NINETEEN #2
Lyra turns back to me, grabbing my shoulders with startling intensity.
“I can throw her off a tower if you need me to. Just say the word.”
I huff, shaking my head. “I’ll consider it.”
“Anything for you, my dear.” Lyra drops her hands, satisfied.
Thane, still completely unbothered, watches the entire exchange looking entirely too entertained.
“You’re still enjoying this, aren’t you?” I mutter, shooting him a glare.
“Immensely,” he says, voice low and smug. “Didn’t I already say that?”
His fingers brush against my waist again, a touch that feels almost casual.
Almost.
“And . . . ”
He leans in slightly, just enough for his breath to warm the shell of my ear.
“You are jealous.”
I groan.
Lyra cackles.
“So tell me—when Ardyn walked away, did you feel—”
“Lyra.”
Garrick’s voice cuts through, too well-timed to be anything but purposeful. Lyra turns, raising a brow.
“You’re interrupting a very important conversation, my sweet.”
“Oh, I know,” Garrick says, smirking as he steps beside her. “That’s why I’m here.”
She narrows her eyes. “Are you just trying to sweep me off my feet so that I land in your bed tonight?”
“You got me,” Garrick says unapologetically. “But also, I wanted to introduce you to my parents, remember?”
My friend’s face suddenly drains of color. The transformation from fearless menace to panicked disaster is almost impressive.
I suppress a grin.
“Is that right now?” Lyra asks, her voice a few octaves higher.
Garrick laces his fingers through hers. “Yes. Jarek and Rian are already over there.”
“Wow, brother. That’s a bold move,” Thane says, grinning outright now. “I don’t think you’ve ever introduced a woman to your parents before.”
“What can I say? Never met one before that had me by the balls,” he responds, without missing a beat.
I snort out a laugh. Lyra remains completely mute, pale as a sheet.
With her free hand, Lyra grabs my wrist and hisses, “You’re coming with me.”
Her nails dig into my skin. “Ouch! Lyra—”
“You’re coming,” she reiterates with finality.
“I will, but just loosen the death grip.”
I turn to Thane.
“Go,” Thane says, clearly amused. “Lyra needs your moral support.” He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “But don’t stay away too long.”
All I can do is shake my head, suddenly unable to remember what I was about to say, before Lyra is dragging me behind her.
We move through the guests, our hands linked together as Garrick guides us toward a table tucked near the corner of the ballroom. As we weave through the crowd, Garrick shakes hands, endures several claps on the back, and nods greetings without ever slowing his pace.
The color still hasn’t returned to Lyra’s face. She looks moments away from fainting.
I lean toward her ear. “Lyra, don’t you want to meet his parents? I thought you cared for him.”
Lyra just keeps staring ahead like a woman marching toward execution.
I flick her ear, finally snapping her out of it.
“I do!” she hisses.
“Then why are you panicking?”
And just like that, the floodgates open.
“I’ve never met anyone’s parents. This is happening fast. Right?
This is fast. I mean, we only just started spending time together.
And he’s never introduced anyone to his parents before.
What is that even about? I can’t be the first woman he’s been serious about.
What does that say about him? This is definitely fast.”
She doesn’t take a breath.
I flick her ear again.
“Ouch!”
“Breathe, friend.”
Before she can say another word, we arrive at a table tucked near the edge of the ballroom. Two people rise in unison the moment they see us, and gods—it’s immediately obvious who they belong to.
They look so much like Garrick and Jarek it’s almost startling.
The man is broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with the same sandy-blond hair streaked lightly with silver at the temples and the same warm hazel eyes Garrick wears when he’s genuinely happy.
He’s dressed in formal Fire Clan attire: a deep crimson tunic trimmed in black and gold embroidery, the fabric fitted neatly beneath a dark military-style coat draped across his shoulders.
A bronze clasp shaped like curling flames fastens the cloak at his throat, marking both status and clan allegiance.
The woman beside him carries herself with effortless confidence, her sandy-blond hair woven into an intricate braid coiled over one shoulder.
Her hazel eyes are softer than her sons’, but no less sharp.
