Dinner Conversation #3
“What did hanging out with one of the Aravae royals entail exactly?” Shonda asked her daughter.
But Gemma–whether intentionally or not–ignored the question and instead posed one of her own. Yet Finley wouldn’t forget this and would follow up later.
“Tell me that isn’t the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, Finley?
” Gemma giggled as she pointed down the wooden picnic table to where Aquilan was sitting with a rib in one hand, a chin covered in barbecue sauce, and a rather adorable wide-eyed expression as the sugar and coffee in the sauce hit his system.
“Oh, and there’s Declan to the rescue with a napkin!
Will he clean off our dearest Sun King’s chin? Yes, yes, he will!”
“Perhaps instead of giving a play-by-play of what Aquilan and Declan are doing you clean your own chin, little miss,” Shonda said with a pointed look at the sauce crusted at the corners of Gemma’s mouth already from the rib she’d stolen.
“Oh, man!” Gemma grabbed a napkin on the table and scrubbed her face. “Well, I don’t have someone like Declan to watch out for me!”
“You’re too young for someone like Declan,” Michael said firmly, but then his expression softened as he looked at his beloved wife. He lifted a napkin and gestured towards her beautiful face. “You’ve got a little–”
“What? No, oh, well, maybe. These ribs are good,” Shonda said as he licked her fingers clean of burnt bits and sauce before she allowed Michael to clean her chin with a napkin.
“I wish we still had Wet Wipes. Those worked best for this,” Finley admitted as he stared down at his saucy hands.
“What are Wet Wipes?” Rhalyf asked with a curl of an eyebrow.
Unlike the rest of them, Rhalyf had used a knife to strip off all the flesh from his ribs and was eating it with a fork like a philistine–according to Shonda–but it did keep his fingers clean.
Finley saw no chance to dab Rhalyf’s chin with a napkin.
He shifted a little uncomfortably. Could he do that?
What would Shonda, Michael and Gemma think?
They probably would believe he’d lost his mind.
They wouldn’t believe that he had someone special.
Not because they were unkind or thought he didn’t deserve someone or, worse, couldn’t even get someone.
No, it was because he had made it clear as crystal that he had no interest in dating or even a friends-with-benefits situation like he currently had with Rhalyf.
But, then again, Declan had been the least interested between the two of them and now? Now it was clear he was in love.
Finley gazed down the long table at his best friend again who was watching Aquilan as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes.
Everytime Aquilan glanced his way, Declan seemed to glow with happiness.
He also continued to be quite protective.
While his Blood Weapons hadn’t appeared in his hands, his eyes were constantly roving the crowds of humans.
It likely hadn’t helped that he and Aquilan had been separated from the rest of their party.
The Bastons, Rhalyf and him were at the far end of the table while the three Tweedledums were clustered in the middle and then Aquilan, Declan and Rohannan were at the far end.
Vex was not among them. In fact, Vex was nowhere to be found.
Finley tried not to be nervous about that. What was the Night King up to?
When the Tweedledums had planted themselves right next to Rohannan, crowding Finley and the others out, Declan had stared hard at them, but Rohannan had clapped his shoulder.
“Let the boys keep close to me, Declan. They’re a little rattled after your takedown of me earlier,” Rohannan said with a mild smile.
Declan looked down at the hand on his shoulder with such intensity that Rohannan practically snatched it back as if it were on fire, giving a soft, uncertain laugh as he did so. But it was Rhalyf who, surprisingly, had defused the situation. Or maybe not surprisingly.
“Do not worry, Declan. We have them all between us. They can’t get away,” Rhalyf had said and electricity had crackled between his fingers.
The Tweedledums had gulped. Aquilan had shaken his head and sighed.
“There will be no need for that. We’re here to eat and listen to music. Fighting will just cause indigestion,” Aquilan had responded mildly and gestured for all to sit.
Shonda cast her voice low as she’d asked earlier, “What takedown was Rohannan referring to when we came in?”
One of the Tweedledums–Warren, he thought–was seated beside her.
His beefy shoulder was turned so that he was all but ignoring her.
That didn’t exactly help Rohannan’s claim that his wasn’t a racist and sexist organization.
But, Finley supposed, it could also be, at least in part, because she was a Councillor on the Radiant Council while Rohannan was not.
