Three days later…
Nathaniel would never grow tired of sharing the company of his siblings or their mates, and the bond between them was perhaps stronger now than ever before. From the head of the table, he watched them over his wineglass, absorbing their endearing idiosyncrasies.
Across from him at the foot of the table, Gabriel was singularly focused on his mate Raven, who sat beside him.
“What about this one?” Raven said, showing him a picture on her phone of a crib made of some dark, polished wood.
Gabriel smirked. “Where is the top?”
“Top!” Raven squealed.
“It’s a crib, not a cage,” Avery interjected, laughing.
Gabriel shrugged. “Human babies don’t fly. Dragon babies do. You need a top. And, while we are discussing dragon realities, I would suggest you avoid wood in place of something that won’t burn.”
Avery and Raven looked at each other in openmouthed horror. Without another word, they both reached for their wine and drained their glasses empty.
On Gabriel’s other side, Sabrina and Tobias enjoyed the lamb that Tempest had prepared.
“Nathaniel, my compliments to your oread,” Sabrina said, her green eyes shifting in his direction. “This is the best I’ve ever had.”
He was sure a large part of her enjoyment hinged on the fact that Tempest had left her portion extremely rare. In fact, he believed he’d done little more than warm the bloody chops that populated her plate. The rest of the dishes, including Tobias’s, were far more cooked.
“I’ll let him know,” Nathaniel said.
Tobias raised his fork. “We eat well in Chicago, but I have to say there’s something about this animal. Every bite I take is more complex than the last. It’s like I can smell the grass it fed on.”
“Because it was raised here, at Mistwood,” Nathaniel explained. “There’s magic in the groundwater.”
Sabrina had gone to great lengths to stay as long as she had, calling her father in to help run the Chicago vampire coven in her absence. As Tobias chatted easily with her over his dinner, Nathaniel had to smile to see his traditionally stoic and fiercely academic brother fill with light in her presence. Tobias rarely took his eyes off Sabrina when she was in the room.
Beside Avery, Maiara was playing with Alexander’s phone. He’d recently taught her how to take selfies, and she was experimenting with the functionality.
“You’ve got to look at the little hole,” Alexander said. “That’s the camera.”
She showed him a picture of the side of her head.
“No. No. See?” He helped her take one. He was smiling in the finished photo, but her eyes were narrowed like she didn’t quite trust the phone. Why she needed a selfie, Nathaniel would never understand. Alexander sketched her at least once a day. He never seemed to tire of it.
Nathaniel’s attention drifted to the other side of the table when Rowan tossed her fork down and yelled at Nick. “How can you think Taylor Swift is unrelatable?”
Nick spread his hands and shrugged. “Look what you made me do? It’s totally the perspective of a narcissist.”
“You are nuts. You’re crazy.” Rowan got in his face. “She’s making a point about how celebrities are unfairly characterized by the media and that jokers like that guy who sued her try to weaponize their reputations against them for profit.”
“Huh. Really?”
Rowan rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Yes! Do you take this stuff literally? You’ve got to read into it. Listen to the words.”
Nick waved a hand in the air. “I miss when she used to sing sweet country songs.”
“I’ve met her, you know,” Clarissa interjected.
Rowan and Nick both froze like she’d manifested in front of them although she’d been sitting there the entire time.
“Really?” Rowan asked.
Clarissa nodded. “At an industry party in Nashville. She is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. And talented. Not a lick of magic. Does it all on her own.”
Nick’s mouth popped open. “Huh. Ain’t that somethin’?”
Rowan flashed him a smug grin and raised her glass to Clarissa.
Nathaniel leaned over to whisper in her ear. “So is this what you had in mind when you said you wanted family?”
She winked one bright blue eye. “Exactly what I had in mind. I was wondering about something though.”
“Hmm?”
“When you told me about what happened in Paragon, you mentioned Sylas and how he was leading a band of rebels. A long time ago, you told me you were one of nine. Your oldest brother, Marius, was murdered. Gabriel, Tobias, Rowan, and Alexander are here. Assuming Sylas returned to wherever he was staying in the kingdom of Everfield, where are your last two siblings?”
“I’m not sure about Colin.” Nathaniel swirled his wine.
“And then there was one.” Clarissa rubbed his thigh expectantly.
“Xavier,” Nathaniel said. “As it so happens, I do know where he is. The hard part is reaching him.”
She squeezed his thigh. “I know that look. You have an idea.”
His gaze settled on Avery. “Yes, I do. A hunch really, based on the guidance of the cards. It won’t be easy, but I believe the Treasure of Paragon will be together again soon, and when that happens, Mother better make her peace with the goddess, because we are coming for her. And when we do, she will pay for her lies and deception. There will be no mercy.”