Over
Predictably, dinner was not a barrel of laughs.
Tanyn’s eyes might have been back to blue, but there was no mistaking he was ticked right the hells off…and who he was ticked at (obviously) was me.
This, of course, made Dad hyper-alert to the two of us…and ticked as well.
It made Mom hyper-aware of the two of us…and openly worried.
Same with Laura, times two, because she seemed worried and ticked.
Whereas Aleksei and Nayden went into overdrive trying to make it seem like this was a nice dinner with a number of beings who cared about each other (which, it was, it was just that one of those beings was angry at another one).
Nayden, by the by, could pass as Tanyn’s brother.
He was tall, lean, fit, dark, had striking silvery-gray eyes that were a lot like the color of mine…oh, and he was gorgeous.
He was also amusing.
And last, and this was the part I liked the best, it was clear he knew Tanyn very well because he handled him and his mood brilliantly.
Fortunately, since I was de facto queen of the castle (literally!), I was seated at the foot of the table, and Tanyn at the head, far away from me.
Mom sat to his right.
Laura strongarmed Aleksei out of his seat at my right and sat there instead of him.
As Nayden regaled us with stories of him, their other friend Uly, and Tanyn at The Eyrie, being sure to make them funny not embarrassing, complimentary and not mocking, and mostly reminiscent not tawdry, Laura continually kicked my leg.
Eventually, I kicked her back.
She returned my kick.
So I did the same.
Before we bruised each other into limping for days, I gave her big eyes.
She shot them back.
I mouthed, “Later.”
She leaned toward me and whispered, “His mom was murdered. How are you two fighting?”
Aleksei had obviously filled her in.
This meant I leaned her way and answered, “Because I’m an idiot?”
She scrunched up her face.
She knew I could totally be an idiot.
That afternoon, before we all broke to go to our rooms to freshen up for dinner, I’d told her the story Mom received about my weekend on Sigil.
Laura was less excited about it, more reflective, and I thought she read between the lines of what I hadn’t told Mom.
That Tanyn was getting to me, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
But any kind being wouldn’t pick a fight, accidentally or not, with a male who just learned both his parents were murdered.
I honestly didn’t know why I mentioned the sleeping arrangements, understanding he put me there, so that was where he wanted me, and it was no skin off my nose to be there.
Except something Tanyn had said to me on Sigil.
And you were better at putting them off.
He’d been speaking of the males that I’d been with where we didn’t work.
Was it me who made sure those relationships didn’t work?
And if it was, why would I do that?
I’d always wanted to spend my life with someone. Get married. Have children. Have someone to go home to and share my day with. Make Dead Winter and Summer Solstice memories.
Have my own digi-frame filled with pics of smiling beings I adored.
But I was thirty-one (only just, my birthday had just passed), and even with copious courting, did that happen?
No.
Because none of them were right.
None of them reached into my brain, my heart, my blood and bones.
I wasn’t the only demon who thought it sucked our kind didn’t have fated mates. Not only did it make it easier to find the one, you had it. That being you belonged to. That being who belonged to you. That being who was made for you. Meant for you.
Destined for you.
Demons had to court and hope.
I’d looked it up once.
Divorce or desertion between fated mates among all in the Four Realms sat at one point two percent.
Divorce or desertion between others was forty-two percent.
Divorce or desertion between demons, the fieriest of all the species, was fifty-three percent.
I could not refute there were some feelings happening in me when Aleksei and Laura found each other.
And I was seeing this was why I gave Bash a shot.
Sure, he had it all on paper, but when the hover met the air, he was a juvenile, pouting asshole.
But I’d been desperate.
Desperate to have what my friend had.
Desperate to avoid my father doing what he did with some male that was not of my choosing.
Desperate to have someone of my own.
“And then my balls shriveled…I mean, my stomach dropped,” Nayden was saying, “when the dude just jumps out of the helo, no fucking shoot, he can’t transform into a dragon, but on his way down, the male grabs onto the branch of a tree, swings around like he’s a decorated gymnast and lands on his feet on the ground.
He then pulls out his TXMag and starts blasting everything that was moving.
Shit, brother,” he said to Tanyn, “everyone in that helo, including me, were stunned inert by that demonstration of you being a sheer badass.”
“That must have been why you left me there to fight those training bots by myself,” Tanyn drawled.
Nayden flashed a sexy grin. “You took them all out.”
Tanyn made my stomach knot when he returned, “I was tagged three times.”
Nayden waved a dismissive hand and went back to his (excellent, according to me) shrimp scampi. “None of them were mortal wounds.”
