“I love her too, doesn’t mean I’m dumb,” Tanner defended himself.
“Boys, boys,” Wayla cut in.“Could we maybe move on?I would love to get rid of my nonexistent coat.It’s pretty warm in here.”That got them moving, and soon Wayla found herself mingling with the hoi polloi of mage variety.
Sure, all of them would have a heart attack at being called such, but none of their power was even a blip on Wave’s radar.The exception to that rule came from Marc and Tanner, and Wave hadn’t been introduced to their father yet.
It was, of course, possible that they were masking and shielding their auras, but Wave highly doubted that.Not in a setting like this where splashing power around equated to status and reverence.
Wave had Marc on one arm and Tanner on the other as they circled the room.Tanner proved to be a wealth of information and wit.He also knew when to whisper his tidbits and when to state them loudly so they would be overheard.Truly, Wave didn’t need to do anything to cause the chaos Marc had wanted.Tanner did all the work for her.At least until it came to dinner time.
“I’m sorry, I have to excuse myself,” Tanner said.“Mom decided that I need to sit next to Felicia.”His face said all that needed to be said on the matter.Before he could turn and walk away, Wave reached over and kissed his cheek.
“You’ve been the best of company, Tanner.If you need me to save you, just send up a fireball.”She winked, and Tanner brightened.Marc mock growled and gently pushed his brother away.
“Go find yourself your own woman, this one is mine.”
“My lady.”Tanner bowed and hurried away.Wave bit her lip and hoped everyone who saw would think of it as a joke.The boy was too damn chivalrous.
“This way,” Marc said and guided her toward the main table.The places were named, and Wave’s name was nowhere to be seen.A servant stepped up and whispered something to Marc’s ear that made his expression turn thunderous.
“She said what?”he demanded, but Wave stepped forward and laid her hand over his arm again.
“It’s all right, Marki-bear.I can sit in your lap if they don’t have enough chairs.”
The servant choked, and Marc grinned.“Yes.You tell the harpy that.Either Wayla is seated next to me or on me.Her choice.”
The servant was gone for less than a minute and returned red-faced.He swapped the card on the table and, calmly, Marc pulled the chair out for Wave, who made a production of oohing and aahing over it, the table, and everything she could think of.
They had just taken their seats when Hatty appeared on the other side of the table with an older man.
“Father,” Marc greeted the man, civilly, but without any warmth.Wave just smiled and waved, taking a middle ground in her country pumpkin routine.The man had the same black hair as Marc and Tanner, and the same shaped eyes, but again, that was where the similarities ended.
Wave squeezed Marc’s hand, noting how tense he was while everyone else found their places.Hatty glared daggers at Wave, and she happily ignored her.
An older lady was sitting on her other side.She lifted her nose when Wave greeted her with an outstretched hand.
“I can’t believe you actually brought her,” Hatty hissed at Marc.She wasn’t trying to keep her voice down or present a polite front.Marc’s father frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything.He just sat down and waved for the servers to bring out the food.
The first course was a cold soup, and Wayla made a production of grabbing the dessert spoon.Hatty murmured something snide to Marc’s father and then to a lady sitting next to her.Her insults were direct and crude, and inwardly, Wave rolled her eyes.She had a lot to learn if she wanted to mingle in high society.
Marc had called the woman a harpy, but in Wave’s somewhat educated opinion, that was an insult to harpies everywhere.Marc’s father was no better with his lack of participation.Wave wondered what kind of marriage they had, if he happily ignored the woman trying to pull him into her games.
“Heather,” Marc sighed, sounding resigned as he threw her an apologetic glance.Why he felt the need to do that was beyond her.He had brought her here for this exact purpose, to drive his stepmother crazy.
“I’ve always told you to call me Mom.”Now the woman looked like she was swallowing tears.“I just want the best for you, Marshall.”
“Wayla is—”
“She couldn’t possibly understand what it takes to marry into a family like ours.I mean, she’s a stormspirit.”
Despite the delicious food on the table, Heather wasn’t eating and neither was Marc.The servers cleared out the soup and brought in some sort of chicken dish.
Wave looked over to the other table and noticed Tanner was pushing his food around his plate too.Shrugging, Wave picked up a fish fork and shoveled some of the potatoes into her mouth.She placed her elbow on the table and leaned over the plate for a good measure.
Hatty gasped.“Marshall!Look at her!You can’t possibly think she’s a suitable partner for you!”The woman’s voice kept getting shriekier by every sentence.Inwardly, Wave grinned so wide her cheeks hurt.
The table was laid out with fancy plates, a plethora of cutlery, and several glasses.She could navigate this display in her sleep, and several steps fancier displays, too.She could, but she wasn’t going to.
She kept using the fish fork and then reached for the water glass and filled it with white wine.She could deal withoneglass.Wave hesitated and then decided to take the risk.She shouldn’t be using her powers at a dinner party in any case.It was a bit of a shame to drink the delicious stuff down like water, but she lacked manners, breeding, and everything else that was important to Heather the Harpy Ulrichce.
