Chapter 11 #3
“Oh, now you care,” Dulik grumbled under his throat, and I decided then and there that I would find a way to make his life hell. In a slow, thoughtful way that would make him scared of his own shadow.
And just not because his quiet jab made me realize that the lack of connection between me and Esme hadn’t been lost on others.
Embarrassment pierced my chest, only cut off by the eruption of noise as Bellamy and Soren’s group finally breached the last leg of the corridor and stepped under the main dome.
I stepped closer to Esme, bringing a hand around her back—hovering, not quite touching. Thankfully, she didn’t jerk away.
A very, very wise decision. The second we crossed that line out of the hallway, we were assaulted by a swarm of people—far more than had ever been allowed on the base at one time.
I took stock of my surroundings quickly, noting the crew of journalists shoving cameras in Bellamy and Soren’s faces, one of them scribbling wildly onto a notepad and another fumbling with a recording device.
The top of the Emperor’s head was just visible out of the circle of Royal guards surrounding him, waiting by while his daughter was squeezed dry of an exclusive story. Propaganda before family, it seemed.
Soren looked seconds away from crushing a very expensive piece of equipment under his boot.
Though that image seemed quite entertaining, Esme’s soft gasp pulled my focus back to her.
My eyes had flown to her face first, trying to gauge her reaction. That was the only reason I was almost knocked on my ass a second later by something crashing into my lower legs.
My hand flew to my hip, reaching for my pistol, only pausing when an ear-splitting squeal stole my focus.
“UNCLE FORD!!!” My niece and nephew yelled at the same time, looking up at me with wide eyes filled to the brim with tears, their faces flushed with excitement.
It took me several seconds to realize what was happening, not at all prepared to see them. Dulik had mentioned family, but I was trying to tune him out for the most part.
My instincts took over, lifting them both into the air for a hug while I searched for my sister in the crowd.
Sophie’s bright, hopeful face popped out from behind a confused-looking group of soldiers a second later, stepping gracefully around them while they spun around like puppies chasing the scent of food. I prayed to God their families had been able to make the trip, if they had them at all.
I set down Adam and Annie, releasing them just as their squirms started to turn violent, following them down to a crouch. I was itching to hug my sister, having not seen her in over two years.
Though I expected Sophie to tackle me, the same move she’d pulled a hundred times as children, she went right for Esme, pulling her into a tight hug.
The look of pure panic that bloomed on Esme’s face made me smile. She looked so startled, there was no stopping it.
Esme leaned into Sophie’s hold as my sister yanked her back and forth in an aggressive embrace.
After sufficiently rattling her, she pulled back with her hands on Esme’s shoulders.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, her smile so wide it carved two lines in either cheek.
“And don’t you run away while I say hi to my big brother!
” Her words descended into a growl at the end, well-timed with her jumping straight on top of me.
I only managed to catch her in an odd sort of side hug with her upper abdomen digging into my shoulder.
Sophie didn’t seem to mind, slapping my back in excited pats, then jumping down to place a smacking kiss on my cheek.
She’d taken after our mother, standing tall, but with a willowy sort of presence, but she still had to jump to reach my face.
Seeing their mother hug me, Adam and Annie ran into my legs again, each taking one leg in their little arms and squeezing tight. My mind was still trying to catch up to what was happening, and all of the sudden I was looking at Esme.
Well, duh, she always has the answers, the Bond quipped.
I didn’t have time to address that thought, because my body had lost all sensation, not even able to feel the press of my family, channeling all feeling into the wrenching squeeze of my heart.
There was a mix of emotions on her face that I couldn’t figure out—which was saying something considering I’d long completed my catalog of her expressions.
Not all of them, the Bond snapped again.
Right. I didn’t like that it was right. Not in the slightest.
I forced myself to keep the anger off my face, instead trying to silently communicate to Esme that I wanted her to stay.
Even then, she moved to step away.
My sister was faster, almost like she expected it. She hopped off my shoulder and lunged for Esme right as she was moving away, wrapping both her hands around Esme’s upper arm and pulling her back towards us in an exaggerated drag, murmuring, “No, you don’t,” as she did.
