“It better not be kissing again,” Lisha grumbled.
Kieran’s cheeks flared red.Earlier, when he and Sebastian had met up in Shui City, Lisha had made the unfortunate mistake of not knocking while the two of them were enjoying a private moment in Sebastian’s bedroom.Lisha had screamed so loud the neighbors had come over to make sure no one was being murdered.Kieran was just relieved he’d been wearing pants at the time.
Now he and the Feng siblings were all in the kitchen of Kieran, Delilah, and Briar’s apartment in Gellingham.The whole place was full of boxes, most of the trio’s belongings packed away in preparation for their upcoming move.With some financial help from Klaus—in exchange for a small amount of panacea spring water—they’d been able to have a second cabin built in the woods beside the one Klaus had been living in during his time studying the vein and had left to Delilah and Briar.The second one was Kieran’s.
“Take the jacket and tie off,” Kieran said to Sebastian, “so it’s just the button-down and suspenders.That way it’s formal but nottooformal.Oh, and, ah…you could always unbutton the first two buttons on your shirt.Or three, if you feel really adventurous.”
“No,” Mei chimed in, glaring at them.“No buttons undone until marriage.”
Sebastian scoffed at her.“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Well, Mom would want me to say the same thing,” Mei argued.
“Yeah!”Lisha agreed.“Mom’s gonna haunt you if you unbutton your shirt!”
Kieran held up his hands.“All right, all right.Understood.Buttons all buttoned, zippers all zipped.Now we should get going.We don’t want to be late for the next trolley.”
The girls and Seaweed got up from their seats to get their things, and as they did, Sebastian nodded toward Kieran gratefully.He mouthed,Thank you.
“Anytime.”Kieran looped his arm through Sebastian’s and flashed him a grin.“You look great, by the way.”
Sebastian’s eyes flickered from Kieran’s face down to the peacock jacket he had on.It was the one he’d gotten in Yarrowport.It looked a bit ostentatious but also very much in line with what Kieran typically chose to wear on a night out.
“You too.You always have good taste in clothes.”Sebastian leaned in close to him and whispered, so quietly there was no way his sisters could hear, “Plus, that collar’s doing a great job of hiding your hickey.”
Kieran turned bright pink.Even with his curse broken, Sebastian still had a habit of biting.
“Okay, let’s go!”Lisha called, marching toward the door.“Don’t wanna be late!”
Kieran and Sebastian exchanged a look, snorted with laughter, and headed out.
When Kieran and the others arrived at the party, they discovered that Delilah had truly outdone herself.
The springs were decorated with layers and layers of lights, both hovering near the ground and sparkling in the trees.Paper stars were affixed to the branches, and a sign readingHappy 18thBirthday, Briar and Kieran!hung over a table boasting carafes of hot cocoa, coffee, and mulled wine.There were also fires burning in firepits around the springs, seeing as winter was still holding tightly to the region three months after that first blizzard had hit the city.People wore heavy coats over their party clothes.There would be time later for everyone to return to the cabins and warm up, but for now, they seemed perfectly happy enjoying the scenery of the spring—and the enchanted warm drinks.
Already, the area was filled with guests.Kieran recognized a few of Briar’s friends from the gym where she’d been teaching ledrith recently, along with some of the witches with whom Delilah had been rubbing shoulders as she continued her freelance cursebreaking work.Ariel and Santiago were helping to hand out drinks, along with a warm stew that Santiago had cooked up.Delilah stood by the fire chatting with her mother, who had made the trip up from Kitfield, while Briar was with Adelaide at a different fire.As Kieran, Sebastian, and his sisters approached, Ash turned from the fire he was standing at with Klaus and waved.
It was still a bit odd to see him simply as one of his friends, but Kieran had begun to feel rather good about it.
“There you are!”Briar called, waving, as Adelaide just smiled.“We were wondering where you were!”
“Sorry, we missed our trolley!”Kieran jogged in his twin’s direction, Sebastian and Seaweed following while Sebastian’s sisters went to grab hot cocoa.“Everything going well here?”
“I’d say so.Though one of my ledrith friends asked me to introduce her to Adelaide to maybe try asking her out, and it was a little awkward explaining that she’s, y’know, ten times our age.”
“What can I say?”Dressed in a rich blue peacoat, Adelaide adjusted the matching hat over her pale hair and smirked.“I look good for my age.”
Kieran said, “Oh—yes!Adelaide, this is Sebastian—the one I told you about on the phone.”
“And that’s Seaweed,” Briar added as Adelaide’s eyes wandered to the otter-like creature at Kieran’s side.“She’s Kieran’s familiar.”
Adelaide smiled at both, reaching down to scratch Seaweed’s chin.“It’s an honor to meet you both.Always exciting to have new additions to the family.”
Kieran gently took Sebastian’s hand, and the other boy stiffened.Sebastian’s palm was clammy, and it occurred to Kieran that, as usual when it came to meeting new people, his boyfriend was nervous.
“It’s good to meet you, Adelaide,” Sebastian said, offering her a deep bow.“I’ve been looking forward to meeting more of Kieran’s family.”
“Well, the great news is, you can stop with me—there aren’t many Pelumbras worth meeting.”Seeing the way Sebastian hesitated at that, Adelaide just laughed.She straightened from petting Seaweed and patted Sebastian on the shoulder.“Kieran’s told me all about your adventure together.It’s a pity I couldn’t join you.”
