Chapter 26 #2
When we stepped into view, I paused at the entrance.
The room was huge, a full-on dining hall filled with plenty of long tables.
A chandelier dangled overhead, glittering and casting shards of light across the floor, and the place felt even more massive given that only two of the tables had occupants.
“You’re up,” Amelia said, rising from where she sat next to a hulking red demon in a suit at the head of the table.
The man to his right was slender and gorgeous, with golden curls and expressive eyes, and he appeared human, though I was fast learning to never assume.
Two other men sat at the other table, one long and gangly, and the other burly and built, and they chatted with someone very familiar.
“Sofia?” I said, thrilled to see her intact.
She glanced to us at once and gifted us with a huge smile, her dark eyes crinkling at the edges. Something inside me relaxed at once. If Gretel had run into trouble, she wouldn’t be this calm or measured.
“Gretel’s asleep,” she said with a wink. “Spent the night driving, but I figured I’d check in on you this morning. I took my precautions.”
“Come, eat,” the lanky guy said. “Theo made way too much, as if we expected a horde of people.”
“Jaffar was planning on swinging by too,” the red demon said. His obsidian horns, broad shoulders, and regal features made him stand out. “He’s got a naga he picked up from a bad situation.”
“You softie, you,” the blond with the curls teased.
“This is Cillian and Beau.” Ursuline murmured the introductions. “And Charles and Theo are at the other table. Let’s go sit.”
With their hand on my back bolstering me, I went over to the open spots at Cillian and Beau’s table.
We both took our seats, and Amelia dropped empty plates in front of us, along with silverware.
The two tables held a veritable feast. There was fruit of every shape and color—some I didn’t recognize—toast, eggs, different types of cooked meat, including bacon, and a bread pudding sort of dish.
I didn’t wait, snagging a few pieces of fruit for my plate, along with the bread pudding.
“The sweet tooth strikes again,” Ursuline murmured, an affectionate grin on their lips. One of their tentacles caressed my leg beneath the table, the touch offering the comfort I needed.
“Where did you come from?” Cillian asked, his voice booming through the place as his golden gaze zeroed in on me.
I paused, a piece of cantaloupe lifted to my lips. Nerves rushed through me. Was this where he interrogated me?
Beau elbowed his partner in the side. “Forgive my rude boyfriend. He’s never learned manners during his many years in this dimension.”
I bit back a snort. The relaxed exchange took Cillian’s intimidating factor down a notch or two.
The way they bantered with each other amplified my longing for the same sort of familiar relationship, one filled with a natural ease like that.
Except then Cillian returned his gaze to me.
Fuck, I hadn’t responded. “Also on the run from the Triton family,” I commented, then paused.
Did I mention I was with Ursuline? Were we together now?
Before, when I was engaged to Arielle, I was too afraid to claim anything, but now a relationship with them was all I wanted.
Ursuline’s tentacle curled around my thigh and squeezed. “He’s mine.”
The words sent a thrill through me, a shot of adrenaline and lust. My balls ached, and my trapped cock served as a reminder of exactly what they said.
The confident, fearless way they staked their claim was everything I could’ve dreamed of, and they’d done so in front of their friends.
When I met their eyes, their gaze blazed—with heat, with passion—and I lit up inside.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” Cillian said, a wan grin on his lips, his fangs protruding.
Ursuline arched a brow. “The same could be said of you.”
“No one is surprised I’m in a relationship,” Charles proclaimed. “Probably because I didn’t have the Broody Trauma Starter Pack the rest of you lot got.”
Beau let out a laugh at that, and I couldn’t help my smile. I didn’t miss the fact that Ursuline’s was due to their upbringing, though. How many other monsters suffered from the way those in power in our society treated them? I swallowed hard, the realization settling into the core of me.
“Eat,” Amelia said to me. “I’ll make sure my boss stops interrogating you.”
