Chapter 15
Hugo
Last night was seriously long, and by the time Zay and I went to bed, it was long past breakfast time.
We’d blown up all of our air mattresses—I hadn’t even realized we had that many—and brought two into our bedroom so Jett, Ward, and Kian would be close by.
As much as I normally liked my privacy, I wanted them close, and it wasn’t like Zay and I were up for anything by then anyway. I was way overtired.
When I woke up before anyone else in the bedroom, I stayed there for a while, just… taking everything in, remembering, and trying not to wake anyone with my tears. Luckily, I must’ve been quiet because no one woke up, not even my viramore.
So I tiptoed my way over to the door and slipped out, went to the bathroom—I could hear voices coming from… everywhere—then came out to the kitchen to find Zay’s Uncle Tio cooking the biggest breakfast I’d ever seen.
He offered me a smile and pointed at the coffee machine. “There’s a fresh pot if you’re interested. If you want tea, give me a moment to get it started.”
“I’m fine with coffee, thank you.”
I quickly poured myself a mug and moved out of the way, but before I escaped, he added, “Cream, sugar, and honey are over there, kiddo.” He pointed to the edge of the counter, away from all of his cooking and prep work. I had no idea what he was making, but it sure as hell smelled good already.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Breakfast will be done in about twenty minutes. Well, brunch or lunch at this point, but food will be ready soon.”
“Thank you so much for… all of this.”
He waved me off. “No worries. I love cooking for my family.” He winked at me and went back to work.
I didn’t know him well, but this was pretty much like every interaction I’d ever had with him—super kind and friendly. He seemed like a wonderful person, and Zay definitely loved him, like he loved all his aunts and uncles.
I fixed my coffee the way I liked it, then walked out to the living room.
Zay’s sister, Virion, was there, and as soon as she saw me, she patted the seat beside her on the couch, so I made my way over there.
She was a drow, just like their dad, Obi.
I knew some people were scared of drow, for reasons I didn’t understand, but all the drow I knew were really great, including her.
I didn’t know her as well as Kian and some of their cousins, but she was always kind.
Just like the rest of the family.
She reached over and gave me a quick side-hug. “How you doing, Huey?” For some reason, she liked calling me any name but Hugo. I thought it was kind of funny, so I never asked her to stop.
“I’m okay. Just… I dunno, in shock, I think.”
She nodded. “Makes sense. I’m in shock, and I wasn’t even there.” She tugged on my hair. “Wanna talk about it, Hugoton?”
That one made me snort, and she offered a small smile. I shrugged. “Not really. I think I’m all talked out at the moment.”
“Fair enough, but I’m here if you ever want an ear to listen, okay? I know we don’t know each other very well, but I like you. You’re family, and you’re a great guy. I’m hoping we can get to know each other better since my big brother’s soooooooo in love with you.”
I chuckled at that and gave her a small shoulder bump. “I’d like that.”
I felt Zaos jerk awake and panic for a second, so through our link, I said, “I’m safe. I’m in the living room with your sister.”
I could feel him taking deep breaths to calm himself. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just talking to her and drinking coffee while your uncle cooks what looks like a feast.”
“Sounds about right. Be out in a minute.”
“Take your time, hun.”
“I want to see you.”
It was cheesy and so ridiculous, but I loved it… because I wanted to see him too. We’d been apart for, what? Fifteen minutes tops? And yet, I missed him. I couldn’t help but wonder if it’d always be like this.
I took a look around and saw Sebastian and Ailin standing against the far wall, shoulders touching, heads tilted together as they whispered and shared an occasional kiss.
Then I glanced behind myself to find Uncle Tio’s viramore, Samara, leaning in to kiss his cheek as he grinned at her before she went back to helping chop up veggies.
I hadn’t even seen her come in, but I assumed she’d been outside when I was in the kitchen.
She’d probably missed him the way I missed Zay right now.
I glanced out the window and saw Zay’s Uncle Thay and Uncle Toby sitting at a picnic table so close together they were practically in each other’s laps.
Farther out in the yard, his Uncle Basil was throwing something at his Uncle Hiro, both of them cracking up when Hiro retaliated by running at his viramore and throwing him over his shoulder.
And yeah… so maybe it really would always be like this. And maybe I… maybe I liked that. Was looking forward to it even.
I glanced around again and grimaced as I remembered exactly why everyone was here in our home this morning.
Flashes of Phia’s head exploding in front of me, blood everywhere as her body dropped, made me squirm in my seat.
She’d been so young. She’d had her whole life ahead of her.
And Kian… poor Kian.
His girlfriend was murdered right in front of me. He’d been planning a future with her. He’d wanted to move in with her, to start a family together, to live a long and full life together.
Just like Zay wanted to do with me.
And I wanted that. Fuck, I wanted that.
I wanted forever with him.
Seeing her die like that, knowing that something could so easily happen to me, brought new light into my mind’s eye about the whole vampire thing.
I understood now why Zaos wanted me to change so badly, and as scary as it was to think about, it was even scarier knowing I could be taken from this world far easier than any supernatural ever could.
And Phia had been a supe, and she’d still been taken from us in the flash of an eye.
“Hey, mezelie,” Zay murmured as he squeezed in beside me.
I scooted closer to Virion to make room, and Zay draped his arm over my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. I went with ease, and through our bond, I said, “I think I’m ready to be changed.”
