Chapter 44

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Extended family dinners…

I'm talking a lot. I know I'm talking a lot. I just don't really know how to stop. It's unusual for me to talk this much, especially given that Cael, Alana, Willow, Zylus, Ollie, and Brittny have all crashed my family dinner. It's just, phew, a lot of people, right?

So many people.

And I don't know most of them very well.

But that means absolutely nothing in the face of whatever magic is bumbling about beneath my skin. My thoughts are going off along with my mouth. "I can't believe this happened," I say to my mom and dad while absently staring ahead at Alana and Andromeda, who are building something out of their merged plates of food. They mashed roast potatoes, dissected their burger, ground the beef, and—yeah, no.

I drop my attention to my own veggie burger and draw lines into the thigh of Pollux's pants. He's sitting beside me. For emotional support. I pick up a steak fry. "I know I don't usually make uneducated decisions like this. I usually need to know everything before I act. When I went to college, I mapped the entire campus and practiced walking the distances to make sure I was healthy enough to make it to each class on time. I timed myself. I calculated the strain it would add to my shoes and budgeted how many pairs I needed to purchase to last me the four years."

"Honestly," Willow comments from Pollux's other side as she offers Zylus an onion ring, "that's what I would have done were college not a capitalistic debt scheme."

I can't even rebut. I am still paying off my debts. Maybe my dear sweet husband who rents out ice rinks can help me with that?

"Of course I can," Pollux says, fixing his attention past Mom and Dad and firmly on Cael. "Can't I?"

"I don't see why not," Cael offers, amicably. He's barely touched his food in favor of watching Alana as though he's entranced.

Soulmates, amirite?

I tense as realization hits me. "Did…I complain about my debts aloud?"

Brittny laughs. "You absolutely did."

"That's not like me."

"Or maybe it's exactly like you," Ollie says. "Many fae tend to vomit their thoughts with little regard for whether or not they're appropriate. Feelings don't change the truth, and if the truth causes problems, that's something worth addressing. It's best to live honest."

I exhale a twisted laugh, stuff my fry in my mouth, and mumble, "Live honest, huh? You have never attended a parent-teacher conference with a mother upset that her child had a single organic chocolate-covered almond. Because sugar."

Willow stares at me, brow knit, as Zylus nibbles the morsel between her fingers. "Was her kid too dumb to know there was sugar in it?"

"That's that dumbest part. I let her kid read the label because I knew she had extensive food rules."

Zylus bites Willow's finger. She shoves him in the face. "I am irrationally upset right now, but the irrationality comes only from the strong urge to hunt down a child."

"She's a teenager by now. I really hope she's doing well, and her relationship with food has improved." I puff a breath and grip Pollux's thigh.

He makes a slightly strangled sound into his burger, and I jerk my hand off him. "Crap. Sorry."

"Nope," he mumbles. "That was great."

My face blisters.

"Bets are off," Willow states, planting a hand on the table. "Let's hunt down a teenager."

"What?" I blurt.

"That snot knowingly did something that would peeve off her mother, then told her mother." Willow stabs a perfectly manicured finger into the table. "Then that mother blamed you. All children, per clause 2B in my moral code of conduct, are too young to be judged in higher courts before they understand the world better. Teenagers have no such protection and must pay for their crimes. Cael, I'm petitioning mischief."

"No, you're not." He rolls his eyes off Alana. "We do our best here not to meddle in the affairs of humans."

"Meddle!" Willow scoffs. "I'm personally afflicted."

"I think we've drifted slightly off topic," Brittny notes, cordially. "Is this the celebration for Kass joining us in full faerieness, or are we throwing a party at movie night." She fixes her bright and friendly smile on my mother and father. "We have movie night at Willow's every Thursday. You are more than welcome to come…" Her attention drifts to Willow. "…right?"

"Obviously." Willow arches a brow and scans my parents. "You do not give me the parental ick. Have you considered running a class on parenting?"

My parents glance at each other.

Dad says, "That could be fun."

"Aaron, no." Mom fills her lungs and lets the breath out slowly before smiling in such a familiar, and now distant, way. "I'm sorry. All of this is a lot to take in. We had prepared to see our daughter off to a new house tonight. Now she's fully fae…and…was kidnapped…" Mom's smile falters, and I notice her reach for my father's hand under the table.

Alana mutters, "Yeah, Castor and I will have words next time I see him."

"Moondrop," Cael warns.

Dad interjects, "I'm not thrilled to hear about what happened tonight, but it's very clear to me that Kasserole has friends who care about her. We still don't understand a lot of how things work in Faerie, but something we do understand is that relationships like these matter." He looks at me. "Whatever happens next, this foundation is secure."

My throat closes as his words sink into my chest and press against my heart. I fight everything in me to keep from sobbing sand into my food. I don't want that, brain, so please behave yourself for five seconds.

Willow breaks the moment without a scrap of finesse. "Why are you calling her Kasserole?"

Pollux's brows rise. "Are we allowed to ask that? I didn't know if that was an appropriate question to ask, so I just made assumptions."

I sag.

My darling father grins. "Well…"

Mom sags, matching me. "It is the product of what happens when you have a rough pregnancy and aren't lucid enough to pay attention."

"My full name is Kassandra Eve Role," I mutter.

"That's very pretty," Brittny chimes.

The corners of Dad's eyes crinkle. "Precisely how I got it past my beloved wife. It's just a bonus that it simplifies into Kass E. Role."

A moment of silence passes.

Then everyone wheezes.