That was enough for me to find my voice. “They’ve elected me to lead the council.”
After a moment of deafening silence, Cassidy, with a furrowed brow, asked, “You’re leading them?”
“Yep.”
“Right.”
“Do you think we can have a conversation in private?”
“Sure.”
I untangled my hand from Gray’s and shot an apologetic smile to Sophie before walking out of the kitchen. Cass followed me, closing the door behind him before sinking down into a chair.
“How have you got yourself in this situation?” Cass asked, but there was a sliver of humour in the comment that helped ease my nerves.
“Apparently, getting into a relationship with the God of chaos has some consequences.”
Cass snorted, and I broke into a smile.
It wasn’t long before Cass switched into protective big brother mode. “How are you feeling about all of this?”
“It’s not what I expected.” I perched on the arm of the sofa. “If I’m honest, if I think about it too much, it makes me panic.”
“Like becoming prime minister when you weren’t even running for it?”
“Yeah, but with even bigger responsibilities.”
He nodded his head slowly. “I believe in you. There’s nothing you haven’t been able to do in your life.”
“I appreciate the confidence you have in me.”
“I’m assuming that means you won’t be here much.”
My throat tightened. “I will probably be back while we finish the project.”
“That’s still going ahead?”
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe. We haven’t discussed it. There’s been a lot of things that need to be resolved, but it’s on the agenda.”
“I moved back home because it felt weird to have so much distance between us,” Cass told me, picking a stray thread on the arm of the chair.
“I know?—”
“But I understand that a lot of things have changed in your life, duck.” He looked up and gave me a sad smile. “You were always destined for great things. We all knew it. We just clearly underestimated how great.”
“I hope you know that it’s not a straightforward choice, Cass. You’re my big brother. You’re the only family I have.”
“That’s not quite true. What about Elva?”
My eyes flicked to the door to make sure it was shut. “She’s wonderful, but it’s not the same. I didn’t grow up with her. Don’t make it sound like I’m choosing her over you.”
“I’m not saying that.” His tone was gentle. “But you should enjoy it, Quen. You have more family than you thought. A life most people couldn’t have even dreamed of. I don’t resent you for it. You need to live your life, and I am unbelievably proud of you the way I always have been.”
A few tears spilled over, forcing Cass out of his chair before he pulled me up and into a hug.
“Do you think Mum and Dad would be proud of me?” The question came out as a choked sob.
“I don’t think Dad would have been able to stop himself from announcing it to every patient he saw.”
