Chapter 46 FRIENDS AND FAMILY #2
I gave Summer a moment longer in the room to make herself presentable and went out to greet my eager parents before they ended up barging into the bedchamber.
My mother gave an uncharacteristic squeal at the sight of me and quickly set down her share of the food platters that she and my father had brought with them. I laughed as she charged me and caught her when she hit me hard, swinging her around once to help slow her momentum.
The second I put her down again, she leaned back with a wrinkled nose and furrowed brows to look up at me.
“Phew! That is a potent mark, my love. You probably should have bathed before inviting everyone over here,” she informed me with a playful smirk.
“Oh yes, because I was the one who invited everyone over here tonight,” I laughed to cover my mortification. She merely grinned and then dragged me down to her for another hug.
“I am so happy, and so proud of you,” she whispered. Her voice wavered with emotion, so I gave her a squeeze in the hopes of comforting her.
“I love you,” I told her, and she made another happy sound as she hugged me back again.
My father had finished arranging the food platters by the time she released me. I was thankful that he refrained from any awkward comments when he hugged me.
“Ornella, you look radiant!” my mother cried when my mate entered the room behind me.
I could vaguely hear them talking, but I could not focus on their conversation.
Not when my father was making a show of glancing from the marks on Summer’s neck to the one that I was now exhibiting freely as well.
Then he smiled in approval and moved to greet Summer with a kiss on her head.
Shay and Verin arrived soon after with their children.
Neither Summer nor I had decided how best to broach the topic of everything Summer had been told with my sister, so we decided to wait to bring it up.
Although it was difficult to keep my mouth shut when Shay complained that she’d invited Orlaith to join us, but she had declined.
She did not seem especially perturbed by the fact I had finally claimed my mate.
She laughed when our mother made a joke that Ornella wouldn’t disappear if I were to let go of her.
So perhaps Shay had worked through the prejudice Orlaith had been hinting at or maybe Orlaith had been exaggerating.
Either way, I wanted to enjoy my family, so I decided to leave it alone for now.
I was astonished when Rian and Nuala were the next to arrive in the yurt.
Not only because my cousin usually avoided socializing with anyone aside from other riders, but because he was usually tied up late with paperwork.
Now that he’d taken Mionlach, I’d have expected him to be drowning in work, but perhaps I should not have been surprised that he would make time for me.
Nuala was quiet, and there was some tension between her and Rian, but my cousin still guarded her closely.
Especially when my family, Shay in particular, made an effort to talk to the witch.
My sister was suspicious at the best of times, and I could tell she was skeptical of Nuala.
But it was made very clear by Rian that any unkindness would not be tolerated around Nuala, and Shay had been on her best behaviour.
Darragh slipped in so quietly that no one even noticed but me because he alerted me through our bond and then gave me a nod from the corner. And lastly, Ciaran came through the door, shouting complaints about our audacity in getting into Rian’s wine before he even arrived.
There had never been so many people in my yurt all at once before, but somehow it did not feel overcrowded to be surrounded by my family.
Especially when I could feel Summer’s unrestrained delight since she didn’t even try to conceal her emotions.
Rian and Ciaran smirked at her whenever she experienced an especially potent spike of happiness that would flood our bond with pure joy.
Seating was limited around my fire, but Summer was more than happy to sit in my lap and converse with my parents on my left.
My father was trying to convince her to try the cranberry wine he always made after I warned her against it.
I already knew she’d hate it since she had the same taste as Rian, and he refused to drink it.
I was distracted from them when Ciaran sat down on my other side and snagged the bottle of apple wine I had been sharing with my mate. He winked smugly before he took a long swig and then passed it back to me.
“Ciaran,” I acknowledged him and raised the bottle in his direction before taking a drink.
He grinned before he glanced down at the mark I had intentionally left on display by wearing my shirt partially unbuttoned.
Then his eyes drifted to Summer on my lap who was making my parents laugh with her complaints that my father’s wine was too sour.
She was wearing my shirt, which also displayed my mark on her neck.
If he had been any other male, I might have felt a little violent at the admiring smile on his lips, but I knew better.
She was truly a force of nature while you were gone, Ciaran told me through our bond. There were days when she could barely get out of bed, but she was determined to do whatever was necessary to get you back.
His words made my heart ache, and my thumb brushed across Summer’s thigh. She returned the affection with a squeeze of her hand over mine without turning away from my disgruntled father. He was just drunk enough to rant about the overuse of honey and syrups ruining wine.
I leaned into Ciaran to press my shoulder against him.
She told me that you wouldn’t let her stay in bed.
Ciaran snorted aloud, but everyone else had become too invested in the animated debate about the sweetness, quality, and tradition of winemaking to overhear us.
We both know she could have easily made me leave her alone if she really wanted to. She has never been shy about using force against me, he reminded me.
