I sent Glacier a smile. He was a really nice guy and Lanche’s best friend, so I was glad he seemed to like me. “Good seeing you too. This is my brother, Paxton.”
“Nice to—” My brother was cut off when Glacier pulled him into a hug as well. Paxton’s eyes met mine over Glacier’s shoulder, going wide, and all I could do was grin and wink at him.
We so weren’t used to hugs, but I had to admit it was kinda nice.
Glacier released my brother and sent me a wink, then opened the back door of his car, saying, “You guys getting out anytime soon? Or have you decided to live in my car for the rest of your miserable lives?”
The one closest to him lifted her hand, and a snowball came flying out of nowhere—out of her hand?—and smacked Glacier right in the face. He sputtered, backing up as he wiped snow off while everyone, including me, laughed their asses off.
“Good one, Blizz,” Lanche said, still chuckling. “Guys, this is my viramore, Dain, and his brother, Paxton. Dain and Pax, this is Blizzard, Tundra, Ice Cream, and Flurball.”
Flurball?
The girl in the front seat flipped Lanche off. “My name’s Flurry, douchecanoe.” She sent me a smile. “Nice to finally meet you, Dain. And you too, Pax.”
I waved. “You too.”
“Hey, guys,” the woman in the middle of the backseat said. “My name’s Ice, not Ice Cream, by the way.”
That made me grin at her. “That’s what I hear.”
She snorted, and then all four of Lanche’s big sisters climbed out of Glacier’s car. Tundra shook my hand and Paxton’s, but the rest all gave us both hugs. I could tell my brother was overwhelmed, but he also seemed pleased by their reactions.
I nudged his ribs with my elbow to silently check on him, and he gave me a nod and a very tiny smile.
Good. He was fine.
Lanche’s parents pulled up, and this time, I wasn’t surprised by the big kiss on my cheek and huge hug from his mother and the bear hug with a pat on the back from his father. It was exactly what they’d done the second Lanche had told them I was his viramore when they’d come to check on him at his house the other day.
Paxton received the same treatment, making me grin at his parents.
Yeah, we weren’t used to all of this, but I appreciated that everyone was including him as well. He deserved all the love and affection this big family had to give.
“Alright,” Lanche said, getting everyone’s attention. “Ready to head inside?”
There were nods and affirmations all around, and Lanche led the way up to the edge of the wards surrounding Remi Ellwood’shome. Remi was one of Ailin and Seb’s kids and also a good friend of mine. Bel, Remi’s viramore and a purple-haired fae, came right out with a big smile on his face.
“Hey, everyone! I’m Bel. I can let you through our wards, but you have to put your hand on it so I don’t miss anyone.” Bel shot me a grin and even though we were on opposite sides of his wards, he leaned closer to me and whispered, “Congratulations, Dain.”
I’d known Bel for years. Back when he’d lived on the streets, he used to come into the bookstore often to warm up and charge his phone. He was a good person who played amazing music—seriously, he was the best musician I’d ever heard—and I was lucky to call him a friend. He was really close with Anton too.
“Thanks.” I shot him a small smile, then reached over to grab Lanche’s hand as we both placed our free hands on the ward.
A purple haze surrounded Bel, then sort of melted into the wards, making them more visible. A purple streak of his magic extended out of the ward and wrapped itself around my wrist, and I could tell it was getting a sense of who I was. I glanced around, seeing everyone’s wrists wrapped in purple.
Lanche’s dad grimaced, looking uncomfortable, but everyone was putting their trust in me since these were, technically, my friends and family we were going to see today.
The magic swooped back into the ward and flared brighter for a moment before fading away, and Bel shot us a grin. “Okay, you can come on in. Happy Winter Solstice, by the way. Follow me.”
I glanced at my brother, who shot me a nervous smile before he bravely stepped through the ward. Since he did it, I figured it was my turn, so I tugged on Lanche’s hand and led him through. It felt like walking through a giant mountain of jello, but the feeling only lasted for a step before I was through to the other side and able to take a deep breath.
“Wow, that was… intense.” Lanche shook himself out. “And I thought the new wards on your apartment were bad. Geez.”
I snorted. “This ward has been up for years and charged up by a billion Ellwoods all the time. Of course it’s worse than mine.”
“Fair point.”
With Lanche’s family and my brother in tow, we followed Bel around his house to the backyard where a big shed stood with about twenty people standing in front of it. I blinked. I didn’t realize everyone was waiting for us, but apparently, I was wrong.