“There’s no need to whisper,” Rhalyf told her. “I have our area of the table spelled. No one can hear what we’re actually saying. Even if they just read our lips, they’ll believe we’re discussing the food, the weather, etcetera.”
Shonda blinked. “Really?”
“Useful,” Michael grunted before finishing off a row of corn on the cob.
“Eminently.” Rhalyf flashed one of his trademarked smiles. Those had been in low supply that day.
Finley knew that Rhalyf was worried–likely sick with worry–about lying to Aquilan.
He half believed Rhalyf had taken Rohannan’s side in letting the Tweedledums sit between them and the Sun King so that Rhalyf could avoid conversation with him.
Finley sighed. They really needed to discuss exactly what Vex had said in Illithor to him.
They’d have to use that “mind palace” technique that Rhalyf mentioned to make sure of the full and accurate wording.
Vex knew that too many people were aware of who Rhalyf really was.
To suggest that Rhalyf keep up the lie while anyone else could simply reveal him–breaking a precious friendship–seemed pointless and Vex didn’t ask for pointless things.
And he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, Finley was certain though some might think he was being naive. After all, Vex and Ailduin were supposed to be best friends. Not Rhalyf and Ailduin. Still that seems a petty and shortsighted reason. Not his style.
Rhalyf broke Finley out of his musing as he answered Shonda, “Rohannan had some sob stories lined up to win Aquilan’s favor. Children afraid of Aravae. Poor widows who sleep under ragged blankets because of Aravae taxes or something. You probably get the drill. Declan put an end to that.”
Michael nodded. “Unsurprising on both scores.”
“Aquilan asked me and Michael to set up a meeting with Rohannan,” Shonda said. “I admit I was surprised he went here without us.”
“Oh, that wasn’t his decision,” Rhalyf laughed a little sharply.
“I don’t understand.” Shonda’s brows drew together.
“Declan’s father is here,” Finley supplied. Even with Rhalyf’s excellent spell, he still didn’t think it was wise to use Vex’s name.
Shonda’s eyes widened. “You mean… he’s here? In Hope?” She stabbed the table with a delicate finger.
“Somewhere,” Rhalyf muttered. “Basically, he wanted to sightsee and Aquilan didn’t think it was a brilliant idea to let him go alone. So we sent for you as quickly as we could. But there was little choice about going or not going. It simply had to be done.”
Michael’s expression was grim. He tented his fingers beneath his chin. “I take it that he’s not wandering around in his natural form?”
“He’s glamoured like Declan,” Finley quickly added. “Not that he looks… usual.”
Shonda blinked. “How is he unusual?”
“He looks… well, like Declan, but not hiding how beautiful he is,” Finley explained with a helpless shrug.
“Well, that’s…” She turned to her husband as if hoping he would fill in some appropriate words.
“What is he doing here? Other than sightseeing and… visiting his son? Allegedly,” Michael’s expression grew slightly darker as he said that.
“Hard to say,” Rhalyf answered airily. “It could be something as nefarious as a plot to overthrow the Aravae Empire or it could be as innocent as a visit. Maybe it is both. Reading his motives is a full-time endeavor of many people, but not even the keenest of his watchers can ever be sure of his motives.”
“I see.” Michael glanced down the table at Declan.
Declan met his eyes and nodded in greeting.
Michael smiled and nodded too. Still when he turned back to them, his expression was even more grim than it had been before.
Clearly, he thought that Vex abandoning them once they made it to Hope said all that there was to say about Vex and his parenting skills.
That was likely par for the course in his mind considering Michael knew that Vex was aware that Declan was alive and on Earth, but had not come to get him.
But what Michael didn’t know was that the safest place for Declan to be was here.
At least, before the Leviathan. In the Kindreth court, Declan’s life would have been always in danger, which made even the threat of the Leviathan seem minor in comparison.
“Is he like what you thought, Finley?” Gemma asked with wide eyes. “Declan’s dad, I mean?”
“He’s…” Here, Finley found himself glancing at Rhalyf.
Rhalyf chuckled. “Praise him to the skies, Finley. I will not be that jealous.”
Gemma blinked a few times as she looked between Finley and Rhalyf at that comment. Finley blushed.
“He’s… here,” Finley gasped the last word.
For Vex was indeed in the tent. But he wasn’t getting himself a plate of barbeque or searching for a seat.
No.
Vex was standing on the stage. With an electric guitar. And sometime between when they’d last seen him and now, he’d put on a pair of black leather pants.