19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Garrick

I had no idea what the hell I'd been thinking. Why in the world had I told Tan to invite his friends and family over here?

I grimaced as I remembered the expression on his face when he'd said he wished I could come to his get together. He'd been so sad and earnest and something inside of me had pulled me to fix it.

Not only that, but it was clear that Tan wanted me there. That he wanted to spend time with me.

My viramore wanted to spend time with me.

That was… worth any of the other nonsense.

I honestly couldn't even remember the last time anyone had wanted that.

And so my mouth opened up before I'd had a chance to fully think things through.

And now I was waiting for Tan's family to get here.

Luckily, the man himself was already here. He'd come over early to set everything up and use my kitchen to cook—he'd asked, of course, and I'd been more than happy to let him. In fact, he'd forced me to help him.

Okay, force was a strong word. All he'd really done was ask me if I wanted to help and look at me with those silver eyes, and once again, my mouth opened without permission from my brain.

But I'd enjoyed the one-on-one time with him. I liked cooking, so spending time in the kitchen with Tan was a pleasure.

I only wished I could get him all to myself for the rest of the night too.

"You okay?" Roman asked me, coming to stand at my side where I was watching Tan fuss over the placement of throw pillows on the outdoor couch and chairs I'd bought for the occasion.

"Yeah." I sighed and glanced over at the grill, opening it a little to check on the food inside. I'd already cooked a bunch of vegetables and tofu things for Tan and whoever else didn't eat meat, and now I was cooking the meat for everyone else.

There was a table off to the side already overflowing with a ton of options, plus sides, snacks, and desserts. With the amount of food Tan had prepared, you'd think we were hosting an army, not just a few of his close friends.

"What's wrong?"

After closing the grill again, I glanced at Roman with a raised brow. "Really?"

He snorted. "Well, you could be nervous about having people in your space—and the roof counts as yours. You spend time up here, which is why Tan extended his wards to the roof right after the last attack."

I'd been surprised he'd not only wanted to but had been able to create a sort of dome over the top of the building to prevent attacks. We were as safe on the roof as we were inside my condo now.

Roman continued, "Or maybe you're nervous about meeting Tan's friends—family?—for the first time. Well, you've met some of them, but this is different because now you know these people are important to your viramore—"

"Shhh." I cut him off. "Don't say that word."

Roman rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to talk to him about it sooner or later."

I sighed. "He doesn't know yet, so he must not feel the pull. As long as I have this curse on me, it's going to mess with our connection, so I—"

"You don't know that." Roman's jaw ticked. "You have no idea what he's feeling. For all you know, he's feeling it just as strongly as you, and honestly, from my point of view, he is."

"Well, you don't know that either."

"Maybe, but I have eyes. I see how he looks at you and how the two of you are always orbiting around one another. And anyway, the curse isn't going to affect your bond, Gar. It can't."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. Because she wouldn't have done something as evil as keeping me from my viramore."

He sighed in exasperation. "That's not why."

When he didn't explain further, I took the bait. "Then why?"

"Because nothing is stronger than a viramore bond. There's no magic, even as strong as that curse, that can mess with it. It's just not possible."

My eyes widened for a moment as I let that sink in. It was everything we'd ever been taught about viramore bonds. But just because we were told that in our youth didn't make it true.

It didn't make it false though either.

My eyes automatically sought out Tan. He was just such a beautiful person, and I wasn't even talking about his looks, although those were beautiful as well. After a few seconds, as if knowing I was staring at him, he turned to me, met my gaze, and smiled. A smile, just for me.

It took my breath away.

We stared at one another for a long moment before he jolted and pulled out his phone, obviously having received a text. He shot me another smile, saying, "They're here. They're getting on the elevator now." He grimaced. "Ker is not happy. Apparently, they all met in the lobby and are coming up together."

Tan had told me that Anton and Keryth didn't like each other, and I was honestly surprised. I'd known Anton a long time, and he seemed to get along with everyone.

