Chapter 28 Worth Fighting For
Seri
The rumble of engines cut through the evening quiet just after sunset. Setting aside my cup of tea, I moved to the foyer as Brumous abandoned his post upstairs, trotting down to investigate with curious energy.
“Someone’s excited.” I scratched behind his ears as we waited in the foyer.
His tail swished in anticipation, his blue eyes fixed on the newly repaired entrance. When Koa swung open the heavy oak door, revealing King Lucian’s tall, imposing figure silhouetted against the night, Brummy surprised me by bounding forward with a happy whine.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Papa Lucian greeted the wolf pup. His elegant fingers, so like Casimir’s, found all the right spots to scratch, making Brummy wriggle with delight.
Behind him stood a woman I could only assume was Queen Kaori. She was stunning. Caramel skin glowing, tight black curls framing a face that showed both intelligence and warmth. Her simple cream dress fit her perfectly, making my jeans and sweater feel inadequate.
“You must be Serafina.” She stepped forward with an outstretched hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“All good things, I hope.” I accepted her handshake. Her grip was firm, but not aggressive, the handshake of someone who knows her role and is comfortable in it. “Please, call me Seri. Everyone does.”
“Seri, then.” Her smile revealed perfect teeth. “And I’m Kaori. No ‘Your Majesty’ nonsense from family.”
I glanced at Papa Lucian and found him watching me with an expression that bordered on tender.
“Seri,” he greeted formally, then his voice softened. “Daughter.”
The word still felt new, strange but not unwelcome. I stepped forward to accept his hug, noting how Koa stiffened ever so slightly in my peripheral vision. The strain between father and son hummed in the air like electricity before a storm.
Brummy, oblivious to the undercurrents, circled Kaori’s legs before sitting back on his haunches and offering a tentative sniff.
She laughed, a bright sound that seemed to lighten the heaviness in the foyer, and held out her hand for inspection.
After a thorough snuffling investigation, Brummy barked once, a clear sound of approval that made us all smile.
“He likes you,” I told her.
“I’m honored.” Kaori’s smile was dazzling. “I’ve heard wolves are excellent judges of character.” She bent down to pet him, entirely unconcerned about her elegant dress. “You’re a handsome fellow, aren’t you?”
Koa inclined his head in a gesture that was polite, but nowhere near the deference one might expect toward vampire royalty.
“My queen,” he acknowledged Kaori, but offered nothing to Papa Lucian.
If the slight bothered the king, he gave no indication. His face remained calm, but I caught the briefest flash of something in his eyes, a sorrow so deep that my heart squeezed.
“Kaori, this is my youngest son, Koa.”
“Lucian says you’re a genius with technology.” She offered her hand, which Koa shook despite his eyes widening at his father both calling him son and offering praise.
As we moved to the living room, I found myself nervous in a way I hadn’t expected.
Meeting Papa Lucian had been intimidating enough the first time, but Kaori, an accomplished, beautiful nephilim who was now the vampire queen, somehow made me feel like an awkward child again.
I was silly to be anxious, though. Within minutes of settling into our comfortable armchairs, Kaori had me laughing at her description of the king’s first attempt to navigate wireless earbuds.
“He crushed three before he realized how gentle he needed to be,” she said, her eyes sparkling as Papa Lucian made a sound that might actually have been embarrassment.
“Technology advances too quickly,” he defended himself, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“Says the man who adapted just fine from candlelight to electricity,” Kaori teased, then turned to me. “Lucian mentioned you have an interest in plants? I love to garden.”
“Really?” My face lit up. “I’ve always loved growing things. My father was an earth witch, and he taught me to recognize every plant in our garden by the time I was five.”
“That’s a wonderful gift,” she said, leaning forward. “Have you maintained a garden here?”
“The landscapers do it all, but I want to make a little one just for me,” I admitted. “Koa said he’d build me some raised beds. It’s going to be a night garden.”
“You should see Kaori’s collection of night-blooming plants.” Papa Lucian was watching his beloved with poorly concealed adoration. “She’s transformed my gloomy courtyard into something magical.”
“What do you plan to use in yours?” Kaori asked.
“I want to build it around my husbands’ mate scents,” I admitted as heat rushed to my cheeks, but not from embarrassment. The mate scents were intensely personal. Sharing them felt intimate, but also like a point of pride.
