Chapter 26 Caelan #3
“Everyone knows the name. They were...” She stopped. Looked at Riley, really looked, in a way she hadn’t before. Her eyes traced Riley’s face, her features, her bone structure. “Oh, goddess.”
“Mother?”
“I knew you reminded me of someone.” Her voice had gone soft. Distant. “I couldn’t place it before, but now... oh, goddess.”
She rose, crossed to Riley, took her hands. Her eyes had found the watch on Riley’s wrist, and she stared at it with growing recognition.
“May I see it?” she asked. “The watch?”
Riley nodded, extending her arm. My mother examined the watch, turned it over, found the inscription on the back.
MIRABELLE.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Mother...” I started forward, alarmed. I’d never seen my mother cry, not once in my entire life. She was the Ice Queen of Duskmere, elegant and controlled. But now tears were streaming down her face.
“You’re Torven and Kattarina’s daughter,” she said, her voice breaking. “Aren’t you?”
Riley went very still. “You knew them? My parents?”
“Kattarina was an old friend.” A tear slipped down my mother’s cheek.
“We grew apart when I married the king. Our lives went in such different directions. But I loved her very much. When I heard of her passing, when we thought the whole family had perished in that fire...” She steadied herself.
“We thought you were dead. Everyone did.”
“I survived.” Riley’s voice was barely a whisper. “I don’t remember much. I was young. But I survived.”
“Oh, my dear girl.” My mother pulled her into an embrace. “Oh, my sweet girl. Your mother would be so proud of you.”
I watched my mate cling to my mother, watched the tears on both their faces, and felt a profound settling in my chest. My wolf was quiet, reverent.
This was meant to be. The goddess had brought us together. Riley’s mother had been my mother’s friend. Our families had been connected long before we were born.
Fate. It was all fate.
***
We moved to the family dining room for a meal.
It was smaller than the formal hall. Intimate, warm, with a fire crackling in the hearth and a table that seated eight. My mother refused to let go of Riley’s hand as we walked, asking questions about her godmother, about her childhood, about everything.
Riley answered as best she could. She didn’t remember much about her birth parents. Flashes, fragments, impressions rather than concrete memories. But my mother drank in every detail, hungry for any connection to her lost friend.
“She had your eyes,” my mother said at one point, stroking Riley’s cheek. “Kattarina. The same shape. The same fire in them.”
“I wish I could remember her better.”
“Perhaps we can help with that. There are paintings. Letters. Journals, maybe, in the archives. I kept everything I could save after... after the fire. I couldn’t bear to throw it away.”
Riley’s face lit up. “I would love that.”
My wolf settled with contentment. My mate would have connection to her past. Would know where she came from. My mother would give her that gift.
Dinner was served. The conversation flowed. Easier now, warmer. Servants brought course after course. Roasted venison, winter vegetables, fresh bread still warm from the ovens. Riley ate with appetite, and I watched her with satisfaction.
Patt regaled us with stories about my childhood, embarrassing ones that made Riley laugh and made me growl with irritation.
“And then,” Patt continued, grinning broadly, “Caelan climbed the tower because he thought he saw a bird that needed rescuing. Except it wasn’t a bird. It was a gargoyle.”
“It looked injured,” I said flatly.
“It was made of stone.”
“The light was bad.”
“He was twelve. He should have known.”
Riley was trying very hard not to laugh. She was failing.
“Don’t encourage him,” I told her, but there was no heat in my voice. I loved seeing her laugh. Even at my expense.
At some point, Thessa leaned close to Riley and murmured in her ear. Riley’s eyebrows shot up. She glanced at Vix’s now-empty chair, then at me. I couldn’t hear what Thessa said, but I had a horrible suspicion.
“What did you tell her?” I demanded.
Thessa shrugged innocently. “Just some helpful information about certain people.”
“Thessa.”
“What? She should know who to avoid.”
