Riley perked up as she listened, interested in the dynamics of their families.
Elias stood and finished setting the table. “They were about our age when they had us, so they're all three around...” He scrunched his face up and pursed his lips. “A hundred and thirty. Maybe a little younger.”
Riley raised her eyebrows. “That's pretty old.”
“Not when you live for hundreds of years,” Anthony argued.
I agreed with him, nodding my head. “I'm closer to their age than yours, Riley.”
She looked at me with wide eyes. “I keep forgetting how old you all are. I'm in my mid-thirties. Now that I've changed, I'll stop aging?”
I nodded. “You should. Of course, this is new to us, you being only part Sárkány. But I've never heard of a Sárkány having their full powers as you do and not living for hundreds of years, unless they're killed.”
My chicken simmered and the salad was ready. All I had to do was wait on the rolls and we'd be ready to eat. “Call everyone to the table,” I said.
It took us several minutes to get everyone seated and served. Daniel had to sit beside Elias’s son Charlie, and Kohbi and Jaime had to be side by side. David wanted to be near Stephen, but Stephen was feeling a little smothered by all the younger kids.
Then we got into what to eat. Stephen was the only one on a liquid diet, though the rest of them were picky. Kohbi and Jaime wanted big salads, but I couldn’t convince any of the boys to eat one. Riley had to put her foot down and insist everyone have at least a small salad. Finally, they were all settled, and I beamed around the table at them. Little Kohbi smiled back at me, probably feeling some of the same emotions.
We'd come from a desperate situation. Knowing the people back home were safe—I'd just helped with the last supply run. Everyone there was anxious to come here, to be safe and well-fed—and knowing that my people already in this realm were finally living, many of them for the first time ever... That knowledge made me appreciate what I had in that large, clean kitchen full of family. They made mistakes, they had antiquated laws and rules, but all any of them wanted was what was best for each other. And they'd accepted me as one of them without a second thought. I smiled again. I was home.
RILEY
Axoular didn't see me watching him, but I did. He was intently watching everyone else at the table. I sat to his right, and he would’ve needed to turn his head to see me staring at him. His chiseled jaw worked, and he swallowed a few times. I was pretty sure I knew what he was emotional about. I understood.
Though I hadn't spent years in squalor, trying to survive like he had, I'd spent years alone, and it did something to me. Being around my new family made me emotional. I couldn't wait to add our little bundle to the mix.
Dinner passed in a blur of conversation. Stephen and the other kids that had been to the North Carolina house before excitedly recounted tales of adventures and fond memories.
“How is this a secret house if everybody knows about it?” I asked. We needed a place to be safe for a while, not to be able to bowl in the basement.
“It's a Supay stronghold. The secrecy will be in that they don't know where we'll be. We could go to any one of hundreds of homes. This one just happens to be owned by Michael's mother. All of our mothers have homes, as well as aunts and uncles and cousins and a score more we aren't directly related to.” Anthony stood and kissed me on the top of my head. “And if they do figure out where we are, the wards there are even stronger than here.”
“Why can't we just make these stronger?” I'd rather stay where we were if that was an option.
“Those wards were made by a witch that had leprechaun blood,” Elias said. He smirked at me and continued to shovel ice cream into his mouth.
“A leprechaun?”Is there any mythological creature that doesn't actually exist?
“Clurichaun,” Stephen corrected. “We've been learning about them.”
Tammy beamed at her pupil. “Very good!”
Stephen blushed at the compliment. “They're very rare, Clurichauns. To find a witch with Clurichaun blood would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To get that witch to put wards on a home? I'd say impossible.”
“Well, then. We've got two days to pack whatever we want to take with us. Kids,” I snapped my finger so the little ones would pay attention to me. “I'm not going to go behind and search for missing chargers, favorite toys, or lucky underwear. You've all done a great job of keeping your rooms clean, you should know exactly where everything is. Does anyone need help packing a fun bag?”
Stephen snickered at the term 'fun bag,' but shut it down at a sharp look from Anthony. His sister gave him a strange look, not understanding what was funny. Little Talem raised his hand. “I need help.”
Elias laughed. “I'll help you, little man.”
“I'm a big boy,” he said with a pouty lip.
“Of course, you are. I'm sorry. I'll help you, big boy.”
CHAPTER NINE
RILEY
