I’ve been worried all day since their summons came early this morning.
“Hostile,” Siah reveals.
“They weren’t happy that Bastien and Knox weren’t there. We explained that we weren’t going to leave you unprotected and they could call Bas and Knox another day, but that didn’t go over so well,” Ryker explains.
“They asked us what your Shields were even for. We just saidextraprotection, but I don’t know if they’re buying it,” Valen adds.
I take a deep breath and go to run my fingers through my hair. I remember just in time that it’s up and fancy and drop my arms to my sides instead.
“I’ll talk to Tok and Marn tomorrow. I’ll tell them about Sorik and explain Vaughn and his situation. We’ll just have to hope they stay quiet about it. We can get him and Sorik moved over here, then the Shields won’t have to guard them at the castle separately, and no one will be the wiser,” I lay out and hope it all goes so easily.
The guys and I came up with this game plan last night. With Tok and Marn seeming to struggle with the existence of my Chosen, we thought it best to let the dust settle a little bit before dropping the bomb that Grier’s Chosen were here too.
“Well, boys, strip down,” I instruct excitedly. “Marn will probably be back soon to see what’s taking so long. And a certain Sentinel I know let the cat out of the bag about shimmies and hair flips. Let’s see what you got!” I tell them, rubbing my hands together.
They look at me like I’ve lost it, utter confusion written all over their faces. Well, all except Valen, who cracks up laughing.
“You two have some weird inside jokes,” Siah observes, and then I crack up too.
I watch with greedy eyes and vagina, as my Chosen get dressed. Yep, they have to be magicked clothes, because each set of dark purple armor fits them like a glove. I’m tempted to sayfuck this partyand tackle each of them like a hungry velociraptor. The door swings open just as that thought enters my head, and Marn comes sweeping in, her lavender gown flowing around her legs.
Sabin gives a girly squeal. He’s still shirtless and covers his nipples with his hands playfully. Marn goes beet red when she realizes not everyone is dressed and backtracks out of the room like someone hit her rewind button. The exchange is so weird that as soon as the door snicks shut, we all lose it. I keep picturing Sabin’s wide-eyed surprise and squeak as he covers his chest, and the giggles run away with me.
“That’ll teach her to knock,” Bastien cackles, laugh tears dripping down his face, and it sets the whole room off again.
I think we laugh for about ten minutes straight before we pour out of the room, drunk on laughter. Marn stands demurely waiting for us at the top of the stairs, Tok at her side. I have to fight to keep the sight of her from sending me back down the slap happy rabbit hole. She reaches out for my hand, and I hesitate slightly before giving it to her.
“Are you ready to take your place amongst your people?” she asks me, an eager glint in her lilac gaze.
I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. I look back at my gorgeous Chosen, grateful for their presence and their ability to make me laugh and live in the moment. My gaze lands back on my grandmother’s, and I give her a smile.
“Let’s do it.”
23
“It was nice to meet you,” I call over my shoulder as Tok and Marn usher me away from the Sentinel they just introduced me to five minutes ago and point me in the direction of someone else they want me to meet.
“Vinna, this is Aern. Aern, this is Vinna of the First,” Marn recites politely, and then she does what she’s been doing all night, she watches us expectantly as we say our hellos and dive into the small talk.
I feel like I’ve spent the last two hours in a speed dating round of meet-and-greets. I’m introduced to someone, watched like I’m going to do something crazy, and then pulled away from them before I can even discover anything interesting about them. I’m trying to go with the flow for the sake of my newly discovered grandparents, but it’s starting to wear on me.
“Aern owns some of the finest stables in Tierit,” Tok tells me, and my face lights up. Finally, a topic I know a little about.
“Oh really? That’s cool. Sabin has a couple of horses. He just started to teach me how to ride. Horses are incredible,” I remark politely.
“Who is Sabin?” Marn asks, and my eyes widen in surprise.
“One of my Chosen,” I remind her.
“Ah yes. Well, Aern breeds the finest riding animals I would venture to say in this world,” Marn shifts, patting Aern’s arm affectionately.
The Sentinel says something I don’t hear to Tok, and they’re quickly wrapped up in a conversation I have no context for and could never hope to follow. I stand there and start to count down until it’s time to be introduced to someone else. I scan the crowd for my Chosen, knowing they’re close by. I spot them together, talking and scoping things out, their eyes wandering to me every minute or so.
I feel bad, they’ve got to be bored out of their mind. Tok and Marn seem to be playing interception with them tonight, and if the conversations I was being pulled into weren’t mind numbingly boring, it might bug me. At least they’re being saved from the mind-numbing political talk I don’t understand, riveting conversations around crop yields, or being ignored all together.
Right on time, I’m pulled away from Aern and introduced to Para. The female and I exchange pleasantries and then slip into awkward silence when I run out of shit to talk about with her.
“So, uh, are these parties normally like this?” I ask her, struggling to find any better small talk topics.