Tan walked past me and gave my forearm a squeeze along the way.

As soon as he was through the door, Roman said, "Told you." And then the ass followed Tan down the stairs.

I blew out a breath, quickly plated the food off the grill since it was done, and turned it off. I set the plate on the table and rushed to catch up with them.

Since I didn't want to reveal my secret passageway from my office, we were using the staircase near the elevators to access the roof. It was the only other way up here.

The stairs were also hidden from the public, but they were only hidden behind a regular door that looked like a maintenance closet out in the public space on the same floor as my office.

So we headed down that way. Once we went down, we walked to the elevator doors, awaiting the arrival of Tan's people.

It only took a few seconds for the elevator to ding and the doors to open.

Tan was so happy when he saw his friends that I had to push aside the jealousy threatening to come out. I wanted him happy, I wanted him to be loved by other people.

I just wanted him to be happier with me, I guess. I was feeling strange and unsure of myself, which wasn't something I typically felt any longer. I was far too old to care about what people thought, or I was until now.

Now, I cared what Tan's friends and family thought because I wanted the witch in my life for the long term. And despite my wanting to keep him away from my mess of a life, that ship had sailed weeks ago. He was in it, and it needed to stay that way—no, he needed to be in it even more.

The viramore bond could get possessive, I knew that, I just hadn't expected it to make me start growling under my breath when Tan gave Belryn Bixidor a hug. I'd never met the man before, but after Tan had given me a guest list, I'd looked into each person coming to my home, so I recognized him.

Tan gave me a look, but was quickly pulled into another hug by Remington Ellwood. I didn't like Remington. He was far too close to my witch for my liking, even if he did already have a viramore of his own. My growl got louder, and I took a step toward the pair, ready to yank Remington off my viramore and pull Tan into my arms so no one else could touch him ever again.

A body stepped in front of me, cutting off my line of sight. I stopped abruptly, ready to push through whoever dared to block me, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and said, "So it's like that, is it, Garrick?"

I growled again and glanced at the intruder's face, surprised that it wasn't Roman standing there. I blinked. Anton.

He released my shoulder and held his hands up placatingly. "Garrick, you need to take a breath before you do something you'll regret. Tan is safe. No one here is going to harm him."

If anyone else had tried this, other than Roman, I would've bitten their head off. But even in the possessive state I was in, I knew Anton was just as strong as I was. And he was fast. I wasn't sure I could beat the ancient vampire at anything in this form. If I was a dragon, I'd just eat him, but even that was unlikely to work with his speed.

Anton and I had known each other for centuries, and while we weren't close friends, we'd still consider each other… allies.

"Take a breath, Garrick," he said again.

I inhaled deeply, then closed my eyes as I exhaled and tried to release the tension that had built up. When I opened them again, Anton was still staring at me. After a few seconds, he smiled. "Hello, old friend."

Friend. Huh . Maybe he considered me a friend after all.

"Hello, Anton. Good to see you." I cleared my throat. "Thank you for that."

His smile widened. "Think nothing of it. I can't believe you found your… does he know yet?"

I shook my head. "No, and I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself."

He waved me off. "You know I don't go around spreading secrets." That was true. I personally knew he was good for that.

"Thank you."

He waved me off again, then stepped aside so we could see everyone else.

Tan was greeting two little younglings—Keryth Bixidor's youngest sisters, Saranor and Zellya. He was kneeling on the ground, talking to them and asking about the doll the youngest was holding.

The other two sisters were standing beside their big brother, who, I noticed with a jolt, was currently glaring at Anton. So Tan was right. Keryth really didn't like Anton. Hm .

My eyebrows lifted, and I murmured, "What's that all about?"

Anton sighed. "I had an unfortunate run-in with him two years ago, and well, he hates me now."

I glanced at my ally—friend? "Is it going to be a problem?"