I offered a genuine smile and took a bite of the bread pudding. It was caramelly and buttery and perfect, and I tried to stifle a groan, my lashes fluttering. Ursuline’s tentacle squeezed my thigh. They leaned in close enough that their lips brushed my ear, and I shivered.
“That groan was filthy,” Ursuline whispered. “Save it for later.”
Heat roared through me, and I shifted in my seat. Oh damn. After waiting this long, all of a sudden my patience had vanished and I needed them now. I wanted them taking me apart piece by piece, and for whatever time we could claim, I just wanted to be reminded that I belonged to them.
“Are you going to join us for the next game night?” Beau asked, his gaze fixed on me.
I blinked. Ursuline had mentioned them in the past, but I hadn’t believed that invitation would ever extend to me. “If we’re around. I’m not sure what the plan is with Frederick sending guards to scour the city for us.”
“I’ve reached out to my contacts for any dirt on Frederick,” Cillian said.
“I may have an avenue myself if I can get to my files,” Ursuline murmured. “Though it’s a long shot. And chances are, he’s already set my apartment on fire and burned anything that remained.”
Sofia shook her head. “I hired my favorite boundary witch to set some wards on your apartment. Until we step foot back in there, he’d have to work hard to find a way inside.”
“You’re amazing,” Ursuline said, their voice thick. “All of you.”
“Like you haven’t stuck your neck out for us before,” Theo said, in a gruff tone. “You did the paperwork pro bono when we were getting Charles out of his situation.”
Curiosity piqued in me, but I figured that was a story for another time.
I chewed on a different fruit, something dark red and fleshy, and it was so sweet it melted on my tongue.
Ever since I’d met Ursuline, I’d been experiencing so much more than the stale upbringing I’d grown up with, so many different cultures that existed outside of the high society I’d been trapped in.
“What’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Amelia asked us.
“I’m just here to look pretty,” I joked, and a familiar sadness wove through me. Everyone had roles to play, things they were able to do, and as usual, I was useless. Unable to help or pitch in.
“You’re far more than pretty,” Ursuline said, a dangerous edge to their voice as they caught my gaze.
“And I was hoping for your help in contacting Jason, as well as reviewing a couple of photos Gretel sent over of the guys who were following us. Your attention to visual detail will be useful there.” They saw right through me, and my eyes stung.
I swallowed hard. Somehow, they always made me feel more, when I’d been so used to feeling less.
“We can pitch in with research,” Beau offered.
“You were just waiting for the opportunity,” Charles teased. “In case you didn’t know, he was a librarian.”
Beau rolled his eyes, and a lightness spread in me at seeing the way these people cared for each other openly, honestly.
How they showed up when it mattered, how they helped without being asked.
This warmth was everything I’d always thought would exist in a family, but that had never been my experience.
However, if Ursuline and I could find a way out of Triton’s web, and if Ursuline truly wanted me…maybe I could be a part of this too.
My heart twisted with longing—for all of it.
“You started breakfast without me?” a voice called out from the doorway. Jaffar walked inside and extended a head nod at Ursuline and me. His black hair was slicked back, and he wore a pressed suit, as if he was heading to a meeting after this. “Long time no see.”
“You’re too capricious for us to wait on you,” Amelia said. “And we were hungry.”
Jaffar snorted and pulled up a seat at the other table. “As long as you saved some blood nectar for me, all is forgiven.”
“Of course,” Theo said, pushing a glass in his direction. “I made sure it was prepared.”
Ursuline wasn’t the chattiest of the group—no, they offered wan smirks and casual comments—but I didn’t miss their presence by my side for a second.
Right now, their lips were pursed, their eyes dancing, and the rumpled silver hair and crooked tunic made me swoon, like I got to glimpse behind the armor.
They were all sharp angles—nose, jawline, brows—but a softness emanated from them in those often haunted eyes, a tenderness that I craved.
And more than ever, I longed to tell them everything I’d been clutching tight in my heart.
That I’d completely and utterly fallen in love.