She wears a flowing gown of burnished copper silk that catches the chandelier light like living fire, gold-threaded embroidery curling along the sleeves and bodice in delicate flamework patterns. Elegant. Regal. Entirely Fire Clan.
And both of them are smiling like they’ve already decided they adore Lyra.
Lyra’s fingers tighten around my hand hard enough that I’m fairly certain she’s cutting off my circulation.
“Ahh, there she is!” Jarek announces brightly as he steps around the table to join his parents.
Rian flanks them easily, his gaze moving between Lyra, Garrick, and the rest of the family with obvious amusement, his smile widening by the second.
Lyra immediately pulls me forward, using me as a human shield.
“I meant the other ‘she,’ but we might as well introduce the Spiritborn too,” Jarek jokes. “Mama, Papa, this is Amara Thalor.” His grin widens. “Amara, this is Declan and Maeve Kaelen.”
“I’m very happy to meet you both,” I say, extending the hand Lyra doesn’t currently have trapped in a vice grip.
They both step forward at once, clasping my hand between theirs as though they’ve known me my entire life.
“We believed in you from the moment the prophecy became public knowledge,” Declan says with genuine sincerity. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”
Maeve smiles at me with the kind of affection only mothers seem capable of. “And I’m very pleased to finally meet the woman Thane keeps looking at like she hung the moon.”
She winks.
Heat floods my cheeks instantly.
“Aww, Mama, give Amara a break. She’s already had to deal with the nobles and Ardyn, for gods’ sake,” Garrick interjects.
“Oh my!” Maeve exclaims, bringing a hand to her cheek. “The nerve of that one!”
And suddenly, I understand exactly where Garrick and Jarek get their charm from.
“I’ve never seen Thane this light. And this happy,” Maeve continues.
She slips an arm around both Rian’s and Jarek’s waists, pulling them closer. She only comes to their shoulders.
“Oh my boys! Amara, I’ve claimed Rian and Thane as my own ever since they were boys of eleven.” Her expression turns somber. “And especially so after Thane lost his mother.”
“And I am so grateful to you, Mama Kaelen.” Rian rests his cheek against the top of her head for a moment.
When he straightens, he glances back at me with an easy smile.
“I didn’t see my parents often after I came to train at Volcaris. They stayed in Sevrin because I’m the oldest of five.” His expression softens slightly. “My youngest sister was only six months old when I left.”
Maeve squeezes his side affectionately.
“Mama Kaelen became a second mother to me.” Rian grins. “How lucky that I have two.”
Maeve peeks around me. “Now is this the Lyra we’ve heard so much about?”
Garrick gently nudges her forward, and Lyra suddenly finds herself standing beside me, still looking like a rabbit frozen in the middle of a field while a falcon circles overhead. The three of us remain linked hand-to-hand.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Lyra speechless before,” Jarek teases.
I stifle a laugh while giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Garrick places his free hand over Lyra’s, now covering it with both of his.
“Mama and Papa, this is Lyra Durnhart. Of Earth Clan. She’s also a soldier. And Amara’s best friend,” Garrick says proudly.
“Oh, it is so lovely to meet you, Lyra!” Maeve says immediately.
“Our boy has sung praises about you, my dear!” Declan adds.
Lyra remains completely mute.
By all the gods, Ly!
I lift my heel and discreetly stomp down on Lyra’s foot.
She finally speaks.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Kaelen. I’m so happy to meet you.”
She sounds like a mouse.
Rian and Jarek immediately burst out laughing, clearly having never seen Lyra like this before. Garrick narrows his eyes at his brothers while rubbing soothing circles across Lyra’s back.
The laughter dies quickly.
I have seen Lyra this way, but only when she truly cares about something. When she wants something badly enough to fear losing it, she folds in on herself completely.
Thankfully, Garrick doesn’t bat an eye at Lyra’s odd behavior.
Gods bless him.
We spend some time with Garrick and Jarek’s parents, hearing about their childhood adventures and all the ways they apparently scared their parents half to death growing up. And how Rian and Thane joined in the chaos once they all met at the training academy as children.
Every now and then, I still have to stomp on Lyra’s foot to help her speak.
At some point, Lyra let go of my hand and grabbed Garrick’s. He keeps both of her hands wrapped in his the entire time.