"No." He frowned. "He won't even talk to me, so you don't need to worry that there'll be drama. We will simply steer clear of each other."

I took Anton in for a moment. The vampire was old and therefore he was good at hiding his emotions. Very good at it. In fact, it was rare the man looked anything other than stoic. But he was absolutely upset about this, and if I could see it on his face, he must've been feeling it strongly. "You're upset."

His nostrils flared—even after all this time, he still held onto a few human habits. "Yes." Then the man walked away.

"Well," Roman said. "That was interesting, and we haven't even moved away from the elevators yet."

I let out a snort of amusement, then figured I'd better put on some manners before Tan regretted letting me be a part of this. So I stepped forward and nodded at Remington Ellwood, saying, "Good to see you again, Mr. Ellwood."

He stared at me for a long moment, then let out a small sigh. "You can call me Remi."

"You can call me Garrick." We'd done this game before, but after I'd assaulted Tan with my smoke, we'd gone back to being formal. Not that I'd had much interaction with the man since that day. I'd requested to work with Tan directly, and he'd surprisingly agreed—thank the Mother of Scales.

Remi gave me a nod, then pulled his viramore into his side, keeping a protective arm around his shoulders. "This is my viramore, Bel."

Belryn tried to bow to me, but Remi kept his arm tight and pulled Bel up before he could finish the motion. Bel was wide-eyed and scared, which I couldn't blame him for.

I sent him a small smile. "No worries, Bel. If you're a friend of Tan's, then you're a friend of mine, and friends don't need to bow."

He looked flabbergasted. "I… um… thank you, Your Majesty."

"It's just Garrick to my friends too."

He snapped his mouth shut and gave me a nod, still looking fearful, but I wasn't sure I could fix that quickly or easily.

I gestured to Roman. "This is Grand Wing Roman Trevil. Roman, Remi and Bel."

A rush of air exited Bel's lips, and he murmured, "Nice to meet you, Grand Wing."

Roman laughed and waved him off. "Definitely don't call me that. I'm just Roman—or Rome—and it's a pleasure to meet you both. Tan has said many wonderful things about you."

Remi laughed. "Now I know that's a lie. He probably complains about me every day."

Roman laughed too. "Maybe a little."

Remi chuckled. "Doesn't surprise me. He says great things about you, though."

Roman's eyebrow lifted. "Not sure I believe that."

Remi patted my best friend on the shoulder, still chuckling. "Truthfully. He really enjoys working with you."

I wasn't surprised he was so comfortable in the presence of the most powerful people in the Sedoba Territory. Not with who his parents were. He'd probably grown up sharing meals with all the important figures in Brinnswick.

Roman seemed pleased. "That's good to hear."

Remi grinned and pulled Bel tighter to him, kissing his temple absently.

Tan headed over to us with the youngest child on his hip and a huge grin on his face. The other girls and Keryth were crowded around him.

"Garrick, Roman, this is Zellya, Saranor, Gemma, Alsira, and Keryth Bixidor. Guys, this is Garrick and Roman."

All of the fae—or rather, the half-fae—bowed, even little Zellya, although she was more just leaning over in Tan's arms.

I waved them off immediately. I'd never truly liked the whole bowing thing, and I certainly wasn't going to demand it of Tan's friends. "No need to bow, but thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"You too, Your Majesty," Keryth said.

I smiled at him. "Call me Garrick."

His eyes widened slightly, and he blushed, but he gave me a nod.

I glanced at Anton, who was leaning against the wall, seeming unsure of what to do with himself. He was staring at Keryth with an intensity that I usually reserved for my enemies… or Tan. My gaze darted between the two of them, and I couldn't help but wonder exactly what had happened between them that would make such a sweet-looking fae want nothing to do with the vampire. Perhaps he'd seen him feeding and been disgusted?

