Unfortunately, Conner is mid-sip when she says it, and he spits out his drink. The liquid sprays across the table, most of it landing on Morgana.
Sarah tries to stifle her laughter and turns to give Isaac a reassuring smile. “But don’t worry, I still prefer my guys a little more mortal.”
Isaac looks more than a little relieved.
“I was NOT looking,” Conner finally sputters. He turns to give Arianna a devilish look. “I want a shadow mommy, not a shadow daddy,” he finishes with a wink.
A coiled shadow rises from the floor and wraps around his neck. Within seconds, Conner turns red, but he looks completely unfazed as he keeps making moon eyes at her and mouths, ‘harder mommy.’
“Speaking of daddies,” Damien starts, dodging Conner’s elbow as he begins to twitch from lack of oxygen, “When are we meeting your father, Red? I’m looking forward to seeing him give Sin a hard time for dating his daughter.”
On Damien’s other side, Magnus is looking at the ceiling like he’s praying for patience. I spot Varian from his spot beside Morgana when he hangs his head in exasperation and pinches the bridge of his nose.
Everyone has been skipping around the topic of my family, and I want to try to find the right words to answer. But even now, I’m not sure how I want to deal with them. I haven’t taken the time to start processing my mother’s death, so adding more blood relatives sounds like a bad idea.
Swallowing, I shake my head a bit. “Ragna and I have agreed to be allies, but that’s it. I’m not ready to dive into their family drama and meet the man who willingly abandoned me.”
Shadows grow along the walls a bit, and Sarah reaches over to give my hand a comforting squeeze.
Conner rubs his throat as he chokes out, “Smart move, who needs daddy issues?”
I give him a thankful smile for lightening the mood before continuing, “I think I might like to meet my half-sister again, though. But I’m not sure. I mean, she did rob me at conclave.”
This is about as far as I’m willing to dive into this conversation, so I take a big bite of food, hoping that will discourage any follow-up.
The others give small encouragements or nod, but Varian, Magnus, and Damien go completely rigid.
“Sister?” Varian asks, in an almost choked whisper. He slowly turns to look at me.
Since my mouth is still full, all I manage is a slight nod, remembering that I still haven’t told them how the redhead I met in the Beast Realm was actually my half-sister.
The three have been away more than they’ve been present, ever since the battle ended. But by the time I finally swallow, the conversation has moved on.
Sin and Morgana are bickering, since Sin doesn’t trust Ragna, but Morgana does.
I smile. The animosity that was between them last week seems to be getting better. I’m guessing it has to do with the fact that Morgana almost died trying to save me. That likely healed some of the broken trust between them.
They cut off when Varian abruptly stands. “My apologies, but we need to be going. Something has come up.”
Magnus and Damien immediately follow suit, and they give their goodbyes before hurriedly leaving the room.
My brow furrows, wondering what they’re up to. I haven’t pried, since Arianna said she asked them a few days ago, and all they would say was that it’s personal.
I turn to her and raise a questioning brow, only to find her standing as well. She gives me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I need to go too.”
She comes around the table, and I meet her for a hug. I don’t miss the pools of shadows once again forming under her feet.
I frown, worried about her. The shadows aren’t something she’s been upfront about discussing. My stomach twists, hoping that if she needs help, she’ll ask.
“I’ll miss you. Are you okay? Do you want me to come with you?” I ask, not having a clue where she’s going, but ready to tag along to the ends of the universe if she wants me by her side (and Sin, since we’re a bit of a package deal).
“Damn straight,”he agrees.
Arianna steps back and takes a measured breath before steeling her shoulders. “No. You’re needed here. But I’m not, and there are still demigod children being held from the breeding program. I’ve been going through Nymara’s files, trying to find clues as to where Need might have held them.”
I open my mouth to tell her that we can help, that this is something we can work on together, but she continues, “You already have your hands full. But I – I can do this. After what the Guardians did to us, it feels personal. I can’t sleep, knowing I’m not out there, searching. I know I can find them.”
The pools of darkness at her feet are growing larger, and we both ignore the tremble in her hands.
