Chapter Forty-Five
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“I CAN’T WAIT TO TAKE Bri to the skating rink,” Grace said in anticipation, sliding a sly look at Vic just in time to see her scowl. “She’s almost as short as I am and short people have good balance, so I bet she’ll be good at skating,” the kid said.
“Is that why I suck so bad?” Xan asked. “Because I’m not a midget like you?”
“I’m five-eight and I can skate way better than you can,” Qi pointed out with a grin.
Vic snorted out a laugh. “I’m six foot and I’m pretty good in the rink.”
“We’ve only seen you skate once, girl,” Tor said. “I can barely remember it now.”
Zoe knew they were goading their trainer so she would give up her feud with GG. She also knew it wasn’t going to work. It would take a lot more than some taunting to get the ex-wrestler to let go of her old grudges.
“They’re coming!” Reegan said when she sensed the newbies leaving their bedroom.
“It’s about time,” Cam grumbled. “I’m starving.”
They’d delayed dinner so they could have a party for the newest members of their family.
Queegly was still getting used to being around so many people again.
He’d moved into his cabin a couple of days ago.
It now had power, running water, a modern shower and indoor toilet.
Camriel was working on expanding it, but that could wait.
Xanthia had just finished setting up his equipment on a tall mountain peak.
Amaros had warded it to keep it safe from vandals who might find it.
“Here we go,” Grace said, hiding a gift behind her back. She looked over her shoulder to make sure everyone was in position.
Bri and Urz entered the room hand in hand and grinning from ear to ear.
“Happy bonding day!” everyone shouted, then clapped and cheered.
Bria reeled slightly and Zoe realized she was being bombarded by their emotions. Bri smiled in delight at the lingerie Grace had chosen for her. Urzra raised his eyebrows when he was given a box of fancy chocolates.
“Do you feel anything strange yet, brother?” Jacquin asked slyly.
Urzra frowned suspiciously. Right on cue, his stomach growled loudly. “What the hell was that?” he asked, staring down at his stomach.
“Knights have to eat and drink once they become bonded to their females,” Grace said. “You also have to pizz and shiz. I forgot to mention that part.”
“Surprise!” Jac shouted, then doubled over in laughter at the look of consternation on Urz’s face. “That never gets old,” he said, slapping his thigh.
“Let’s head to the dining room,” Zoe said, herding everyone from the great room. Arak had been fed and was sleeping in his nursery. Angel had clambered onto Sin’s shoulder and was screaming in her ear.
“You have a cat?” Bria asked in delight.
“We sure do,” Sinai said. “Angel eats her bodyweight in food every hour and I don’t know where she puts it all,” she joked.
“Take a seat and we’ll bring the feast out,” Wynter said.
“When are you due?” Bri asked, eyes widening at the redhead’s huge stomach.
“In a couple of weeks or less,” Wyn said, patting her gut. “I can’t wait for my daughter to arrive.”
Urzra and Bria sat down in empty seats, seeing the knights and their mates were all sitting next to each other.
Urz hunched over when his stomach growled again.
“I feel like I could eat a bear,” he complained.
They’d left their gifts in the great room.
He wished he’d tried some of the chocolates now.
He’d taken a short break while they’d been celebrating being bonded and had teleported to the isolated house to retrieve their belongings.
Bri was glad to have her precious e-reader back.
“We don’t have any bear meat,” Amaros said with a small grin. “But Sin has conjured up a huge roast pork for us.”
“What sort of talents do the other cambions have?” Bri asked.
“We’ll show you in a minute,” Ree said from the kitchen next door.
Introductions hadn’t even been made yet, but Amaros had telepathically updated his brother. Urzra had passed the information to his mate so she knew who was talking.
The females carried plates piled high with pork and cooked vegetables, as well as salad. Others carried beverages on trays. They placed the food and drinks down, then took their seats.
Proper introductions were made, then Zoe gestured at the lone human. “This is Queegly Crantz, otherwise known as the Mad Prophet.”
Bri and Urz turned to stare at the famous human in stunned shock. “We’ve heard of you,” Urzra said. “You’ve been silent since we arrived.”