But then I'd think he would at least be civil to the man. It wasn't as if he could help his nature and Anton didn't kill the people he fed from. Not only was that illegal here, but Anton was a good man who I'd never known to be ruthless or cruel, especially to the people who helped keep him fed.

No, Keryth being upset about the vampire feeding didn't seem to fit quite right.

When Keryth's gaze flicked over to Anton, and he swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment, I thought that it had to be something else. But what that something was, I had no idea.

Tan gave his family a quick tour of the floor, showing them my office and where the bathrooms were. And then the whole group of us walked up the stairs to the roof.

Everyone looked around, and I couldn't help but be proud of the space Tan and I had put together. We'd put up a canopy over the sitting area that had an abundance of chairs, couches, cushions to sit on, side tables, and a large coffee table. We had the two tables full of food and drinks, an area for the grill off to the side, a carpet on the ground to make the space feel more homey, and fairy lights all around, along with some lamps to make sure there was enough light.

Tan had bought a bunch of toys for the girls, plus some games—even some for the adults, like playing cards and things of that nature.

Everyone headed over to the food after a few minutes and started making plates. Bel and Keryth helped the girls, and it was sweet seeing how easily they worked together to take care of the younger kids.

Tan had told me a little bit about Keryth's story. His father had left them when they were young, and his mother had taken ill soon after that. Keryth had been caring for her and his sisters since he was a teenager, and when she passed away six years ago, Keryth hadn't hesitated to adopt his sisters himself. He'd been working a bunch of jobs to keep up with bills—his kids had never wanted for anything, according to Tan—until Remi had hired him. Now he had a secure job with good enough pay that he didn't have to take on other random jobs to make up the difference.

As much as I wanted to dislike Remington Ellwood, I couldn't fully because of that. Because I knew that wasn't the only time he'd done something to help another person.

It was more than I'd done for my people in the last two decades, apparently.

I grimaced at the thought.

I'd let my territory become something it was never supposed to be, all because I couldn't be bothered to keep a closer eye on it. All because I'd been stuck inside my tower for far too long.

How could any of the fae here tonight be in my presence without wanting to throttle me? Perhaps they all did want to but knew they couldn't get away with it.

I cleared my throat and rubbed at my forehead.

I'd done a terrible job as a king for the last twenty-five years, but I was determined to turn it around and help the people of Sedoba. No matter what it took, I was going to make sure my territory was a safe place for everyone, no matter the species.

"Gar?" Tan's voice made me drop my hand and snap my attention to him. "Are you alright?"

No, not really. "Yes. I'm fine."

He stared at me for a moment before scowling. "Don't lie to me, Garrick."

"I'm…"

"If you need to take a break, you don't have to feel bad. I won't blame you if you need to go downstairs for a little while."

Mother of Scales, he was so damn sweet. "It's not that." I huffed out a puff of smoke. "Okay, I'm not okay, but it's only because my mind was wandering to unpleasant things. It has nothing to do with tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm sorry for being antisocial. I'll make a better effort."

Tan surprised me by stepping into my space and giving me a hug. My eyes widened even as I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. I hadn't expected him to hug me in front of all of these people, but I absolutely wouldn't complain about it. Anytime Tan wanted to touch me, he could, and I'd savor it.

I saw Remi staring at us with a scowl, but I ignored him, closing my eyes and breathing Tan in.

After a long moment, he stepped back, pulling out of my arms as he murmured, "Sorry. I just… you… and… I… and… um, yeah."

I snorted and gently tilted his head up with my fingers. "Never be sorry for hugging or touching me."

He swallowed audibly and gave a small nod.

I dropped my hand, reluctantly, and since I knew he hadn't eaten yet either, I asked, "Do you want to get some food with me?"

He sent me one of his sweet smiles. "Definitely."

The two of us walked over to the food table, and I studiously ignored the stares—or glares—I was getting from Remi, and to my surprise, Keryth too. He'd seemed almost shy downstairs, but for whatever reason, he looked pissed that I'd dared to hug Tan.

