Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

CAMERON

N ow that Serath was back, time seemed to fly by. Waking up together, having breakfast, training, lunch at Stone Comfort—where the prying eyes didn't seem to matter as much—followed by a couple of hours in bed, necessary, of course, for medicinal purposes.

I spent the late afternoon with Melanie, sitting in the observatory watching the world go by, talking, simply talking about my childhood and hers. Learning where we connected, where we were alike in so many ways.

Before I knew it, we were setting the table for supper.

There was a giddiness inside me. The flush of love and contentment that was unshakable. Yes, there was bad shit hovering on the horizon, but it didn't matter because we were together, and we'd deal with whatever came our way. Together.

Right now, in these present moments, I wanted to enjoy being mated. Enjoy being loved. Enjoy being with my family.

The kitchen buzzed with activity and the hum of conversation as we got ready to eat together.

"Is Melanie not joining us?" Ginia asked.

I shook my head. "She manifested for a long time today. She's recharging."

"How's it been?" Touron asked. "Spending time with her now that, you know…"

"It's good. We have a connection." I placed the plates on the table and pulled out a chair.

Serath took the seat next to me.

"That smells delicious," Sharniza said, entering the room with Derek close behind. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, or was that blush?

Curi carried the huge bowl of pasta over, and Levi brought the garlic bread.

"We need grated cheese!" Palia hopped up and hurried back to the kitchen.

"Grab the jug of water while you're up," Ginia called.

Finally, we were all settled, piling our plates with spaghetti and delicious meaty sauce then stuffing our faces.

Silence reigned while we got in those first few mouthfuls.

"You've got to give me the recipe for this sauce," Levi said to Curi.

"Not a chance," Curi replied. "It's a family recipe only to be passed down generationally."

"Really?" Palia asked, intrigued.

"Nah," Curi chuckled. "But that might be kinda cool to do."

He seemed more relaxed and upbeat this evening, and it left me feeling lighter. "What did you guys get up to today?" I looked between Levi and Curi.

Curi glanced my way but didn't hold my eye. "We jogged, chatted, trained."

"And you guys?" I asked the twins and Touron. "How was training?"

"Good," they replied in unison.

Ginia sat forward, her gaze flicking between Serath and me. "I don't suppose there's any point asking you two what you got up to. I mean, we all heard it."

Touron choked on his pasta and fell into a coughing fit.

"Ginia!" Palia glared at her sister.

My cheeks burned, and I dropped my gaze, but not before catching the raw devastation on Curi's face.

His obvious pain burst my bubble of happiness, and an awkward silence fell over us.

Levi was the first to break it by diverting attention to Sharniza and Derek. "I saw you two headed to the main building earlier."

Shar stared at Derek in panic, but Derek looked unfazed.

"We should tell them," he said.

Shar groaned. "I don't want to." Her cheeks were definitely flushed now.

"Then I will," Derek replied. He looked straight at me. "I'm going to mate with Shar. Tonight. But we won't make any noise," he added quickly for the others.

Touron choked on his food again, and Palia patted his back.

Shar groaned and covered her face with her hands.

I cleared my throat. "O-kay…I mean, you can do whatever you guys want to. You don't have to tell us…that."

Shar uncovered her face. "Mate as in bond. Not sex." She blew out a breath. "Derek is in trouble, and this is the only way to keep him safe."

I set my fork down, the last vestiges of the warm fuzzies melting away. "What's going on?"

She looked to Derek to continue.

"When I turned chimera, I went somewhere. I can't remember it all, but I was being hunted there. I was…afraid."

He'd kept this from me? "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You are happy," he said as if that explained everything.

And in his head, it did. He'd been protecting me, just as he always did. "Oh, Derek…"

"We spoke to Mirrowind about it," Shar continued quickly. "Remember she said Derek was a shadow sylph?" I nodded. "Yes, well it seems that someone called Aine has marked him."

"Who's Aine?" Palia asked.

"Some fae deity. I'm not sure," Shar said.

"But why does she want Derek?"

Shar shrugged. "All Mirrowind could say was that it seemed that Faerie may be opening its doors and this Aine creature was maybe asserting some kind of claim. Sylphs belong to her, it seems."

"Not this sylph," Derek growled.

"Damn straight," Curi said. "She can fuck right off."

"I wish I'd told her that," Derek said wistfully. "Maybe next time."

"There won't be a next time," Shar said. "We won't let there be." She turned to me. "His connection to you helped him fight her off and come back to us. But that connection is weakening as he becomes more independent."

I wish you'd told me what happened, Derek. I projected the thought to him. He frowned and glanced at me in confusion. Can you hear me?

You sound far away . His voice was distant too.

We were truly losing our connection.

And that wasn't something we wanted to halt. Heck, I wasn't sure it was something we could halt. His freedom didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to sense when I was in dire peril; all it meant was that he could choose whether to come and save me—an autonomy everyone deserved.

"Then what do we do?" Serath asked. "How do we stop her from taking him?"

"The mating…" Levi said. "It's a bond that allows you to keep your independence, but it tethers you too, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Derek replied. "I can take a mate of my choosing." He looked down at Shar. "And I choose Sharniza because when I look at her, she fills my heart with sunshine."

"That's beautiful," Palia said softly.

A reflective silence filled the space between us.

A loud belch shattered it. Touron covered his mouth, eyes wide. "Sorry."

Ginia giggled, and Palia joined in, and a moment later, we were all laughing, and that moment…that moment was perfection.