He smirked. “No. My lovely wife aside, of course. AndHim, naturally, but He’s been gone so long ...” He shook his head and turned to me. “I was trying to apprentice you, in a way, Phin. So that you’d be familiar with the archives in the event your talent worked like mine.” His smile appeared, but it was sad. “But in truth, I’m glad that’s not what happened. You’d only have been more valuable to them.”
“In the end, Brookes and Armaros and their purist-mentality co-conspirators caused the very outcome they were trying toavoid?” Tap’s smile broadened as he tapped his finger against the table. “That’s almost poetic, actually.”
“Truly.” My father sighed and sipped at his tall mug of ale. The weight of his talent was clear in the way his gaze went distant.
“He was looking for a ledger, when we saw him in Vincara. The kind that might have record of all Voice talents ever gifted.”
Radueriel shook his head with a smirk and patted his vest pocket suggestively. “Who would be foolish enough to lose track of a ledger with that much power?”
A loud caw and the beat of wings interrupted our conversation. Belmont had flown in and perched on one of the beams in the center of the dining room, his good eye turned to where Greta sat across from her mother. A man rushed in behind the bird, one with regal posture and a vicious scar across his face. He was moving so quickly his momentum was barely slowed when he grabbed onto the door frame and swung himself into the room.
Greta brightened and gave a little wave when she saw him, and I had the honor of watching her mother turn, her whole face crumpling as she took the man in. She sobbed into her hands for a moment. The man was not all that different from Magnus in his reaction.
“Rowan?” He called her name like he was trying to figure out if this was real or not. She popped up out of her chair and threw herself into his arms, and several of us instantly started to cry. It was impossible not to feel or respond to all the heavy emotions floating around the room.
“Look what your talent and heart have done, Phin. What good you bring to this world. I’m so proud of you.” My dad pulled me in for a hug, and I disappeared into his warmth, suddenly just a little girl again, riding the absolute euphoria of having pleased her father.
For a moment, nothing else mattered.
Chapter 40
Tap
Dinner at d’Arcan was an unusually wild affair.
Students were in, so Grace and her helpers were extra busy serving them at the long tables and hastily redirecting any nosy glances or gossip. The sheer amount of supernaturals gathered to eat should have been considered dangerous and disbanded, but it was just… dinner.
The family table, which was being supplemented with the old round table on one end, was overloaded in the best way. Everyone sat elbow to elbow, and there was a feast spread down the tabletop. Joy and laughter abounded from every corner and there were at least four conversations happening at any given time. I kept checking on Phin to be sure she was holding up okay, but I needn’t have worried—she was quite literally glowing with happiness.
Even Ramsey seemed to be having the time of her life. The hellhound, the birds, and Calla’s stone kin cat were off in a far corner eating and teasing one another, chatting on about all their adventures and accomplishments.
The whole day felt very surreal, and I’d put Armaros completely out of my mind until Vassago patted my shoulder onhis way to create a few scrying mirrors so that everyone could be in easy communication.
“We put him in the cellar, in case you’re wondering. Between Calla’s magic, Greta’s elixirs, and some enchanted snow, he’ll be held in his current state until we know whether or not his remains should be returned to Heaven.” He made a face, as though he’d tasted something bad. “Those blades do nasty work. Effective, but very unpleasant.”
Rylan had clearly overheard and muttered, “If they don’t want him back, I’ll happily burn him to ash. Lucky I didn’t yet, honestly, I was tempted from the moment Ramsey dragged him through the portal.” He grinned, “Might have put his body in a different box from his head, though, just for spite.”
“Perhaps I should offer that to the three Nephilim who escaped from him?” I said casually.
Rylan laughed heartily. “You should. Ris! We have something for you to take with you when you go.” My brother raised his cup and took a drink, smiling at his new in-laws like he hadn’t just casually offered the head of an angel I’d beheaded, who was currently kept in his basement, to a fae king as a gift for some Nephilim.
I might be a touch grumpy and overstimulated sometimes, but I truly adored my family and all the beautiful madness they embodied.
Once the students had dispersed—which was rather quickly thanks to Grace hustling them along—everything settled down a bit. Logistics became the main topic of conversation as more tea and desserts were passed around. Those who had been retrieved from Purgatory suffered nothing more taxing than a wealth of options.
“There are plenty of huts at the conclave,” Magnus offered. “You’re all welcome, of course, for however long you need. Stone kin or not, you’re all clan.”
“We have apartments open here, of course,” Calla added.
“There’s only a single cabin open in the glade, but with some help from the stone kin, we could have more in short order, I’m sure.” Seir nodded.
“My palace is perpetually available as well,” Ris said. “We recently acquired three new residents, but there are endless rooms that could be put to good use, so long as you are amenable to being in the fae realm.”
In the end, everyone chose somewhere different; for most, it was the place they could be closest to their children. Calla’s parents took an apartment at d’Arcan and while Rowan chose to accompany Ris to Everwood, I suspected she’d be traveling both to d’Arcan and to the conclave frequently. Hailon’s parents agreed to take the cabin in the glade.
It was Phin’s parents who surprised me. We’d offered Phin’s room to them, and their own once I could get one requisitioned and properly set up, but Radueriel was insistent that Father Morton and Heaven be dealt with immediately.
“We’re going straight to Vincara once we leave here,” Phin’s father said sternly. “We’ll consider resting in Aymonroux, but I want these matters dealt with. There’s no time to waste.”