Looking over the top of Tan's head, I narrowed my gaze at the fae. He better not have a crush on my witch. If he did, I'd have to—

"Gar-Bear, stop growling," Tan said, stopping my brain and pulling me out of my overly possessive thoughts. "Why are you even growling?"

I glanced over at Keryth again, but he was no longer looking at us. Remi was, though. I shot him a glare but managed to keep my growl to myself. "Your friends are… not happy that you hugged me."

He rolled his eyes and met my gaze. "If that's true, then they're asshats, and we can just ignore them. I like hugging you, and they can just deal with it because I'm not going to stop just because they're being idiots."

Something warmed my belly. "I like hugging you too."

He grinned and went back to fixing his plate. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, because you wouldn't stop what you were doing for five minutes and eat lunch."

"Hey, I ate the sandwich you made me."

"I had to force you to, and it was barely big enough for a three-year-old."

He snorted. "It was fine for lunch. And now I get to make up for it by stuffing my face with everything on the table, minus the meat." He waved me off entirely. "What are you eating?"

"At least one bite of everything."

His smile was aimed at me again, and my heart melted. "That doesn't surprise me at all. Here, you have to take a big heaping of the potato salad. It's really good. I use Tio's recipe—he's one of Remi's brothers. It's to die for. You'll love it."

He took the spoon and slapped a big pile right on my plate, and I watched him in amusement. No one ever did anything like this with me, not since I officially became king.

We moved down the table together, and Tan put a few more giant spoonfuls of things he said I'd like, and I couldn't name why, but it warmed my heart so much that I nearly forgot about his family glaring at me.

"Why doesn't Keryth like Anton?" I asked quietly as we were finishing up. We'd been so busy earlier that I hadn't gotten the details.

Tan sighed. "Honestly, Ker won't tell any of us. He hasn't even told Bel, which has been driving his cousin crazy. Bel didn't know they knew each other until he went to introduce them, and they both acted… like that." He nodded his head in the general direction of everyone else, and I glanced at them, seeing Keryth and Anton sitting as far away from one another as they possibly could while still staying in the sitting area.

"Hm."

"Yeah, it's a mess, but that's why Bel and I keep forcing them to come to stuff. We figure if they're around each other enough times, they'll eventually let go of whatever happened. Or at least be civil to one another." Tan turned to me with a smile. "Anyway, you ready?"

I looked at my plate. "I don't think I can fit a single thing more, so yes."

He snorted and held up his plate that was just as full. "Right then. Let's go sit down, Gar-Bear."

With full plates, we joined the others at the sitting area, and Tan made sure I sat beside him on one of the outdoor couch-like chairs.

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, but then little Saranor blurted out, "Are you really the king?"

There was an audible gasp from someone, but I ignored it and sent her a smile. "I am."

She frowned. "But you don't have a crown."

"Saranor," Keryth hissed.

I waved him off. "It's okay. Questions are a good thing." To her, I said, "I have a crown, but I don't wear it very often."

"You do?" The question came from Tan, and I couldn't help but be amused by this.

I turned to him. "I do."

"I've never seen you wear it."

"I probably haven't worn it for at least five years or so. I only wear it when I have to."

Roman added, "I tried to get him to wear it when we spoke to the council the other day, but he didn't listen."

"If you like it so much, you wear it next time," I shot back.

Roman blanched. "No, thank you."

I pointed at him. "See? No more complaining."

"Why don't you like wearing it, Mr. King?" Saranor asked, and her brother sighed while I wanted to laugh.

"People are usually too scared to talk to me when I have it on."

"Oh."

After a moment's hesitation, I asked, "Do you want to see it?"

"Yes," Saranor said at the same time as Tan.

I let out a loud snort of laughter, and Tan pushed my arm, saying, "Shut up. I can't help that I'm curious."

