17. Florian

Chapter 17

Florian

I’d holed myself up in my room reading a book all morning, not necessarily avoiding Cove, but sort of...uncertain of how to proceed.

Sure, I wanted to see him again. If I were being honest with myself, I wanted to follow him around like a lost puppy, begging for any scraps of attention he was willing to offer.

But also, I couldn’t do that. I needed him—and everyone else—to respect me, at least enough to accept that I was going to be head of the family. No one could respect a puppy, cute or not. And at twenty-two and twinky as hell, I was already trying to make up for a deficit to get any respect.

The knock on the door wasn’t a shock, but the rhythm of it was. Shave and a haircut. There was only one person who randomly knocked on my bedroom door like that.

I hopped off the bed and rushed to the door, throwing it open in time for a gleeful Fawn standing behind Aunt Ivy to sing, loud and brassy, “two biiiits!”

Aunt Ivy leaned in the door frame, grinning. “So, I rushed out here because the cousins were on about how the Moonstriker had come and taken over the family. Color me surprised to find you hiding out in your room.”

I rolled my eyes. “Cove isn’t trying to take over the family. I don’t think he wants us.”

“Not all of us,” Fawn sang, giggling.

Aunt Ivy’s eyebrows shot up, and she shoved past me into the room, followed by Fawn.

Upon our return from Gloombringer lands, Aunt Ivy had taken the time to talk to me and to Fawn, and then she’d headed for the coast. It was where her home was, and where she preferred to be. She came to visit Fawn and me often—if not often enough—but she preferred to be as far from the main estate as she could manage. After the events of the disastrous Gloombringer summit, she’d needed some down time, and honestly, a chance to rediscover herself. She’d forgotten most of her life after the age of sixteen, but for tiny snippets here and there. She’d remembered Fawn and me well enough, and fondly, but there were enormous gaps in most everything else. She barely remembered Father at all.

Given her carefree posture and the incredibly casual outfit—no makeup, even—she’d found what she needed. Hells, I wished she’d found whatever it was years earlier. I’d never imagined that hitting her head and forgetting half her life would make her whole life better, but it had.

Father had gone on a rant about having her declared incompetent and taking her money away the night it had happened, but she’d clapped back with a threat to make his life a misery if he even thought about bothering her with such bullshit, told him he’d changed since they were kids, and not for the better, and then announced that she was leaving and he could fuck right off.

I’d almost applauded, except that it certainly would have gotten me smacked. Plus, she’d been leaving me practically alone with him, so making him even madder had seemed like a bad idea. I’d have been annoyed with her for leaving me alone with him, but she’d had her own problems to deal with at the time. Besides, she’d just forgotten most of her life. Somehow, she remembered a time when my father wasn’t the worst person we all knew.

“So,” she said, turning and sitting on the edge of my bed, “if not all of us , just what might it be that Cove Moonstriker wants?”

Fawn flopped onto my bed behind her, starfishing out across it and giggling. “You should stay for dinner, Aunt Ivy. You’ll see. They stare at each other like fish.”

Like...fish? No, I wasn’t going to ask. I sighed and shook my head, closed my door, and went to my chair next to the window, dropping into it. “He’s here to kill Father.”

That was like a bucket of cold water dropped on the whole room, right? But no. Aunt Ivy just cocked her head a moment, considering, then nodded. “He told me as much. At least, he told me he was here for Hux. Kill him, is it? No...prison or anything else to start with?”

Funny, how I hadn’t even thought about that. “Do you think a prison in Dawnchaser lands would even try to hold Father?”

“No, but one in Moonstriker lands might. Or Gloombringer.” She sighed, shaking her head. “But then there’s the complication of holding him when he’s bound to Soz, and because of that bond, as long as he’s alive he’s the leader of the family.” She leaned back, putting her weight on her hands. “I never imagined the other families would put themselves out like this to help us move forward.”

“Do you really think that’s what this is?” The idea made sense, as the other families coming to stop Father helped us more than anyone, but also, it didn’t make sense that anyone cared enough to help us. No one had a reason to help the Dawnchaser family. We had too much of a history of helping ourselves, to everyone else’s detriment.

Besides, there was Mount Slate to consider. They needed us to help with that, and Father was in no position to step up for the impending disaster.

She shrugged, but after a moment shook her whole body like she was shaking off the subject and turned to look at me. “But forget about that. What about that Cove Moonstriker? He’s a hottie, isn’t he?”

My cheeks flamed and I couldn’t meet her eye. “He’s . . . okay.”

Fawn didn’t sit up but reached out and grabbed Aunt Ivy’s hand. “You should have been here yesterday, Aunt Ivy. They were”—she looked around as though checking for spies, then leaned up and forward, adopting a stage whisper—“kissing. In Father’s office.” Then she collapsed back onto the duvet in a fit of giggles.

How the hell did she know that?

I’d thought we were alone, and hadn’t the door been closed? Maybe not.

Not that it mattered how Fawn knew, because the way my cheeks flushed, burning a fiery brand across my face, Ivy knew instantly that it was the truth. Not that I’d have lied to her. Even if I had tried, I wouldn’t have succeeded. I’d never been a good liar, and more than that, Aunt Ivy had an excellent instinct for people and when they were full of shit. Like me and always.

She lifted a brow at me, lounging back on my bed and just...waiting.