True, I smirked. But you still didn’t need to do all that. You knew she needed someone, and you were ready to be there for her in spite of your past issues with each other. Thank you, I insisted as I handed him the wine back.
Ciaran looked emotional as he turned back to the fire, clenching the neck of the bottle hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
I’ll never leave your mate to fend for herself, he swore before pushing his shoulder affectionately against mine. Besides, she is not all horrible, he added, and I elbowed him as we both laughed. “I am so glad you are home,” Ciaran told me aloud with an anguished sincerity.
“Me too,” I murmured, savouring the bone-deep love he was emanating down our bond. And then my father suddenly pushed a bottle into his hands and demanded Ciaran settle whether it was as good as the apple wine.
I had managed to steal a moment with everyone in the yurt aside from Rian.
Even Darragh had given me a hug, which was the most affection I’d ever received from him.
But it was not until I returned to the table my parents had covered in food that my cousin approached.
I recognized him as soon as he put a hand on my shoulder and walked around me to stand at my side.
“At least Ornella has good taste in wine,” my cousin remarked as his arm slung fully across my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.
I tried to smile as I looked up at him, but the sight of him making a consideration of the food before us made me abruptly emotional.
“I thought you were dead,” I blurted before I could find a way to soften the admission.
Rian was just as caught off guard as I was and slowly let his arm fall free of my shoulders so he could turn to face me directly.
“I would have been. It was Ornella who saved my life. Did she tell you that she can weave magic together?”
“She told me about the portal,” I said, and he grunted in satisfaction. But I had opened the gates to the heavy before either of us was ready, and now I could tell he was going to continue with it.
“I want to know what they did to you, Sage. I need to know why they wanted you. And I need to know how you want Amira and her mates handled. I have made a deal not to harm Riordan myself, but nothing was said about Amira or the skiá. Keeping them here prevents Riordan from making an alliance with Aoibheal, but it is up to you and Ornella what we do with them afterward.”
I knew these questions would eventually come from my cousin, but it still didn’t make them any less abrasive.
Summer had also tried to ask me about what happened with the Sylvan, but I’d gently redirected her.
I wanted to recount that experience just once with everyone present who needed to know about it.
“I will tell you and the others about the Sylvan when we are all together. Not now,” I insisted, and he agreed with a nod. “And I do not want the witch hurt,” I added, which made him raise his brows at me.
“Are you sure? Ornella was rather eager to administer her wrath and retribution.”
“Ornella may think she wants revenge, but she would regret hurting her friend. She is angry and hurt right now, but they only wanted to protect her, Rian. She will accept that one day, and I do not want her to make choices she cannot come back from,” I insisted firmly.
Rian sighed and tipped his head in a dramatic show of exasperation and reluctance with me.
“Do you have no regard for how difficult it will be for me to rein in Ciaran and his bloodlust?” he demanded.
“I have faith in you, cousin,” I laughed and returned his smile when he looked at me again. Then he pulled me into another hug that was longer and harder than the one he gave me when he first arrived in the tent.
“I am so sorry. I should have stopped them—”
“Don’t,” I interrupted, leaning back to grip his upper arms as I looked at him seriously. “You think I didn’t see how hard you fought? What they did to you!”
Rian was silent, the bond between us muted on his end so I could only feel a faint hint of his emotions. But they still seemed… more active than usual. Less restrained.
“I am no hero, Sage. I would have destroyed the Vale and every fey in it if it meant keeping you safe. I would have done worse if the Sylvan had not nearly killed me,” he admitted with his eyes on the table beside us.
His words were as heartening as they were terrifying, and I could tell he was as unnerved as I was by them.
“So. You have a mate,” I redirected, and Rian snorted as he turned to pluck up some grapes.
“That topic will require me to consume far more wine than I am comfortable drinking in front of your parents.”
“Then one night soon we will drink all the wine and talk about it. Summer said you rejected her,” I hedged.
Rian drew in a deep breath through his nose as he gave a distracted nod.
“I am unsure what to do,” he admitted with a glance over my shoulder toward Nuala. “It is… complicated.”
I opened my mouth to ask him why, but the laughter behind us went quiet when something clattered. I turned to see Nuala standing completely still, a plate of food on the floor at her feet. Her eyes had gone ghostly white and her face was fully slack as she stared unblinking.
“Nuala?” Rian blurted before he stepped toward her. But then he stopped at the blare of a horn, which had been designed to penetrate every silencing ward in the camp.
Pyrope and Serafin had stayed in the bedchamber to escape the party, but both vargr stalked out with their heads low and their lips curling readily.
“What the fuck is that?” demanded Summer.
I looked at Rian, but his attention was still on Nuala as she blinked out of her trance and then looked straight at him with pure terror in her eyes.
“That’s a patrol alert from the southern flank. It means that we are under attack,” Rian advised my mate coolly.