Chapter Twelve
Kami felt completely drained after enduring an intense interrogation by her family and friends.
The minute Zander and Devlin had left to go take care of their business, Jackie, Micah, Crispin, Lia, and Kellen had hit her with a barrage of question, leading with a mixture of concern, curiosity, and a healthy dose of fear.
They’d wanted to know what had happened every second since she had been separated from them back in the cave in the Realm of Illusions.
They also wanted to know more about her mate.
Kami tried her best to answer each of their questions, but it became clear that there was still plenty she didn’t know about him.
She hadn’t yet had a chance to probe his memories like he had hers.
In her defense, he had been alive a whole hell of a lot longer than she had.
She knew he was also worried about her witnessing some of the more gruesome battles he had been involved in, so she had pushed off searching his memories until they were both prepared.
They hadn’t gotten far into the questioning when more of their friends arrived at the Winter Palace.
Braxton, Devon, Sapphire, Raiden, Jilli, and Ramsey had demanded that she start her story back from the beginning.
She hadn’t minded recapping for them, and their assessment gave her valuable insight.
By the end of the interrogation, her throat was dry from talking, and she was absolutely starving.
She was also in desperate need of a nap.
While everyone else had been able to enjoy the food while she had been answering their questions, she hadn’t gotten to take more than a few bites.
Still, beneath her exhaustion, there was a sense of acute relief.
Sharing her story with her family and friends helped lift a heavy burden off her own shoulders.
She’d been worried about how they would react to everything, but their quick acceptance warmed her heart.
Seated at the table surrounded by the people who mattered to her, she realized just how much she had missed them and just how important their friendship was to her.
They gave her a sense of normalcy that she craved, and their love and support meant more to her than a kingdom filled with precious jewels.
But she wanted more.
Kami wanted them to love and care for Zander as much as they did her.
She believed that would come with time. Even though her group of friends was used to dealing with strange and unusual situations, Zander was an unknown anomaly. He was different from anyone they had encountered before, and the mystery that surrounded him made her friends understandably cautious.
She understood that trust was not given lightly amongst her circle, especially after all they had been through together. However, she hoped that as they spent more time with Zander, they would begin to see the qualities in him that she cherished.
She wanted to give him the family he’d never had.
Wanted to shower him with all the love and affection that he’d never gotten before.
Kami finally got a chance to eat as the conversation shifted to the reapers who had just been rescued from their magical slumber.
Without asking, several pixies appeared with more food, placing several of her favorites on the table in front of her.
After thanking them, she dug in, giving everyone else a chance to talk while she stuffed her face.
Although some of the reapers had immediately taken off right after they’d woken up, the rest of them had stuck around to demand answers about what had happened. They’d been caught between outright disbelief and confusion, but as they listened, their reactions had shifted to shock and anger.
Many of them had been overwhelmed with emotions, unsure how to return to a world that had moved on without them. While there were a few of them who were simply relieved that they had survived the ordeal, most of them were left feeling completely lost.
There wasn’t an easy answer to their dilemma.
The reapers had been absent for centuries, missing crucial events and countless changes that had transformed each of the realms. That in itself was daunting to adapt to, but there was also the emotional strain of trying to reconnect with family and friends who had thought them long gone.
A group of the newly freed reapers chose to accompany Lucifer back to his palace, while others opted for Guardian’s Gate, Braxton and Devon’s home. There were a handful that were staying at Micah’s parents’ estate, and more that had returned to their own homes.
When Braxton pointed out that the reapers needed help getting settled, the King of Hell had gleefully volunteered his son for the duty.
Although he was one of the most powerful supernaturals alive, Braxton was still young and didn’t feel comfortable being in charge of a group of ancient reapers.
Besides, he was too busy trying to get a handle on his new role as the God of Souls to deal with anything else.
That’s why they needed a plan.
Unlike Zander, who had knowledge of everything that had been happening while he’d been cursed, the other reapers had been trapped in magical comas with no idea what was going on around them.
