“Lauren, did you make that tart?” Phoenix asks.
“I did,” Lauren says proudly. “Strawberry and rhubarb with a butter crust.”
“It looks amazing.”
“Wait until you taste it,” Remus says.
“It’s more than adequate,” Romulus adds.
“It’s better than adequate!”
“I said it wasmorethan adequate.”
His left arm starts to slug his right shoulder while his right arm fights back?—
“Boys,” Lauren warns.
His body settles down as Remus takes control, his too-wild eyes and lips grinning at his wife. “We decided it’s best if I take the wheel for awhile, since I love your pie better.”
Lauren looks at him with amused affection and serves him first.
As we start eating, the conversation flows easily. Hannah tells a story about Raven learning to write her name—mostly by carving it into furniture with her claws. Kharon shares an update about Luna’s latest achievement, which apparently involvedteleporting a spoon from the kitchen to the bathroom. Ksenia and Abaddon argue about which knife is best to kill and skin a bear.
It’s chaos. Beautiful, warm, completely normal chaos.
Phoenix’s hand finds mine under the table. I lace our fingers together, and she squeezes.
“You okay?” I murmur.
“Yeah,” she says softly. “This is nice.”
It is nice. More than nice. A year ago, neither of us would have believed we could have this.
Family.
Especially a family dinner likethis.Where the biggest concern is keeping Raven from flying off with the silverware. Where Luna tries to share her half-chewed bread with everyone. Where my brothers argue about wine and food and absolutely nothing of consequence.
We defeated my father.
We closed the crack in the spiritual barrier.
We saved the world. Again.
And now we get to have this.
“Uncle Layden,” Raven says, pulling me from my thoughts. “Auntie Phoenix. Are you going to have a baby?”
The entire table goes silent.
Phoenix chokes on her wine. I pat her back while she recovers.
“Raven,” Hannah says, her voice strained. “That’s a very personal question.”
“But I want more cousins!” Raven protests. “Luna can’t even fly yet, and she’s boring.”
“Hey,” Kharon objects.
“She is! All she does is drool and knock things over!”