I smiled at him and Saranor. "I'll grab it when I finish eating."

"Okay!" She looked excited, and it was adorable. It had been a long time since I spent time with a child.

My heart lurched at the thought, and I pushed it away and focused on eating.

Tan surprised me by coming with me to retrieve my crown—I'd thought he'd want to stay with his friends. I grabbed it out of a drawer on my dresser and held it out to him, but he didn't take it.

"Oh no. I don't think I should touch it. What if I break it?"

I snorted. "You can't break that. It's gold and dragonscale. Trust me, I've thrown that thing across a room before… many times. It's very sturdy."

He tentatively pulled it out of my hand and began studying every inch. "It's beautiful."

"Thank you. My mother made it for me a long, long time ago." I paused. "Actually, I have an idea. That one will be way too big for the kids to try on, don't you think?"

"Um… yeah, for sure. You, uh, don't mind having them try it on?"

I waved him off. "Not at all. You can try it if you want."

His eyes widened, but I could tell he wanted to.

So I stopped what I was doing and walked over to him, then took the crown out of his hand and placed it on top of his head. Butterflies went off in my stomach. Seeing him in my crown made my heart pound hard against my ribcage. Would he, one day, want to wear a matching crown of his own?

I swallowed thickly. "Beautiful."

"It is really pretty."

I met his gaze. "No, little pretty. I meant you are beautiful."

His mouth opened on a silent gasp, and I so desperately wanted to pull him closer and press my lips against his. But I was sensible enough to know I shouldn't do that when his family was upstairs. He should be enjoying their company, not worrying about me or a potential kiss or anything else.

So I brushed my thumb along his cheek and stepped back with more effort than I should've needed. I stared at him for a long moment, memorizing his expression and his beauty before I turned on my heel and walked over to my closet. I moved a small shelf out of the way and took a breath, but before I could say anything, Tan spoke.

"What are you doing?"

I faced him. "I need to grab something from my hoard."

His eyes widened for a moment before he smiled. "Dragons really have hoards?"

"We sure do."

Under his breath, he murmured, "Holy shit, he has a dragon hoard. Where the hell does he fit it?"

I smiled to myself. "I have another secret door."

"What? Really?"

"Yep."

He hesitated. "Do you want me to wait in the living room?"

I shook my head. "No. I'd like you to come with me."

"You want me to come see your hoard?"

"Yes."

"I… why? I mean, I want to, but why would you let me? I didn't think dragons let anyone in their hoard rooms. I mean, assuming what I heard is accurate, which it might not be since I didn't even know if hoards actually existed, but—oh, my Mother, sorry. My mouth, you know, likes to talk."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yes, it does. It also likes to eat." And hopefully his mouth will like doing lots of other things after I finally grew enough courage to press mine to his.

He rolled his eyes. "Hardy har, har. But for real, why are you letting me come in?"

"They don't usually. It's typically only shared with spouses and certain family members or friends, depending on the dragon."

"Then why do you want me in there?"

Because you're my viramore, and I want you by my side always. So much for me keeping him at arm's length and not letting anyone know who he was to me. At the rate I was going, I'd be broadcasting it into the sky by the end of the month.

I cleared my throat. "Do I need to have a reason other than I want you to?"

"I… guess not." He rolled his shoulders back like he was getting ready to go in for a fight or something. "I'm ready."

This ridiculous man. I really wanted to kiss him. But not tonight.

I turned back around and pressed on the wall. The lock recognized my handprint and opened up the secret door.

"I love this place. Secret doors are amazing. I'm going to have to hire some contractors to add a secret room into my house or something because this is badass."

I snorted and reached my hand back to him. He put his hand in mine without hesitation, smiling at me, and then he let me lead him into my hoard room.

I'd never before let anyone inside here, not even Roman.

I thought I'd be riled with nerves, but I was surprisingly calm and perhaps a bit giddy.

My viramore was about to see all of my pretties.