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. “I don’t know how it happened. It just . . . and then . . . and I?—”

“Sweetie, there’s nothing wrong with kissing a handsome man. The only question is whether you wanted to kiss him or whether he took liberties.” She stopped, frowning, and turned aside, scanning the air in front of her like she was searching my bedroom floor. “But...Cove wouldn’t do that, would he? I don’t know why, but something tells me Cove would never do anything without your permission.”

“He didn’t,” I agreed instantly. “Not that we talked about it, but he didn’t push me, and I definitely didn’t say no. He left me all the room I needed to pull away. I just...didn’t want to.”

If my cheeks got any hotter, I might spontaneously combust.

Aunt Ivy nodded, watching me for a moment before she responded. “I don’t remember him from before. I must have met him after”—she blushed and looked away, as though her memory gaps were something she should be ashamed of—“you know. But he said I was older back then and not interested in him, which sort of makes sense. But he seems nice now. Sensible. Honest. He didn’t try to pull some crap about his father not being as bad as he seemed.”

I squinted at her in confusion. “His father?”

“You know how men were back then,” she said, waving dismissively. “Arrogant, rude, and convinced that all shows of emotion were weakness. Things are much better now. Well, in some ways.”

It reminded me of Oberon Gloombringer, but Aunt Ivy didn’t remember him either, so there was no point in mentioning that. Cove had said something about his father being an ass at dinner the night before, come to think of it.

“Cove is nice,” I answered, going back to the subject at hand. I didn’t know why I was willingly going back to it, except...well, who else could I talk to about this? Fawn would be willing to giggle about it and all, but Aunt Ivy might know something about this kind of relationship. Even if she didn’t remember most of her past, she had a very adult outlook on life, and was an ally I could trust. “He...he’s offered to teach me how to run a family after he handles things with Father. So I won’t be fumbling around in the dark.”

“Good. That’s very good. He has a reputation as an excellent leader. Firm but fair. Not like his father and all that iron-fist bullshit.” She blinked, her gaze going unfocused for a moment, and then she slapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle.

“Aunt Ivy?”

“The Iron Fish,” she blurted out when she uncovered her mouth, and then broke down in a giggling fit. “I forgot about...The Moonstriker family crest. You know it. With the koi and snowflakes?”

I did, so I nodded, still unsure why she was about to fall off my bed laughing.

“Cousin Aeryn used to call his father the iron fish. Because the koi in the crest, and you know, iron being cold, and they used to say he ruled the Moonstriker family with an iron fist, so...The Iron Fish.” She dropped her face into her hands, giggling helplessly. “I’d forgotten.”

I’d only met Aeryn once, years earlier. They had mostly removed themselves from family life, since they weren’t interested in playing Father’s power games. Maybe...maybe that was the reason I thought all my cousins vipers, I realized with a shock. There were dozens I never saw, who the family largely ignored. Maybe they didn’t come around because they weren’t interested in what the family had become.

“Do you think Cousin Aeryn might come visit, when the...when Father isn’t in charge anymore?”

That brought Ivy to sudden soberness, the laughter dying in her throat. She looked up at me, meeting my gaze firmly. “Yes, Flor. I think a lot of things might change when you take control of the family.”

The knock on the door startled us all, but I found my footing quickly enough. “Come in.”

It was Frost, looking tentative, as he often did. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bother you, but the servants were talking about...about Ivy Dawnchaser being here. And my brother told me she was someone I should meet if I ever had the opportunity, so I was wondering if...not that I want to bother you, but?—”

“Well hello, tall, dark, and handsome,” Ivy drawled, looking Frost over. “My goodness, you must be another Moonstriker. I didn’t think Cove had a brother.”

Frost turned to her, blinking rapidly, then shook his head. “No, no, not Uncle Cove. I mean, sort of. Mother always sort of treated him like he was one of us, so it was a little like having a much older brother. But he’s my uncle. I mean Rain. He told me I should meet...you?”

“Me,” she agreed, sitting up and pushing off the bed, holding a hand out for him to shake. “Ivy Dawnchaser, at your service. I remember Rain. He was an impressive gentleman when I had my...incident.”

“Rain’s always an impressive gentleman,” Frost said, looking more than a little wistful as he shook her hand. “I try to follow suit, but I’m afraid I’m just not as good at it as he is.”

Fawn frowned, sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest. “Did he say that? That’s not very nice.”

“Oh no, Rain would never. He’s not like that. He’s just...well, he’s going to be the next head of the family. He’s good at most things. I’ve never been very good with people.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “Ridiculous. You’ve been great with all of us. I think all the staff love you too, because you have such good manners. Everyone in the house loves you.”

He flushed and ducked his head. “It’s funny. I was terrified of coming here because of your family’s reputation. Like your father said when I arrived, wolves. People-wolves. But everyone’s been so kind.”

Except my father himself remained unsaid.

“Except Adger and Courtney,” Fawn offered instead. “They stink.”

Frost almost choked, but I remembered his tendency to hear things literally, so I amended, “They don’t stink literally. They’re just jerks.”

“Indeed they are,” he agreed, smiling bright and wide.

Aunt Ivy grinned at him, planting her hands on her hips and spinning to take all of us in. “What do all of you say to tea in the garden? I could use some tea.”

“Tea party!” Fawn scooted to the edge of the bed, clapping her hands excitedly.

Ivy turned her grin on me. “In fact, I think this is going to be the most fun I’ve ever had in this house. Maybe it’s not such an awful place after all.”

I shrugged, standing, ready to follow her anywhere she wanted to go. “The company has definitely improved in the last month.”