“I had to flee from my old home in Texas, son,” Queeg said. “Fate sent me here and these folks were kind enough to take me in.”
“Now Queeg’s a part of our family, just like you two,” Grace said. “We cambions all think of each other as sisters, just like the knights feel like brothers.”
“That’s going to make things awkward when our kids grow up and start dating each other,” Wynter realized.
“They’re going to feel like cousins,” Vic said, wrinkling her nose.
“That’s a problem for another day,” Zo said with an eyeroll. “Let’s all show Bri what we can do,” she suggested. One by one, the cambions displayed their talents even if Bria already knew what they could do. “Now it’s your turn,” their matriarch said with a hint of mischief.
Bri smirked, then harnessed her power. She let it spread out, then dropped it on everyone at once.
Grace was the first to giggle. Oak snorted out a laugh, then clapped her hand over her mouth when some food shot out. Everyone burst into hysterical laughter, except for Bri, Urz and the Mad Prophet. Bria had decided not to use it against Fate’s oracle.
Tears were pouring down Wynter’s face. She thumped the table with her fist, silently begging for it to stop.
Bria withdrew her magic, only now figuring out she could switch it on and off at will. Both hers and her mate’s skills had been given a huge boost.
“You almost made me pee myself!” Wyn said, glaring at the newbie.
“Sorry,” Bri said guiltily. “I shouldn’t have used my ability to manipulate emotions on you.”
“That was fun,” Grace said as she used a napkin to dry her eyes. She’d been overwhelmed with irresistible amusement like the others.
“I can see how you turned the soldiers and militants against each other,” Amaros said, already factoring her talent into his plans.
“There’s one downside to my mate’s talent,” Urzra said. “She constantly feels everything we do.”
“That must be difficult to endure,” Qi said sympathetically.
“What if you built a door in your head to try to shut us out?” Vic suggested.
Xan made a face at that notion. “Won’t she shut Urz out, too?”
“How can I make a door in my head?” Bria asked, intrigued at the notion.
“I instinctively learned how to shut my father out when he tried to take over my mind,” Victoria said. “I managed to stop Phul from forcing his parental bond on me.”
“We’ve all learned how to create doors in our minds to keep our pops out of our heads,” Grace said. “You should try it and see if you can mute our emotions.”
Bria closed her eyes and pictured a door.
She opened it and shoved all of the emotions she could feel coming from her new friends inside it.
The moment she slammed it shut, she felt a deep sense of loss.
Urzra took her hand as if reassuring himself she was still there.
The door had muted everyone’s emotions and also their bond just as she’d been warned.
“Let’s eat,” Amaros said to get the party started.
Everyone dug in and Urzra took his first tentative bite of pork. “I’m in heaven,” he murmured in appreciation, but hated that he could no longer sense his bond with his female.
Bri practiced with the door while she ate. She opened it and concentrated on just her mate. Picking his emotions out from the others, she kept hold of the link, then closed the door again. He gave her a brilliant smile that she returned when their bond returned.
Bit by bit, she tested her ability with the others. All of the couples were deliriously in love and were profoundly happy. Grace’s emotions were different. She was happy on the surface, but desperate longing and a sense of loneliness lay beneath her facade.
The Mad Prophet was hard to make sense of. His emotions were constantly shifting and difficult to pin down. She sensed heavy sorrow and crushing responsibility, as if the weight of the entire world rested on his shoulders.
Amaros was the calmest knight. The commander had firm control of his emotions. Like his brothers, his love for his mate eclipsed all else. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for the female at his side.
Bri had saved Zoe for last. Delving into the matriarch’s emotions, Bria almost slammed the door shut immediately.
Leaving it open a crack, she felt as if she was standing on the edge of a dark abyss.
Inside the abyss was a deep sense of untapped rage.
It was so vast she felt like it had the potential to swallow the entire planet if the mystic ever lost control of it.
Queegly caught Bri’s eye and shook his head slightly, warning her not to say anything.
Fate must have shown him what she’d just sensed.
She nodded back, but filed the information away.
Zoe had told her she’d inherited her sire’s fury.
Not even she was aware of just how dangerous her emotions could be if they were ever fully unleashed.