Because of that blank gap, they needed to learn about the current state of the six realms and figure out how to adapt to the modern age.
Technology, social norms, and even the balance of power had shifted dramatically since they were last awake.
There were also new laws they would have to follow.
Helping them readjust would require more than just giving them a safe haven.
It would take patience and a willingness to guide them through unfamiliar territory.
If they didn’t learn how to adapt to their new reality, they could become dangerous.
Finding the right strategy to bring everyone up to speed was imperative. They needed to be taught how to live in a world that was no longer familiar. As for who would take on the task of instructing the reapers, that needed to be carefully decided.
“We should just send them to school,” Kami joked before taking a bite of perfectly grilled steak.
“That’s a fantastic idea!” Sapphire exclaimed.
Raiden snorted in derision. “What school will take a bunch of pissed off reapers?”
The Apex Alpha Dragon Shifter was never far from his mate’s side. Even now, Sapphire and Raiden’s chairs were so close they were pressed together. Kami thought it was sweet that they couldn’t seem to stop touching one another, even when they were doing something as simple as eating.
“We could set up a special school for them,” Devon suggested as she twisted her long pink and silver hair into a bun on the top of her head and secured it there with a large claw clip.
She reached for the serving spoon and scooped up a helping of some creamy potatoes onto her plate. “I’m full, but I can’t stop eating.”
“Try a piece of fruit from the Tree of Life,” Lia suggested with a sly grin.
“The what now?” Braxton asked, surprised.
As Lia explained the fruit to the rest of them, Kami noticed Jillian Swift was staring off into the distance as if she were lost in thought.
Jilli was a remarkably gifted young witch known for her rare talent as a soothsayer.
The ability to glimpse into the future was extraordinarily uncommon, which is why Aegis Academy made an exception and let her enroll early.
Although Jilli had not yet undergone her awakening, her soothsayer abilities were already impressive.
Kami recognized Jilli’s glazed eyes as the look she got when she was having one of her day visions. Those were a little more confusing and less direct than the dreams she had while she was sleeping, but they were still just as valid.
“What is it? What did you see?” Ramsey, Prince of the Summer Fae Kingdom, demanded when he also noticed Jilli’s space out. When she didn’t answer, he simply continued to eat a slice of pizza as he waited for her vision to finish.
“I can’t believe your mate stole the Tree of Life,” Braxton said, sounding impressed.
“He didn’t steal it. He relocated it since people kept trying to destroy it,” Kami corrected.
“See? This is why people can’t have nice things,” Kellen quipped.
“It’s tasty,” Raiden said after trying a piece of the fruit.
“About the school idea, I think it could work. But instead of making them attend an academy, it might be best to have the teachers go to them,” Ramsey suggested.
“Oh, that’s better,” Lia praised. “But who is going to take charge of them? Herding a bunch of pissed-off, old as dirt reapers has to be worse than trying to herd a bunch of cats.”
“We’ve already contacted someone to take care of that task,” Zander announced as soon as he and Devlin teleported into the room.
Hearing his voice, Kami was up and out of her seat, running toward him before she even realized she was moving. He caught her on the fly as she leapt at him, and he spun her around while chuckling at her antics.
“Are you okay? You weren’t hurt, were you? Of course, you weren’t,” she said, answering her own question. “How did it go? Did you catch the bad guys?”
“Bad guys have been dealt with,” Zander reported, stroking a hand down her hair.
Uncaring about their audience, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers for a long, thorough kiss. When he pulled back, he kept one arm wrapped around her waist and easily carried her back to the table. Sitting down, he settled her on his lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She could feel herself blushing but didn’t try to move. She had been missing him too damn much to pretend otherwise.
“You should have reached out and contacted me if you were feeling this way,” Zander scolded gently.
She blinked at him in surprise. “But you were…somewhere out there.”
“Our magic and the strength of our bond should allow you to reach me anywhere.”