“Tell me all about it! Maybe I have some starts to share with you.”
“Simmy smells like moonflowers, Koko evening primrose, and Zoodle,” I paused and looked at Papa Lucian as he let out a wheezy sort of hum that he quickly changed to a cough, “night phlox.”
“All flowers that release their fragrances most strongly at night.” Kaori grinned.
“Exactly!”
“I didn’t know that.” Koa looked between us with raised eyebrows. “Is that significant?”
“Seri is a lunar witch, so flowers that release their strongest fragrances under moonlight would naturally align with her magical signature,” Kaori pointed out.
“That was my theory, too,” I confessed. “I think my magic influences how they perceive me, and in turn, how I perceive them.”
“Fascinating.” Papa Lucian looked at me, then back at Kaori. “I’ve never heard of such a connection between witch powers and mate scents.”
“It’s not unheard of,” she said. “There have been documented cases of elemental witches having similar alignments. Fire witches with spicy scents, water witches with rain or ocean notes.” She turned back to me. “What other lunar abilities have you discovered so far?”
I bit my lip, suddenly aware of how little I truly knew about my own powers.
“Well, I can draw strength from moonlight. And I seem to be stronger at night in general.” I hesitated, then added, “Also, I recently discovered I can sort of step into shadows? What did Simmy call it, Koko?”
“Shadow walking,” he supplied, his voice gruff with a mix of pride and concern. “She did it down by the lake not long ago. Nearly gave us a heart attack because she passed out afterwards.”
“Ah, yes.” Papa Lucian’s lips twitched. “The Gregory Storms incident. Speaking of which, have you found a new estate manager yet?”
“That’s remarkable, Seri,” Kaori chirped as Koa told his father that we hadn’t. “Shadow manipulation is rare, especially in lunar witches. It’s usually more common in those with stellar affinities.”
“It just happened,” I explained. “The shadows sort of embraced me.”
“They welcomed you,” she corrected gently. “There’s a difference. The shadows recognized your affinity. I suspect you’ll discover more abilities once your magic fully replenishes.”
“I’m looking forward to that! Being without my power feels like missing a limb.”
“A particularly apt description. Magic is an extension of yourself, not merely a tool you wield.”
Throughout our conversation, I couldn’t help noticing the careful distance Koa maintained from his father.
He was unfailingly polite to Kaori, engaging with her questions and offering refreshments with perfect hospitality.
But to Papa Lucian, he might as well have been serving a stranger.
No eye contact. No direct address. He spoke about Papa Lucian rather than to him, as if the vampire king were a concept rather than a person sitting three feet away.
Papa Lucian, for his part, accepted this treatment with a calm resignation that spoke of long practice.
“Don’t mind Koa,” he said to me at one point, when his son had stepped out to refresh our drinks. “This is actually an improvement over our usual interactions.”
But I saw past his casual dismissal to the sorrow that flickered in his eyes, a regret that no amount of regal bearing could quite disguise. He might act like his sons’ coldness didn’t affect him, but I knew better. There was pain there, buried beneath his stubborn pride.
“But it hurts you!”
“I earned his resentment, Seri. His and his brothers’.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I would have an easier time facing an army of hunters than gaining my sons’ forgiveness.”
“But you’re trying,” I pointed out. “That matters.”
“Thanks to Kaori’s influence.” He inclined his head slightly toward his beloved. “She immediately saw what I was blind to for far too long.”
“Thank you for coming,” I said suddenly.
“Thank you for the invitation,” he replied. “For all of it.”
I knew he meant more than just the visit; he was thanking me for the chance to begin mending his relationship with his sons, for the opportunity to be Papa instead of just Lucian. For letting him glimpse the ‘ohana his boys had created without him.
When Koa returned, I caught his eye and offered a small, encouraging smile. He might not be ready to forgive his father for years of using him and his brothers as “tools” rather than treating them as sons, but at least he was trying. For my sake, if nothing else.
And Papa Lucian was trying, too. That counted for something. He’d recognized his failures, even if it had taken Kaori to open his eyes. Now he was reaching out, attempting to build bridges where before there had been only walls and weapons.
Watching them, these two proud, stubborn men tiptoeing around each other while pretending not to care, I felt a strange mix of frustration and hope. Family was complicated, something I understood all too well, but it was also precious, worth fighting for.