Chapter 48

Bailey

After a succession of funerals yesterday, attending a celebration feast bigger than any I’d ever experienced was a welcome relief. We’d needed to mourn our dead, but there’d been so many that I’d cried myself to sleep in Aidan’s arms. It had been harder to handle than expected.

In a couple of weeks, I’d have to go through another period of mourning when we went to retrieve my father’s body. Aidan and I agreed to settle matters here and see off our guests first. That way, I could take the time I needed to move Wayne to Tahlequah, where he still had some family members—people I’d never met. They would know his burial preferences better than me.

But for now, the day dawned bright and cheery, casting away the gloom of death. I’d keep picking myself up until the weight of my sorrow didn’t feel so burdensome. A large celebration would certainly keep me distracted.

The fortress was open to anyone who could enter in human form, and the field was covered in red, burnt orange, and green dragons. If one didn’t look too closely at the animal carcasses offered to those guests, they would be pleased by the turnout. Mostly, the Faegud, Shadowan, Thamaran, Bogaran, and Ghastanan gathered out there. All our closest neighbors.

Lorcan and Aidan had just changed forms and walked toward the fortress gates where I stood. They’d needed to socialize in the field before escaping inside, so I’d chosen to wait for them at a safe distance. Watching pure dragons eat was not one of my favorite things to do.

On a bright note, enough stray Kandoran had been sighted flying on the other side of the border that all of us slayers would have something to hunt other than allies for a while. Pure dragons and shifters promised not to kill them if they didn’t cross into their territory or cause trouble. We wanted to keep the peace for as long as possible.

“How are you doing?” I asked Lorcan, noting his weathered features.

He smiled wanly. “I’m fine.”

It couldn’t have been easy for him. The Faegud had their funerals yesterday, so everyone from their clan had gone to their territory for those before returning here today. I couldn’t imagine how Lorcan felt about losing his mother. She’d been a force to reckon with, yet she’d been a good person and a great ally to our clan.

His vague reply made me wonder. “Are the clan elders giving you a hard time?”

“Yes.” He ran a hand through his long, brown hair. “They’ve decided every time they can’t get a majority vote on a decision, I get to break the tie. Meanwhile, I’ve had several members of my toriq attempt to challenge me despite the fact the bitkal won’t take place until spring. Even if it were sooner, this isn’t the time for fighting while we’re still recovering.”

And here I’d hoped the delay would give Lorcan time to mourn his mother and decide whether he wanted to try for pendragon or not. I assumed that was why his mother made that final decree.

“I’m sorry,” I said, giving him an apologetic look. “But anytime you need to get away, feel free to join us up here.”

Aidan put a hand on Lorcan’s shoulder. “I told him the same thing. He can always use the excuse of wishing to visit the mothers of his children, and he’ll always be welcome.”

I wondered what would happen first, Phoebe giving birth or the bitkal? Would that affect Lorcan’s decision to compete? I supposed he had the winter to figure it out.

“Speaking of which, where are they?” the Faegud shifter asked, lifting a brow.

Aidan gestured at us to begin walking through the keep’s main thoroughfare. “In the castle, watching our children with Bailey’s mother supervising.”

“Nothing is like I expected when you first came six years ago to negotiate a treaty with my toriq,” Lorcan said, shaking his head.

I kept my gaze on the cobblestones, noting someone had cleaned them before the celebration. So many things ran smoother since Aidan took charge. I hated to admit I didn’t know half the things he did around here, but with the war over, I planned to help where I could. The past month or so taught meit never hurt to forge tighter bonds. I wanted to continue building the clan’s trust and getting to know them better. This would be my home for as long as I lived.

We reached the castle, where we found Ruari, Freya, and Zoran chatting and drinking ale. The males appeared happy and content like two brothers should be, and it warmed my heart. Freya's expression was perturbed.

“What are you all discussing?” I asked, stopping at the top of the steps.

Aidan and Lorcan paused as well.

“They’re debating whether Zoran could best me in a duel.” She rolled her eyes. “As if that is even a question.”

I grinned. “My money is definitely on you.”

“This is why you’re my favorite sister-in-law,” she said, beaming at me. It wasn’t often Freya smiled without it preceding a deadly strike.

“Uh, thanks.”

Zoran put his hands up. “I have no desire to fight my brother’s mate and did not suggest such a thing.”

“But he refuses to acknowledge she is better than him,” Ruari said, annoyed.

I decided to settle this once and for all: “Aidan would beat all of us and Freya and I would tie for second. You two can battle over the rest of the pecking order on your own time. Tonight, we celebrate defeating our enemy against all odds by uniting—not arguing.”

“Well said, mate.” Aidan put a hand on my lower back. “Perhaps we should go inside to seek food and ensure the children aren’t setting the castle on fire.”

“I thought the whole place was flameproof.”

A look of amusement danced in his eyes. “With shifter children, anything is possible.”

Inside the great hall, we found the children were throwing food at each other, so there was some mischief happening. Phoebe had a piece of potato stuck in her black and silver hair. Ozara had some kind of sauce running down the front of her red camrium tunic. Orion and Leilany appeared to have rolled in their food with it covering them. Both would need baths after this.

“What happened?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips and pretending outrage.

Aidan’s sister shrugged. “They’re celebrating. Who are we to stop them?”

I should have been upset, but she wasn’t wrong. Though the children might not have been in the battle, they’d still experienced high levels of stress and worry. I’d been told Orion had nightmares every single night that made it difficult to sleep, and during those final evenings when the fighting was directly outside the fortress, Paul and my mother told me he’d hardly slept at all. After we returned each day after dawn, he’d crawled into our bed and put one hand on each of us. I couldn’t begrudge him a little fun after all that.

