolling on her phone, and Vaia and Azreen danced gracefully together for the first time as chosen dragonborn and mage.
When the song was over, she handed the mic back and went to get into her dance costume. Geez, this was a busy night.
Dancing with Hura was always fun, but it was exhausting considering the day she had had.
Krys bent, twisted, and twirled as she moved to the tribal music.
Dancing in formation was tricky, but it was only two songs.
The heavy drum made an excellent backdrop to the tribal belly dance, and as soon as they were done, Krys filed back into the main house, sprinting to change back into her new dress.
She made sure everything was in place and headed back down to the event space, where folks were now dancing.
Vaia came by with a grin that faded slightly and then completely. “Krys. What the hell happened to your face?”
“Oh, oh, damn. Sorry.” She pulled the illusion back on.
“Who did that? I will tear their fucking face off.”
“Easy. They are long gone. We had some gate crashers, and they mistook my face for a gate.”
“Someone hit you?”
“Yeah. That is how I remember it.”
“Who?” There was a suspicion in her eyes.
“Today is your wedding. You can be outraged another day.”
“My mother, her husband, and my half-brother.”
“Be mad later.” She reached out and squeezed the bride’s hand, where the enormous ring was now hogging space on her finger.
“It must hurt. She can really pack a punch.”
“It does, thanks for bringing it to the forefront of my mind.”
Vaia hugged her. “Thanks for keeping them out.”
“No problem. Have you talked to Axa yet?”
“Yes. Once during dinner. She wants to see it all. The videographer is having a blast. This is one of the most visually interesting weddings he has been to recently.”
Krys grinned and looked around. “It is that.”
“The dancers were amazing and fun. And they are on phones all over the place.”
“Oh. Lovely.”
“Yeah, I know you were masked, but the snowflake on your shoulder is a dead giveaway.”
“Damn.”
“Yup. I am pretty sure that Reynal’s eyes bugged out.”
“Double damn.”
Vaia laughed. “Well, what is left on the agenda?”
“I take the illusion off the cake and the dessert buffet. You two cut the cake, more photos, everybody plays nice and feeds their new spouse cake.”
Vaia laughed and looked around. “Where is it?”
“Come with me. Grab the boy. There’s cake afoot!”
Vaia was laughing wildly as she caught Azreen in his conversation with his father and hauled him after Krys.
She walked a little away from the empty vegetarian buffet, raised her hands, and, with a flourish, she moved the concealment that looked like the background of trees and flowers.
There was a four-tiered cake, sheet cakes, a stunning variety of brownies, tarts, cream buns, and things that looked like swans and griffins, dragons, and unicorns.
She walked the couple around to the tier designated for immediate slaughter, and showed them the knife and cake server. Dia was in position and directed the action.
The guests gathered around, and Vaia and Azreen held hands as they cut the cake and then very nicely fed each other with calm respect and smiling gazes. Dia caught it all.
It was sweet, and then Krys took the blade from them and used a cantrip to slice the cake into proper sizes. The couple got three slices of the different cakes, and the top tier was taken to the kitchen to be boxed up and frozen for their anniversary.
Azreen grinned. “Dessert, everybody.”
Krys had a second table appear and said, “Vegetarian and vegan dessert right here.”
There was laughter, the servers manned the tables to help, and the tables were cleared out in under five minutes. Extranaturals loved sweets.
Krys whistled sharply, and the restocking occurred to cheers as the laughing couple went back to their table with their own selections.
There was more music, wine, and dancing, and Krys exhaled slowly. Leo’s voice next to her made her jump. “Well, you pulled this one off.”
“Thanks. Very proud.”
“What happened to your face?”
“What? Oh, earlier. Vaia’s mother showed up. They were upset that the money train had been cut off. I think Azreen’s lawyer has been busy.”
“Well, Dorn has been chortling lately.”
“Wait. It’s Dorn?”
“Yes. He loves a good familial litigation. That dude is weird. I think Reynal has healing as a skill.” Leo smiled.
“What? No. I will be fine by next weekend.” She leaned away, but Leo grabbed her arm and punched a message into her phone.
“No, no. I insist. Your duties are nearly done. You can have a moment getting first aid.”
Reynal walked toward them, and Krys shrank back. He paused. “Is something wrong?”
“It looks like Krys got a fist to the left side of her face. Krys. Drop the illusion.”
“I don’t want to—”
Leo looked at her. “Please. You are hurting. I can smell it.”
Krys sighed and looked at Reynal as she dropped the illusion.
He looked at her and shook his head. “Not here. Is there somewhere private?”
“Oh. Um. Yes, come this way.”
She walked with him and led him into the pantry. “This is about as private as you can get tonight.”
He looked and saw the small counter. He lifted her and set her down on it. He trailed his fingers over the damage. “Who did it?”
“Vaia’s mother. She and the rest of her immediate family are warded from the property. They can’t get through the gates.”
“You have been busy tonight.” He continued to move his hand over her skin; she could feel the warmth of it.
“Yup.”
He chuckled. “I have dark fae in my bloodline, and this is one thing I can do.” He licked her skin, and it warmed and tingled. He licked over and over. She curled her toes in her heels. The tingling moved through her, and she shivered as he carefully ran his tongue around her eye.
When he had gone over it, she whispered, “I think you got it all.”
“I will just go over it one more time, to be sure.”
She swallowed, and he went over every part of the handprint again.
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I am sorry you had pain.”
“It’s par for the course.”
“It shouldn’t be. You need to put security into your plans.”
She sighed. “That costs extra.”
He laughed. “You and I are going to go over all of these expenditures and work out plans that don’t put you at risk. I have seen you use mage-level magic at least six times this evening. Do you charge extra for that?”
“No. It’s just something that I do.”
“We are going to discuss it. It’s a topic for discussion.”
She winced. “Fine. For now, I have to get back to the party.”
“Fine. Come with me.”
He set her back on her feet and took her by the hand. He walked slowly with her back to the party. Her mother’s grin was the first thing she saw, and her father’s shock was the second.
She glanced at the gargoyle in the very well-tailored suit. “Oh, boy.” She looked around for something else to focus on.
Her mother smiled. “So, Krys. Who is this?”
“Uh, Mom, Dad, this is Reynal. He’s the chief financial officer for Redbird City, and either Leo or Matthias asked him to help me with pricing my own skills.”
“Oh, sweetie, you do suck at that.”
“I know.” She slumped her shoulders.
Reynal squeezed her hand. “I am pleased to meet both of you and would like to speak if you have a moment, but first, Krys owes me a dance.”
She could feel her eyes looking for an escape. “I do?”
“Yes. You do. The price of my services.”