Tanyn cast his eyes to the ceiling before he trained them again on his friend.
“Though, thanks to you and the rest of the team not initiating a rescue or, say, helping me out at all, I would have bled out before anyone got to me.”
“War sucks,” Nayden mumbled and grinned again. “Thank Lilith that was a simulation. That said, my mark was so poor on that assignment, my dad was pissed.”
Tanyn released a beleaguered breath.
Nayden looked to me. “He was a loss to the forces when he decided to chuck it all and fight for the throne that was rightfully his. By now, he’d be a commander, at least.”
“Youngest one in the Blood Scythe, if that happened,” Aleksei noted.
The Blood Scythe was what all the arms of the military in Sky’s Edge were called.
And really, these males needed to give it a break.
I should just announce, “Relax, I’m into him.”
But I didn’t want Tanyn to hear that for the first time at a dinner table with company.
I wanted to tell him just between us.
I was far from ready for what doing that might bring, but I knew I had to share it anyway.
Instead, I said to Nayden, “Not to rain on your parade, we all can agree Tanyn is awesome.” It was a heavy burden to bear to continue speaking when Tanyn’s gaze locked on me after I said that.
“But even talking about simulations, I’d rather not chat at dinner about my fiancé getting tagged by war training bots. ”
Nayden was unoffended in a way I wondered if anyone could offend him.
And he stated, “It was still mega times a thousand when we went back to that forest and saw downed bots littering the quarter mile arena.”
“Without a single blast coming from your mag,” I reminded him.
Proving my theory correct, he was still unoffended and simply lazed back in his seat, smiling and saying, “Yeah. Like I said. Mega times a thousand.”
It was me releasing a beleaguered breath then.
More members of staff I hadn’t yet seen (except when they brought in all the other food) came in to take away our scampi dishes.
“We should go to some museums while we’re here, dear,” Mom said to me. “And maybe do a spot of shopping.”
“For the two of you, a ‘spot’ of shopping means I’ll need to sell some stocks to reimburse my credit line,” Dad put in.
Annnnnnnnnd…
No stories of how mega Catla was.
“No museums. No shopping. Not until we understand it’s safe,” Tanyn declared.
“Agreed,” Dad said.
“I’m sorry, we’re stuck in this castle?” Mom asked the table at large.
“It’s hardly stuck when the castle is over six hundred thousand square feet,” Dad returned.
“You don’t have to remain here,” I remarked. “Your lives haven’t been threatened.”
“And we will not be leaving until Tanyn assures us you’re safe,” Dad retorted.
“I’m hardly going to be comfortable, courting with my betrothed with my parents hanging around,” I pointed out.
“We’ll give you space, my love,” Mom assured.
I turned Do something to get rid of them! eyes to Tanyn.
He ignored my inaudible plea.
The staff came back with platters of shaved, perfectly roasted rare beef, garlic sauteed asparagus, and Hasselback potato gratin.
Even though a demon’s metabolism was off the charts, I was going to have to start doing something physical, or Tanyn’s menu selections were going to force me out of my dress size.
I still tucked into the platters to fill my plate because it looked and smelled divine.
Mom asked Laura, “Are all the plans set for your engagement party, dear?”
Laura answered.
The conversation around the table continued.
And I learned something new about my fiancé.
He was not one of those beings who avoided your eyes or attention when he was pissed at you.
Oh no.
Often, I found him staring at me broodingly, like he didn’t know what to do with me, but he didn’t really want to do anything.
Because of this, my panic was rising. So, after dessert (a delicious lemon syllabub that was the perfect tart acidity to end the rich meal), and when we all returned to the antechamber for an after-dinner drink, I cornered Tanyn.
“Hey, can we—?” I didn’t quite begin.
“During dinner,” he cut me off, “the staff moved you to the queen’s chamber. During your tour, I trust you were shown that room?”
Struck speechless at this news, I could only nod.
“Excellent,” he clipped. “Now I have to meet with my team to decide whether we want to share the information with my realm that their king and queen were murdered, and if we do, how we intend to do that. Someone will be in touch tomorrow after I speak with Jorda to see if I have an open slot in my schedule so we can speak.”
Hang on a minute.
“You’re scheduling an…appointment to speak with me?” I forced out.
“Yes,” he replied.
This was not good.
I grabbed his arm. “Tanyn—”
He pulled free and stated formally, “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
With that, he turned from me, and I watched his proud frame walk from the room.
Proud frame.
Proud frame.