Eduard shook his head, but he’d stopped frowning so fiercely. “Let’s go. And Henry, stay out of trouble.”
After being driven to the other side of the property where Eduard’s father’s house was located, they exited and went inside. Sawyer had only thought Eduard’s house looked like a museum. Augustus Eastaughffe’s home was palatial. Marble statues flanked the foyer featuring griffins in their shifted form. They were led through a long hallway lined with portraits in heavy gilded frames and into another formal room where several elegantly dressed guests stood to the side sipping on cocktails.
Eduard held Sawyer’s hand tightly. They paused in the doorway and Sawyer made sure to keep his face schooled in a soft smile. It only took seconds for them to be noticed, the room growing quieter as each guest turned to face them. An older man stepped forward first, his face lined with tension. Sawyer easily recognized him as Eduard’s father.
When Augustus stopped in front of his son, he gave him the slightest nod of encouragement. “Father, I’d like to introduce you to my mates. This is Sawyer Smith.”
Sawyer stepped forward and held out his hand. Augustus shook it, but didn’t seem impressed.
“Good evening, sir. I’m pleased to meet you. May I introduce you to the rest of our family?”
Augustus flinched at the word, but Sawyer had chosen it purposefully. “That would be nice,” Augustus replied. The words were choked out, but Sawyer would take what he could get.
“This is Draco of the Volsunga clan.”
Draco stepped forward and bowed his head slightly.
“Andvari of the Passarowitz clan.” Andvari repeated the same motion as Draco, neither of them reaching for Augustus’s hand.
“And finally, Henry Jerrick of the Jerrick pack. Henry is our seer.”
Henry stepped forward and bowed his head slightly.
Sawyer waited for Augustus’s reaction. Eduard had barely taken a breath next to him.
“Welcome, Guardians,” Augustus said after a moment. “I hope you enjoy your stay here.”
Eduard squeezed Sawyer’s hand and he had to school his expression to hold back the wince of pain. He clearly wasn’t happy with his father’s welcome, especially since he’d so obviously excluded Sawyer in his welcome, but didn’t protest it either.
Sawyer chose to ignore it as well. “Thank you, sir. You have a beautiful estate.”
Augustus gave him the barest of smiles then returned his attention to Eduard. “We’ll go into dinner now that you’ve arrived.”
They had arrived exactly on time. Eduard had made sure of it. It was another slight dig, one that even Sawyer picked up on, implying that everyone else had been waiting on them. He decided to let it slide as he continued to get a feel for the temperature of the room. Augustus led the way down the long hall and when they finally reached the dining room, it was to find a mammoth thirty foot long dining table covered in crystal and silver.
Eduard guided him toward the head of the table where Augustus stood behind the head chair. He took the seat to his father’s right, and Sawyer waited beside him. The seat to Augustus’s left was empty, with a single white rose lying across the plate. It would have been where Eduard’s mother sat until her passing a few years before. Eduard had mentioned his mother a few times, but had never gone into detail about her with Sawyer. The majority of his discussions about his family had revolved around Augustus and their business ventures.
The rest of the guests filled in around them. Draco and Andvari flanked Henry on the opposite side of the table. Helena sat next to Eduard’s mother’s empty seat, which put her directly across from Sawyer. He wondered if she always scowled, or if the expression was purely for his benefit. Magdalen took the seat beside Sawyer and the rest of the table filled in with other family members Sawyer had yet to meet.
Augustus pulled back his chair and sat. Everyone else followed suit. Sawyer made sure to follow Eduard’s lead, placing his napkin gently in his lap as black-suited staff members appeared as if they emerged from the shadows, filling wine glasses and placing a bowl of soup in front of each of them.
The weird thing was that no one was talking. At all. The silence was extremely uncomfortable. And continued to grow as the moments stretched on. Everyone had their soup in front of them, waiting for Augustus to pick up his spoon. Once he had, it signaled the rest of them to follow. Henry met Sawyer’s gaze from across the table and he widened his eyes for a moment. Sawyer understood completely. This wasn’t going well at all, and he had no idea how to fix it.
He picked up his spoon in his right hand, carefully dipping up a portion even as he slipped his other hand beneath the table. He grabbed Eduard’s thigh and squeezed. He may not know the proper etiquette for this, but Eduard did. Eduard moved his leg slightly in answer, a small reassurance that he had a plan, so Sawyer removed his hand and focused on his soup. Luckily it was some sort of tomato type thing, but with cream. His foster mom had made it out of a can but she added milk and a sprinkle of dried basil. It was just as good as this, although he’d never admit it out loud.
The tension grew as nothing but the slight clink of silver spoons against china bowls could be heard. After another long, painful minute, Eduard put his spoon down. “If you would rather us not be here, Father, we are happy to leave. In fact, I think I’ve had enough of your hospitality, as it were. I believe we’ll receive a much warmer welcome from the vampires.”
Multiple gasps filled the room. Helena shot daggers at him, even though it hadn’t been Sawyer who’d said anything.
Augustus and Eduard were staring at each other, and even though he couldn’t see Eduard’s expression, he could see Augustus’s. He looked livid. But then the expression changed, smoothed into something more calm and controlled. Sawyer had seen Eduard do the very same thing, especially when a business deal didn’t go exactly as he wanted. Simply tuck those emotions away and bottle them up for later. Like father, like son.
“My apologies. I find I am a poor host this evening. Is everyone enjoying their soup?”
The dam broke and murmurs of conversation began flowing around the table. Magdalen nudged him with her elbow. “Took him long enough,” she whispered.
Sawyer grinned and took another sip of his soup. The flavor was growing on him, even though Mama Thea’s was still better. It reminded him that he should call his foster brother, Mikey, to see how he was doing. They hadn’t talked since Sawyer’s graduation day had come and gone. He’d had to tell Mikey a bit of a fib, claiming to have the flu as the reason he couldn’t attend the ceremony. He’d asked both of his foster brothers not to come, had answered their texts later assuring them he was feeling better and didn’t need a visit. He hated lying to them, but he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth either.
Eduard seemed to be having the same problem. Sawyer knew he’d talked to his father about them, about him in particular, but Augustus didn’t seem willing to acknowledge Sawyer at all. And Eduard had asked Sawyer to take the lead, which he hadn’t done yet.