Riley was trying very hard not to grin. “So Vix has always wanted...”
“Don’t say it.”
“Always wanted...”
“Riley.”
“...you?”
I was going to murder my sister. Slowly. Painfully. As soon as Riley wasn’t looking.
“She’s delusional,” I said flatly. “I’ve never given her any encouragement. Never shown the slightest interest. She’s simply refused to accept reality.”
“So she’s been pining after you for years?”
“Obsessively, apparently,” Thessa supplied helpfully.
“I wouldn’t call it pining...” I started.
“She literally had a portrait commissioned of the two of you together,” Thessa continued. “Before you’d even spoken to her. It’s in her chambers. Very elaborate and detailed. Super creepy.”
Riley’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“That’s... wow.”
“She’s a bitch,” Thessa said matter-of-factly. “Always has been. Uses her position on the council to make everyone’s life miserable. No one can stand her.”
“I noticed she wasn’t exactly welcoming.”
“The ‘how cute’ thing? That’s nothing. You should hear what she says when she thinks no one important is listening.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Thessa. Please stop.”
“Your mate should know what she’s dealing with.”
“I agree,” Riley said, and she was grinning now. “I like knowing who my enemies are.”
“She’s not your enemy,” I tried.
“She literally sneered at me.”
“She sneers at everyone.”
“But she wants my fiancé.”
The table went silent.
“YOU PROPOSED?” Thessa’s voice cracked on the word. Her jaw dropped, her gaze darting between me and Riley. “When? How? Did you do it properly? Did you get down on one knee? Wait...” She looked at Riley’s hand. “Where’s the ring?”
I froze. I hadn’t told them. With everything that had happened, the heat, the reunion, the chaos, I’d completely forgotten to mention that I’d asked Riley to marry me back in the human world.
“I... yes. I proposed.”
“AND YOU DIDN’T TELL US?”
“Things have been somewhat hectic...”
“That’s no excuse!” But Thessa was grinning now, delighted despite her outrage. “Mother! Father! Caelan proposed and didn’t tell anyone!”
“We gathered as much,” my mother said, her smile warm. “The claiming mark made it rather obvious, dear.”
“But still! Details! We need details!”
The chaos continued. Questions about the proposal, demands for a proper ceremony, my father commenting dryly that at least someone in the family could commit. Then Thessa’s expression shifted.
Darker. Sadder.
“Speaking of commitments,” she said, her voice carefully casual. “How is... how is Jade?”
My chest tightened. I knew that tone. Knew the pain behind it.
My sister had been suffering, separated from her mate by realms, by duty, by circumstance. Just as I had been. The difference was, I’d gotten my mate back. She was still waiting.
“She’s well,” Riley said softly, clearly sensing the shift in mood. “She misses you. Talks about you constantly.”
Thessa’s jaw tightened. “Does she.”
“She does. She showed me the necklace you gave her. Wears it every day. She touches it when she’s thinking of you. Which is... often.”
My sister’s composure cracked. Just for a moment. Just enough for me to see the depth of her longing.
“The portals are stabilizing,” I said quietly, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “Now that the immediate crisis is over, we can discuss... arrangements.”
“Arrangements,” Thessa repeated. But there was hope in her eyes now. Fragile, tentative hope.
I knew exactly how she felt. The agony of separation. The desperation to be reunited with the other half of your soul. I’d lived it for what felt an eternity. Even if it was only days for me.
I’d never stop feeling guilty about that.
Riley caught my eye across the table. She was smiling. That real, bright smile that made my heart stutter.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I reached over, took her hand. “Just... this. I love this.”
“The family dinner? Or the Vix bashing?”
“All of it.” I brought her hand to my lips, kissed her knuckles. “Having you here. In my home. With my family. I love it.”
Her expression softened. “I love it too.”
“Even the crazy parts?”
“Especially the crazy parts.”
I’d gladly endure them a thousand times over, if it meant keeping her by my side.