“Me too.”
“You have siblings?” One of Brogan’s five sisters plops down beside me while two of the others sit beside their brother.
I nod and explain about the three little human sisters I had before going to academy, the ones I taught to tie their shoes and whose hair I braided before school in the mornings, who won’t remember I ever existed after I was wiped from their memories. Then I explain about Jet, my sister from no mister. I don’t know if it’s the relaxed atmosphere or the fact that everyone else here is pretty buzzed on moonshine, but I find myself oversharing.
“Sometimes I feel guilty, like maybe I saw Jet and took ownership of her as my sister because I missed the little ones. She’s older than me and had already been at the academy a while by the time I joined. She seemed like she needed someone, so I adopted her as mine when I needed a connection with someone.” I shrug.
I explain about how we escaped from the academy and our business over the past few years. As I talk, I keep an eye on Soren since he’s the one who will probably react worst to this considering that he’s all about responsibility and I’m a prime shirker.
Instead, he surprises me by gifting me with a soft smile. “You gave up your future because you thought it would make your sister happy. You’re a good sister, a good person.”
He might be drunker than I thought.
Aaaand I feel like I might cry again. Twice in one day is a record for me.
“If you want more siblings, you can have mine,” Brogan says with a grin. “I’ve got a surplus of sisters, way more than I could ever want or need.”
That earns him a punch on the shoulder from his youngest sister, Jenny, who seems the scrappiest of the five.
“Trying to palm us off, dickhead?” she says, but then turns to me. “He’s kinda right though, you just got lumbered with a bunch more siblings and a crazy, big extended family. You too, Soren, dragon man. We’re family now.”
Oh sugar lumps, that’s a definite lump in my throat. Finn is quiet behind me and Soren is staring down at the grass like it holds the answer to all of life’s mysteries.
“Plus, Wren and Cam, they’re part of the family, too.”
Wren. I feel a stab of guilt as I realize I haven’t thought about her in hours.
“Anyway, enough of the mush-fest. Tell me about what it was like living with humans,” Jenny says.
“You don’t have any humans on Oonos?” I ask.
Brogan shakes his head. “It’s mostly shifters and a smaller population of mages and witches. The humans haven’t made it there yet. When we started out, me and Soren reaping together, neither of us knew anything about humans. Didn’t realize they weren’t aware that reapers existed or how much they’d try to fight us right off the bat. They’re a race that’s remarkably reactive toward deaths.”
“We had to rely on Finn for tips,” Soren says with another of those chuckles that makes my insides melt. “But he didn’t exactly have the best history with humans.”
“Apart from eating them,” Finn says matter-of-factly. The guy is like a mic-drop in action with every sentence he comes out with. And I can’t tell if he’s joking, but there’s a definite mischievous glint in his eye as I twist around to look at him.
“I didn’t know there were any worlds with both humans and dragons,” another of Brogan’s sisters says, plumping down on the grass beside us.
“Well, there aren’t anymore.” Brogan chuckles and I feel Finn shrugging behind me.
“Most of my race have died out, and… well, we ate all the humans. I don’t think the two things are connected, though.”
I have to excuse myself to go to the bathroom. Mostly because there’s a ball of laughter trapped inside my chest just waiting to get out and I don’t want Finn to think I’m laughing at him. I still can’t tell if he’s serious and I don’t want to upset him. He can’t help being equally hilarious and adorable.
When I return from Brogan’s bathroom back to the party, I’m instantly cornered by Brogan’s oldest sister, Mercy. She thrusts a half-empty bottle of moonshine in my direction.
“Drink?”
I shake my head. “Not for me, thanks. I’m the designated driver.”
Her eyes scrunch up with confusion, and I remember that it’s a human term. Can’t imagine that shifters have much call for cars when they can run as fast as they can. But then again, they have a grill and booze and party banners, so what do I know?
“I wouldn’t want to get drunk and wind up taking you all back to Moolos, land of molluscs instead of back home,” I explain.
“Is that really a place?” Mercy’s eyes are a little glassy and she’s swaying slightly on her feet, so I put a steadying hand on her arm and she leans into my touch. Shifters are a touchy lot and I’m finding myself very comfortable around these near strangers, almost like it’s true what they keep saying. That we’re family.
After not having an actual family of my own for so long, other than what I cobbled together myself, it’ll take a little adjustment on my part.