“How about you feed Mommy some food?” I suggested to Orion.

My son grinned. “Okay.”

Anything to distract him from tossing more food.

I sat, and he’d just begun feeding me pre-cut pieces of steak when my mother came from the kitchen with a couple of plates. Interestingly, she had food on her clothing as well.

“Oh, good.” She smiled. “You’re here. I went to get the children more food, hoping they might eat some this time.”

There were plenty of servants, but Mom insisted on serving herself and the children when she ate in the great hall. I suspected she enjoyed going to the kitchen to chat with the staff.Kayla especially got a lot of her attention since she had no parents looking out for her.

My mother treated her like a second daughter, which I appreciated. The twenty-one-year-old woman had suffered some lonely years under Nanoq’s reign when none of us were around to socialize with her, and the tension in the keep made everyone paranoid. She’d still been jumpy when I first returned from North Carolina, but she’d gotten better and happier.

Zoran sat on the other side of Orion, allowing my son to feed him bites as well while Aidan moved around the room, speaking to other shifters. He was doing all he could to learn any post-war concernsso that he could address them quickly. I couldn’t figure out how he thought he wouldn’t be a great pendragon when he was completely natural at it. The best leaders were the ones who didn’t seek power, rather it found them instead when they were needed most.

“Not that,” Zoran said, grimacing. “I hate green beans.”

Orion narrowed his gaze. “If you don’t eat them, I’ll tell the water dragons.”

Considering the nearest ones were hundreds of miles away in the Gulf of Mexico, we all knew he couldn’t carry through with that threat. I still snickered at the thought.

Aidan’s eldest brother sighed. “Oh, very well.” He gave me a martyred look before pinching his nose. “Give them to me.”

I laughed as Orion dumped a huge spoonful into the shifter’s mouth. To his credit, he chewed them fast and swallowed. I figured it was safe to say Zoran was truly reformed after his actions on the battlefield and how he behaved with us and the children. No bad guy could pretend this well.

“Did you have to eat many things you didn’t like while exiled?” I asked.

He nodded. “Not many vegetables, but sometimes squirrels were the only meat I could obtain. They have very little. If I wished to stop my growling stomach, I had to catch several, and I’d still feel hungry afterward. They’re impressively quick and agile, so I couldn’t capture many before exhausting myself.”

Ruari, who sat across from us at the table, laughed. “I wish I could have seen you running through the woods and climbing trees to catch squirrels.”

“Be nice!” Freya smacked the back of her mate’s head. “We both know you couldn’t have survived alone in the wild for five years, much less caught a squirrel.”

“Well, that goes without saying,” Ruari agreed, wisely avoiding an argument with his mate. Like his elder brother, he’d come a long way.

Two servants set several platters of food on the table for us to share. I convinced Orion to let the adults feed themselves and to concentrate on filling his own stomach. As we ate, the Craegud and Straegud pendragons came to join us.

Syrus picked up one of the sticks with grilled beef and peppers on it. After taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully, he made a satisfied sound. “I will have to return to this place for the food if for no other reason. Everything served here is delicious.”

Kayla appeared with a tray of fresh-baked rolls. “Thanks. I’m glad you think so.”

Everyone dove for the platter, taking all the bread in seconds. I’d been waiting for them and happily ate mine. Our rations hadn’t been bad during the war, but nothing replaced fresh meals, not even with magic to preserve them.

Wren, the Craegud pendragon, moaned after sampling the roll. “I think I must kidnap you and take you back to my home.”

Aidan laughed. “You’d have to go through all the Taugud to try.”

“It would be worth it if I succeeded,” he said, humor in his eyes.

Syrus remained absorbed in the meat samplings. “I’m working on agreements with the territories between here and my own to gain safe passage. It is my hope we can return in two years. I’m certain my mate would enjoy a visit, as well as some of the others unable to join us this time.”

I started to agree with the idea, but held back since it wasn’t my place.

“We would be pleased to host you again,” Aidan said, giving me a knowing smile. He understood I had previous ties with the clan from my time on the East Coast.

“It would be wonderful to see you under better circumstances.” There. I could totally be diplomatic, and hopefully more so by the time Syrus and his shifters returned. Maybe the castle library had a book on pendragon mate etiquette.

Wren finished gulping down a mug of ale. “We would love to host you a year from now, and I’ll be happy to arrange agreements with the pure dragons for your safe travels.”

“That’s generous of you,” Aidan said, glancing at me with a question in his gaze. I nodded. “We would enjoy a visit to the west coast.”

A look of satisfaction crossed Wren’s face. “We’ll be staying for another week to recuperate from the war and negotiate treaties while so many are gathered nearby, but after that, we will be on our way back home.”

Since winter and cooler weather loomed, I’d heard they planned to take the southern route to California, where it would be warmer. The Straegud wouldn’t have that advantage, living in the northeast, so they’d likely leave as soon as their shifters were ready.

“I’m glad to hear that actually because I have an announcement to make.” Aidan stood and called for everyone in the hall’s attention. “While everyone knows I’ve been mated to Bailey for about six years, what you don’t know is we never conducted the official ritual. Sadly, we never had the opportunity. I know others have bonded recently, so I invite everyone who wishes to join for their own ceremony or celebrate with us to attend in one week.”

He had already run the idea by me, so I simply smiled when many gazes fell on me.

Falcon stood and said he and Sabryn would also like to participate. Phoebe and Ozara spoke up next since they never got to make their mating official, either. Some other couples also requested to join, including those from different clans. Romance had been in the air in recent months, it seemed.

Aidan nodded. “Good, I will look forward to seeing you there.”