Esme opened her mouth, a protest just about to roll off her tongue before Adam and Annie looked to their mother and realized who she was holding.
“Auntie Esme!” They both yelled in unison, running to her and jumping without care that she would catch them.
It was pure instinct that she did, her face blank with shock.
A smile managed to break through when the twins smacked kisses on both her cheeks.
That twisting feeling in my heart got worst, due in no small part to the realization that I hadn’t seen Esme smile like that in as long as I could remember.
Eventually, she regained control and carefully set Adam and Annie down, following my move and crouching with them.
She smoothed their clothing as she said, “It’s good to see you, both.
We didn’t know you were coming.” Esme reached up to ruffle Adam’s hair while she pulled lightly on Annie’s braid, both a rich black-brown that ran rampant in our family tree.
The twins had inherited their father’s intense blue eyes, the only compliment I would pay to that shit-head.
“You both look so big,” Esme said, her voice turning as sweet and comforting as warm honey.
“Of course we’re big,” Adam protested, his mouth turning down in a frown. “We’re ten. We’re almost going to school with the big kids.”
“In two years, but he’s excited already,” Sophie said under her breath to me, looking down at her son with pride sparkling in her eyes.
“We got new backpacks for school this year, though,” Annie said, rocking back on her heels with excitement. “Mama said we had to thank you for them.” Annie paused, her eyebrows creasing with concentration as if there was something else she was supposed to say on that point, but couldn’t remember.
Meanwhile, Esme’s face had returned to that blanched pallor that made me want to shut everyone up and make her sip on juice until her blood sugar stabilized.
Annie eventually gave up her search, turning to her mother for help. “Wait, Mama, why do we have to thank Auntie Esme, again?”
Sophie’s smile turned a bit tense, and her eyes shot to Esme for a beat before responding to Annie, “We thank Esme because she always sends you and your brother really nice gifts. The backpacks were one of them.”
Annie’s eyes brightened, starting to bounce again with excitement. “Yes, yes! Like Adam’s archery stuff and my new shoes and Mama’s necklace and—”
“Exactly, sweetie,” Sophie said, subtly cutting her daughter off.
Too late. The damage was done.
Esme knew it, too. She was already rising to stand, her muscles bunched like an animal about to take off after being spotted by a predator.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I said under my breath, repeating the same words my sister had. For good measure, knowing that right now Esme was far more likely to head my sister’s warning than mind, I stepped closer in case she decided to bolt.
Sophie was watching us closely, and I knew by her expression she noted the change between us in seconds. The last time I’d seen her, on a rare trip back to Florus for mandated meetings in the capital, Esme was taking those suppressants and my head was still wedged up my ass.
“Why don’t we go sit down and catch up?” Sophie suggested, nodding with her chin to the long tables behind her.
Normally, they were nothing but slabs of drab gray metal, but they’d been decorated with the Royal colors—purple and red—and adorned with more decadent food than the base had seen in years.
“SWEETS!” Adam and Annie screamed in unison, a trait that never failed to pull out a smile, and took off toward the table and a platter piled high with pastries.
Sophie took one last look at me and Esme, a silent warning in her eyes that we would be following her, then turned and went after her children.
“I really don’t want to talk about it,” Esme said as she followed my sister, her tone a little too neutral to be believed.
“Yeah, well I would like to,” I returned, nudging her with my shoulder to try and lighten the mood. Esme only tensed further.
Alright, no touching.
Well, I don’t like that one bit, the Bond grumbled, that rule clearly contrary to every one of its instincts.
If Esme doesn’t want me to, I won’t do it, I snapped back, which promptly shut the Bond up. Good, at least it understood boundaries when it came to her. In the short few minutes I’d been living with it, I had a feeling it did not have the same restraint when it came to me.
I took a step in the direction of my sister, then stopped short when I realized Esme was heading the other way.
“If you don’t want me to grab you by the back of the neck like a cat, I would not recommend running away.
” Esme took another step away without turning back, so I tried a different method.
“Adam and Annie are clearly excited to see you.”
In a blink, Esme had whipped around and was heading towards Sophie and the twins, muttering under her breath, “That wasn’t playing fair.”
I was really over playing fair, but I figured she knew that well enough, so I decided to keep quiet.