“She is helping,” Mal said from where he was standing awkwardly, clearly wanting to join the conversation but not sure if he was allowed.
Daphne and I turned to him in perfect synchronization. “No one asked you.” She said. She was still mad at him for keeping things from me. God bless besties who held grudges even longer than yourself.
“I was just...”
“Trying to join our conversation?” Daphne interrupted sweetly.
“I thought...”
“Bad thought. Go stand over there.” She pointed to a corner like he was a child in timeout.
Mal looked at Aurion, who had appeared in the doorway, following his mate. “They are shutting me out.”
“Yeah, you’re in the doghouse,” Aurion said cheerfully, eating what looked like another pastry. Did my brother-in-law do anything except eat baked goods and mock people?
“I am trying to be supportive.”
“Try harder. Or quieter. Probably both.”
Daphne turned back to me, squeezing my hand. “Your tragic backstory sounds like a bad YA novel.”
“It really does,” I admitted.
“‘She thought she was human,’” Daphne intoned dramatically, one hand pressed to her chest, “‘but she was MAGIC.’”
“Stop.”
“‘Her grandparents held a SECRET that could DESTROY her.’” She was really getting into it now, her voice taking on that dramatic narrator quality.
“Oh my god.”
“‘Would she embrace her TRUE POWER? Or would the DARKNESS consume her?’” Daphne clutched her chest theatrically. “Coming this fall to a bookstore near you.”
“I hate you.”
“Can I say something now?” Mal asked from his corner.
Daphne and I looked at each other, then back at him in unison. “NO.”
Aurion snorted with laughter from the doorway.
Daphne’s expression softened. “What can I do? Really? Name it and I’ll do it.”
“Figure out who I am? Because apparently I don’t know anymore.”
“You’re still you.”
“Am I? I don’t even know what ‘me’ means anymore. Who am I if everything I thought was true turned out to be lies?”
“You’re Killian’s mom. You’re my friend. You’re the woman who manifested fire and portals to protect her son. You’re Wen, reader of smutty romance novels and founder of The Society of Edward’s Sparkles. You’re all of those things. The magical bloodline stuff? That’s just bonus information. DLC content for the Wen experience.”
I actually laughed at that. “Did you just compare my identity crisis to video game DLC?”
“If the metaphor fits. And it does. You’re still the base game. This is just extra content.”
I looked down at Killian sleeping in my lap, completely oblivious.
“Your grandparents were protecting you,” Daphne interrupted gently, knowing exactly what was going through my mind.
