Angelle slipped her hand into his as she stood a little taller. “There’s plenty of pork, and an array of other dishes upstairs. The plates are right there, and more upstairs if we run out down here. Won’t you help yourselves to whatever you’d enjoy and join us for a meal?”
Destroy clenched his jaw as he fought the emotion that threatened to overcome him. He’d expected Boon to voice rejection of the apology he’d made. But it had been Angelle to voice their forgiveness. She was truly a remarkable young lady.
“We’d like that,” Destroy said. “Thank you, Angelle and Boon.”
“You owe us nothing,” Boon said. “No thanks are needed.”
“We don’t see it that way.”
“We do,” Boon said, walking over and starting to carve another couple of pieces of roasted pork.
“Well, get to it. There might not be any left if you keep standing there,” Marauder said as he looked down on his parents from above. “I’m already on my second plate.”
It didn’t take long for the conversations to start back up, the laugher, the eating, the drinking, and Destroy and Rowan were right there in the middle of it right along with everyone else, just as they should have been.
Boon kept Angelle close until he got the chance to head upstairs to where Marauder sat at the table, stuffing his face full of seared eggplant slices.
Marauder looked up when they entered the room. “Hey, why do you think they call this eggplant? I mean, it doesn’t have a yolk. There’s no hard shell on the outside. It doesn’t grow from an egg…”
“Where is Saige?” Boon asked, not wasting any time.
“She left. Went back to the city. Enthrall blocked her from entering Whispers without his knowledge. If she tries, he’ll be notified and can determine at that point what is to be done. He and my parents discussed everything before they came here. He’s going to talk to Lily about it later so she can monitor it as well, and be aware of the change, though she probably already felt it anyway. But you don’t have to worry.”
“I’m sorry,” Angelle said.
“You didn’t do a single thing that wasn’t earned,” Marauder said. “None of this is your fault. So, as I was saying… eggplant?”
“I don’t know why they call it eggplant,” Angelle answered.
“Hmpf. Delicious stuff,” he muttered as he got up and headed back downstairs to sit with his parents and make sure they were still okay. Didn’t matter that everyone knew Saige was responsible. She was still their daughter and had caused this. It wasn’t an easy load to bear.
“Angelle?” Simone called out from her seat on the sofa with Odin.
Angelle turned toward her. “There you are. I wondered where you’d gone.”
“Just enjoying the meal,” Simone said.
“It is very good,” Odin agreed, the shy smile he gave her looking like the first real one she’d seen.
“Thank you, Odin.”
He smiled again and gave a little nod.
“What I want to know, is where the wine came from. It wasn’t here a little while ago,” Simone said.
Angelle laughed. “Lore. He knows everything. Or so I’m told.”
“Buckle in, my friend. It looks like everybody’s partaking. It’s going to be a late night,” Simone said.
Angelle looked up at Boon.
“You want me to tell everyone to go home? I’ll do it,” he said.
Angelle looked around her house at all the people enjoying themselves, listened to the sounds of laughter and friendship floating up the stairs and through the open windows. She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. This is exactly what we hoped for when we decided to trust one another — a life together in Whispers. This, all of this and all these people are Whispers. And we belong among them. I’m glad we can offer them this evening.”
“Then let’s get down there and join them. I may not allow anyone to visit for the next year after this,” Boon said.
Angelle laughed as she followed him out on the porch and back down the steps. “I’m okay with that, too.”
