She chuckles shyly.
Autumn adds, “And so is her hair.”
Iselyn rolls her eyes. “There is nothing beautiful in this bird’s nest.”
We all giggle. She has wild curls the color of fiery red. But to me, they’re stunning. I could trade my straight hair for hers any day.
Autumn says, “I’m damn sure there are many girls envious of your hair in your school.”
Iselyn shrugs. “Well, I don’t go to school. I’m homeschooled.”
Wen perks up. “Like my mom! You know she was also homeschooled. According to her, it was an amazing experience. How about you?”
Iselyn nods. “I’m happy with homeschooling. But sometimes I wonder how it feels to go to school, especially when I see on TV that schools are amazing.”
I snort. “There are plenty of mean girls and clingy boys in schools. These days, we’re even thinking about dropping out.”
Wen nods with a sigh. “We are so done with bitches.”
Wen stops a passing waiter and takes glasses of juice for us.
I take a long sip, but the sound of another straw scraping against an empty glass makes me glance at Iselyn. Her mouth is hanging open, her wide round eyes fixed on something behind me.
I turn my head to follow her gaze.
And then I see them.
Two tall figures—six-foot-four, maybe taller—dressed in black suits, standing with Daddy and the other men.
The spotlight of tonight’s party.
Zoan and Leo.
For a heartbeat, I forget to breathe.
What I can’t wrap my head around is how the hell they grew so tall. Leo has become impossibly broad, more than Daddy, if that’s even possible. Zoan, though less bulky, moves like a wildcat.
He moves his head, and his ice-colored, narrow eyes lock with mine. My heart stumbles and begins to race wildly. Maybe this happens to everyone when they meet their brother after two years.
But he has changed, so much more than I expected. I never noticed it during our video calls, but now, with himstanding barely fifteen feet away, the difference is undeniable. It’s not only his height or the powerful build of his body, not just the way his dark hair is combed back. It’s his eyes. They have hardened, their frozen color finally justified.
Zloban (16 years old)
She has grown taller, almost one foot and two inches shorter than me now, yet a full two feet taller than the last time I saw her. Her once-round eyes have sharpened, taking the elegant shape of our mom’s. Shoulder-length hair frames her face softly, she no longer looks like the little girl who used to cling to me and demand to sleep in my arms every night.
She is eleven now. My little sister.
After dad finishes introducing me as the heir of the Iron Veil and Nexoil, Leo and I move forward to greet the circle of our mothers and their friends.
After accepting their compliments about how handsome we’ve become, we finally step toward our sisters.
Avira throws her arms around me and hugs me tightly.
Wen is already introducing Leo to Iselyn, commenting on how much he has changed, but their words blur intobackground noise. My entire focus is consumed, captured, shackled by the warmth of the small figure in my arms.
For the first time in years, the endless stream of data that lives in my head about air pressure, wind speed, humidity, temperature falls utterly silent. All that remains is her body heat enveloping me like a living sanctuary.
“I missed you,” she mutters into my chest.
