“I can't wait to see what's for dinner,” Mr. Gray said.
Then a little suit jacket fell on his head.
“Sebastian!” I shouted as Mr. Gray laughed his ass off.
Chapter Three
The Faerie God amazed our guests by growing our dining table out of the ballroom floor—a marble floor. Nothing cracked. He simply changed certain tiles into soil and summoned plants out of them. It wasn't a full table but a ring with seats around the outer rim so that all our guests had a view of us. In the center of the ring, Az transformed the floor into a window that overlooked one of the landscapes beneath the citadel.
“Your seats have been assigned,” Azrael said as he escorted me to ours. “The attendants will help you locate them if you need assistance.”
The gaping guests were escorted to their seats—seats that had affected the price of their tickets. The closer to Azrael, the more you had to pay. Az said that the seats directly to his right and my left had been snatched up immediately, despite his tacking on an additional ten thousand dollars to them. But every seat at the table was special. Az and I had the twins between us, but my other children and husbands were scattered around the table and then there were the Wild Fey kids and their families. So everyone had someone interesting sitting nearby.
I wasn't surprised to see the first couple we had greeted claim the seats to Azrael's right. The wife got the one next to the Faerie God. They reintroduced themselves, and I was grateful for that. There were too many people present to remember everyone's name. She was Beatrix, Bea for short, and he was Thomas. They insisted on us using their first names.
“What is that?” Bea asked as she peered over the rim of thetable. “Is it like a movie?”
Azrael blinked.
“No, sweetheart,” Thomas said patiently. “It's real.”
“I mean, I know it's not a screen. I can see that,” she said with a pout. “But I thought that maybe it was a holographic image or something like that. A really good one made with magic.”
“A magical illusion,” I supplied. “And that's a good guess.”
“Thank you.” Beatrix beamed at me.
“But your husband is right,” Azrael said. “It is real.” He stood to address all the guests. “For all of you who are wondering, this is a window in the floor, not an illusion. The view is of the lands directly below us. My citadel goes down hundreds of feet into the earth, where the Wild Magic is especially potent. There are vast terrains down there. I thought you might enjoy a view of one of them while you eat.”
The guests applauded this. As they did, a line of wait staff entered the room carrying trays laden with pretty porcelain bowls.
“For the first course, we have Magical Mushroom Soup with garlic Parmesan croutons.” Azrael waved at the bowls that were set before the guests. “And just to be clear, they are notthatkind of magic mushrooms. It's just a name we gave the soup since the mushrooms have been imported from Faerie. I promise they are safe for human consumption.”
The guests chuckled as Az resumed his seat, and then we settled in to enjoy our meal. Luckily, the kids had exhausted themselves in the greeting room. After we finished with the Grays, we had set Lesya, Vero, and the Wild Fey children loose in there to play with the twins while we mingled with the guests. Appetizers and drinks were served as Az and I circled theballroom, and then it had been time for dinner. So, the kids had a good hour to run amok before we reined them in. They now sat peacefully in their seats, eagerly eating their magic mushroom soup.
Well, most of them.
“I don't like soup,” Sebastian declared.
“Just try it,” I urged him.
He shook his head. “Smells funny.”
“It's yummy,” Dominic said.
I grabbed a piece of bread from the nearest bread bowl and set it before Sebastian. “There. You can have that until the next course comes.”
“I want french fries.”
Bea burst out laughing. “I guess all children are the same when it comes to food.”
She wasn't the only one who smiled at that. Although it was a big table, with it being circular, most of the guests were within earshot.
“Yes.” The Faerie God bent his antlered head. “Children are the same on the inside no matter how they look on the outside. I believe that goes for all of us.”
That won Azrael a few soft smiles and nods of agreement. But one man also called out playfully, “Except that some of us have magic.”
“True,” Az said while some of the guests laughed. “Faeries have magic. But how is magic different from any other talent or power? We are still people like you. If you prick us, do we not bleed?”
