16. Chapter Sixteen
Fynn and Rhuth’s house smells like baked bread, the scent permeating the air as I shift in their yard. She’s always making bread of some kind. My favorite is the one with honey, sugar, and a secret ingredient she’s steadfastly refused to share.
Opening the door, I call out, “Hello?”
“In here!” Rhuth’s melodic voice calls out from the kitchen. Dropping my backpack by the pile of shoes, I head toward her voice, smiling.
She’s alone at the sink, washing dishes.
Looking over her shoulder, Rhuth smiles.
Her blue scales are more pale than mine, and her blue hair is the color of a bright afternoon sky.
It’s set in a long braid down her back. She’s wearing her favorite red apron with pink hearts on it.
There’s a bit of flour smeared on her cheekbone.
“Hey you.” She turns off the sink and dries her hands off with a towel. “I didn’t know you were swinging by.”
I walk over to the cabinet with glasses, then bring them to the alcohol cart. Grabbing the Minga, I pour a little into the glass. “Fynn invited me over for dinner. He didn’t tell you?”
She scoffs. “That man drives me crazy.”
I laugh, pointing at my cheek. “You have a little something there.”
Wiping her cheek with the back of a hand, Rhuth chuckles.
“I’ve been baking up a storm. This one makes me hungry all the time.
” She pats her slightly round belly with a soft smile.
We found out three months ago that she’s pregnant.
Dragons are pregnant for over a year, which means we still have a long way to go until I can hold my nephew.
But adding to the family is such a thrilling prospect.
Sitting at a stool, I watch her turn back to the dishes. Despite already knowing the answer, I ask, “Do you want me to help with that?”
Rhuth shoots me a dirty glare. “You know dishes are my favorite chore.”
The moment her hands sink into the water, it boils. Rhuth loves heating her hands and cleaning the dishes in scalding temperatures. She says the bubbling water makes her feel like she’s stewing up potions. I don’t see the appeal, but I respect that level of imagination.
Listening for sounds of my brother and finding none, I ask, “Where is he?”
She shrugs. “Work, probably.”
I frown. He left work almost an hour ago. Where the Hells did he go?
Rhuth casts me a curious look. “You’ve been so busy lately. Is it by chance because of a girl?”
She gives a sly but hopeful smile. Both she and Fynn have hoped for years I’d find someone. I’ve never had the heart to tell her that no one wants me.
“Oh, you know me. Playing the field.”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “Will you ever tire of the games?”
“Not everyone is as lucky as you and Fynn, finding their soulmate so young,” I joke, successfully hiding the jealousy behind the words.
Rhuth places a dish in the dish rack, humming in thought.
I frown. “What?”
“Nothing.”
She says it too quickly. Curious, I take a sip of the Minga. “You don’t think he’s your soulmate?”
The concept is unfathomable. They’ve been inseparable since they met ten years ago. Half the time I’m around them, it’s spent admiring their sheer luck of meeting one another.
Rhuth’s shoulders tense. Now I’m really interested.
She turns off the sink, drying her hands again.
Leaning against the counter, she appraises me.
While I’ve never considered her to be like a mom, she’s always been maternal toward me.
She’s probably the only woman in my whole life that I haven’t hurt or scared away.
No, not probably.
Actually.
Finally, she says, “Can I tell you something, and you don’t tell Fynn?”
The request makes me uneasy. I sit back, trying to read her expression, but it’s flat. “Are you going to make me regret saying yes?”
After giving me a half smile, she says, “No guarantees.”
Contemplating the outcome, I eventually nod. “Fine. What is it?”
“Promise me you won’t tell him.”
My frown deepens. “Okay? I promise?”
Instead of giving me a straight answer, she asks, “What do you think a soulmate is?”
“Someone who completes you?”
“What does completion feel like?”
I want so badly to make an orgasm joke, but instead, I shrug. “I can barely get a woman to stick around for a month. I have no answer for that.”