He hadn’t been moving before I’d said it, but somehow, he stilled further. “I… you know that’s what I want, sweetheart, but maybe we should give it a little time after… well, after last night. I don’t want you to make a hasty decision and end up regretting it.”
That was… fair, even though I was sure I wasn’t going to change my mind. But I just nodded and snuggled into his chest, closing my eyes when he kissed my forehead. I rested there as he chatted quietly with his sister and a couple of cousins who’d finally woken up.
A few minutes later, Uncle Tio announced, “Food’s ready!”
I opened my eyes and glanced over my shoulder, snorting when I saw half of Zay’s family already filing in from outside. No wonder he’d cooked so much food.
“Let’s wait for the rush to calm down.”
I nodded in agreement with Zay and relaxed back into him, soaking him up and letting his presence and the love emanating from him warm me down to the bone.
Eventually, we got up and made our plates, and then I devoured every single thing on my plate so fast that Zay ended up making me a second one. And I devoured that too. Uncle Tio was a master chef. I wish I could pay him to make all our meals.
Zay laughed and bumped me with his shoulder. “We could just go to his restaurant.”
“Isn’t that near coven land, though?”
“Yeah, but with the portal, it’s like five seconds away. Well, more like fifteen minutes by the time we drive there, but you know what I mean.”
I sat there, stunned for a moment. Why hadn’t I ever thought about the fact that we could explore the city he grew up in so easily?
Whenever I thought about the portal, I only thought about going to movie nights and things like that at the big house, or maybe visiting Zay’s dads at their home or whatever.
I never thought about anything outside of coven land.
That was… actually really awesome.
“Yeah, I’d like that.” After a second, I added, “Maybe we should ask your dads to go to dinner with us. We haven’t seen them much lately.” And I knew he missed them dearly.
“That would be great.” He sent me the sweetest smile that I couldn’t help but lean over and kiss his cheek.
Zay’s dads joined us in the living room with full plates, but I had no idea where they’d come from. I knew they’d planned to stay here instead of going home, but where the hell did they sleep?
In my head, Zay’s voice said, “I’m pretty sure they slept outside.”
“What? Where? On the grass?”
Zay snorted. “In a big sleeping bag, you goof.”
“Oh. That makes more sense.”
I supposed knowing they were both from Faela and that Talon had that nature thing going for him made me jump to conclusions.
Zay snorted again and pressed a kiss to my hair.
I studied his one dad, Obi, for a moment, amazed at how much Virion looked like him.
They weren’t blood-related—all three kids were adopted—but their drow-ness was a stark contrast to everyone else.
They were both so very pale, and their dark hair made their skin seem even paler.
They both had deep purple eyes, angular cheeks, pointy ears, and were covered in piercings.
If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she was his biological daughter.
It made me wonder if all drow had those features.
Zay nudged me. “Maybe one day I can take you to Faela, and you can see for yourself. It’s beautiful there, and there’s so much wildlife and magic just… everywhere. It could be a fun vacation.”
“I think I’d really like that.”
Before I could be too happy with our plans, Kian finally came out of the bedroom.
He glanced around, then headed straight for his dads.
Even though he was way bigger than either of them, he managed to squeeze in between them and plop down like a little kid.
Neither seemed to mind. They just gave him room, then squished into either side.
If they weren’t there, I was pretty sure he’d fall over.
He looked terrible. His eyes were red rimmed, his face was blotchy and swollen, and his hair was a disaster. Even his clothes were rumpled, although we were all a little rumpled from sleep.
But Kian looked like he hadn’t even slept a wink.
Zaos whispered to me, “I’m gonna make Key a plate. Be right back.”
I nodded, then with some hesitation, I reached across the coffee table and took Kian’s hand in mine. He gave it a squeeze and sent me a sad smile that I returned. We stayed there, his dads rubbing his back and playing with his hair, with me holding his hand until Zay came back.
When my viramore placed the plate in front of his brother, I released him and sat back. Kian took the fork from Zay’s outstretched hand and mumbled, “Thank you.”
“Try to eat something. I know you don’t want to right now, but you need to keep your energy up.”
Kian took a breath, gave a nod, and scooped up a bite. As soon as he put it in his mouth, both of his dads looked relieved, and Talon shot Zay a grateful expression and a wink.
The rest of the afternoon and evening were somber events. Everyone was very careful with Kian, and I was pretty sure he was hating every minute of it while still appreciating the company and solidarity.
Maybe I was projecting since that was how I felt—everyone was very careful with me too—but I was pretty sure we were of the same mind.
Sebastian and Ailin took charge of speaking with Phia’s family and helping set up funeral arrangements or whatever it was that nymphs did. I didn’t think they buried their dead the way many humans did, but I wasn’t sure. I hated that I was going to find out.
Most of the younger kids went home, as well as many of the adults, but Kian, Sebastian, Ailin, and Zay’s dads, sisters, and a few cousins decided to stay. And I forced Jett and Ward to stay another night too. They seemed happy to.
I had a feeling we’d be hosting a lot of Zay’s family for the next week or two.
All I really cared about was keeping Kian here with us. He didn’t seem to want to go home, which I was glad for because I didn’t want him alone.
Maybe we could convince him to stay with us for a few weeks or something.
All I knew was that I wanted to help take care of Zay’s little brother… maybe he was really beginning to feel like my little brother too.