She nods. “I don’t know if there is an answer. People talk about soulmates like they exist, that they’re out there, waiting for you to slam right into them on the street. But how do you know?”
Giving her a helpless look, I ask, “Are you not happy with my brother?”
Rhuth straightens. “I’m very happy with Fynn. Please don’t mistake this philosophical discussion to be one of complaints. But I’ve been wondering about this … how do you know if someone is a soulmate?”
“I would think you’d just … know?”
“Then I simply cannot answer your question, Trinte.”
My stomach sinks. The concept of them not being soulmates is unfathomable. They’re so happy all the time. I’ve never seen them fight. While I can’t claim to know what happens when I’m not around, Rhuth seems perfect. My brother is deeply in love with her. How is she not a soulmate for him?
“Why can’t you answer it?”
A timer goes off, and Rhuth bustles over to the oven. Opening the door, she grabs the loaf pan with her bare hands. Placing it on the stove, she says, “Because there’s always been something inside me that thinks there’s more out there for him.”
I scrunch my nose. “More? You want more for him?”
Rhuth gives me a dry look. “You should always want more for someone you love.”
“But that ‘more’ isn’t you?”
Rhuth turns off the oven. “I don’t think so.”
Unexpected anger adds an edge to my tone. “Why are you with him? Are you going to leave him?” I motion to her belly. “You’re literally pregnant, Rhuth.”
This doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t make sense. Why get married and work to become pregnant if you don’t expect to stick around? It feels so … entitled, when some of us aren’t lucky enough to be loved once.
Instead of meeting my anger, Rhuth softens. She leans against the counter, watching me. “Do you think you’ll ever see your father again?”
“What?” I rear back like she’s hit me. “Why would you even ask me that?”
Rhuth’s eyes scan my face for answers as she repeats, “Do you think you’ll see him again?”
“I have no idea.”
“What does your gut say?”
I pause, entertaining her madness for a second. Rhuth is the most sane person I know, so there must be some reason for this line of questioning.
Will I see my father again? Objectively, it’s unlikely that I’ll go the next few decades without seeing him. But my gut tells me there’s more to it. That eventually we’ll finish what we started years ago.
“Yes, I’ll see him again.” She nods as if this answers her question. However, it doesn’t answer mine. “So you don’t feel like he’s it for you?”
“I think life holds chapters we don’t expect. And I don’t think I’m the final chapter for him.”
I stare at her, struggling to comprehend. “Why did you marry him then? Have a baby?”
Rhuth gives me an odd look. “Are you going to die tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.”
“Me either. Doesn’t mean I need to lie down today in anticipation of the possibility.
You should always love like you have both forever and nothing promised.
The potential for devastation should never dictate how you connect with others.
My gut tells me that I’m not with Fynn forever.
That doesn’t mean these last ten years are wasted; nor does it mean having a baby with him is folly.
It means I’m going to love him deeply until life forces otherwise. ”
With that, she pushes off the counter and walks back to the loaf of bread. From here, I can tell it’s my favorite. She didn’t know I was coming over, but Rhuth prepared for me.
I want to ask her more, but Fynn barges through the front door. “My love! I’m home and come bearing gifts!”
Rhuth transforms, her energy immediately radiating love. There’s no question of how she feels about him, which leaves me even more confused by her words.
“Is it a pet sphinx?” she says, hopeful.
Fynn walks into the kitchen, larger than life, proudly holding up a bulging bag. “Better. I bought you more of that disgusting ice cream you’ve been craving. Had to stop at two markets to find it. Turns out it’s not a popular flavor. Can’t reason why, though.”
Rhuth laughs, flinging her arms around him. Casting me a grin, Fynn wraps her up in his arms, inhaling her scent.
Together, they look so happy. I can’t imagine a future where they aren’t happy together. I hope there never comes a day where her words make sense. For my brother’s sake, and mine, I hope her gut is wrong.