Dinner itself was delicious. Chicken, roasted with lemon and herbs, potatoes and these melt-in-your-mouth buttery vegetables. He’d even whipped up a decadent chocolate tart for dessert, and he fed all ten of us with this look of pure joy on his face as though the whole day had given him a boost of energy.
I’m in awe. He has such a way of making everyone feel comfortable, bringing the shyer ones of our group out of their shells.
I’ve never seen Una giggle so much and I’m pretty sure she’s now his second biggest fan. First biggest is me, of course. I’m the card-carrying, badge-wearing chairwoman of his fan club and I have zero shame in that.
Roscoe even managed to get Dante involved once we decided to play board games. Although I don’t think either of them realized quite how quickly things would devolve once my family got involved.
Every and all attempts at playing any sort of game always wind up in an argument. And if there’s no bloodshed, that’s a rare and venerated success.
Dante’s sitting on the sofa, watching with a vaguely horrified expression on his face that makes me grin. I quickly jump in to intervene before things turn nasty and he witnesses how nuts everyone in my family can be.
“Guys, do we need to have another conversation about the non-existent rules of this stupid made up game?”
“Excuse me?” Hanna turns her attention to me, looking slightly manic with her hair all over her head and her eyes blazing with competitive craziness. “Did you just call The Chimera’s Gambitstupid?” She tosses a card at my head, and as it flutters to the ground, Luna gasps.
“The tower.”
“This game actually has a name?” Zeph mutters.
I frown at Luna, checking her eyes to see if she’s having another vision. But she’s engrossed in the game, slapping the card down triumphantly.
“The tower,” Luna repeats gleefully. “That’s six points to me.”
“I don’t understand this game,” Dante mutters.
“I don’t think anyone does. It seems like they’re making it up as they go,” Fabian replies. “I have... a chess piece, a Monopoly iron and five cards. I don’t know what I’m meant to do with any of them.”
Seb’s sitting to the right of Fabian, eyeing the whole proceedings with pure teenage derision. “Pretty sure they’re making it so you can’t understand, so only they can win.”
“Sounds right enough,” Rook rumbles, causing Hanna to chuck a game piece in his direction.
“Well, we only ever had versions of games that people had tossed or thrifted which meant half the pieces were missing or had been, like, chewed. We had to cobble together our own version,” she replies.
One Ember always seemed to win.
There’s been an ache in my chest all day, despite all the fun and laughter and good food. His absence has hung over us all, along with the vague unsettled feeling that we’re tucked away in our safe bunker for the moment while a storm rages just outside.
Every reminder of a story he told, or a sardonic joke he’d usually make, sends another pang in my heart. It’s fucked up, but it’s almost as if he died and we’re trying to learn to live with the hole in our lives his absence causes.
I guess I feel kind of like I'm grieving him. Grieving having trusted him implicitly, anyway.
He hasn’t tried to come by and I haven’t seen him since that meeting on the street where he told us about the living statues. Part of me is still so mad at him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t hope he’s all right. Safe.
The images of his bruised arms flash into my mind again and it’s suddenly all I want to run over there and drag him back here.
Then I remember how he got me to drink water that nulled my magic and I’m back to being conflicted.
Fuck, I hate this so much.
Roscoe seems to read where my mind is at as he tugs me down to sit on his lap, playing with the Pretty Princess ring I’m wearing on my right hand. He’s got a matching bracelet and Zeph is wearing another ring on his pinkie finger. Every one of us has a piece of the cheap jewelry on us, and so far it seems to be working, protecting us from any unwanted snooping inside our heads.
“Who wants to help me teach the twins to cheat at poker?” Roscoe asks. “I reckon I can turn them into card sharks in no time.”
It seems to be the right thing to ask, instantly breaking the growing tension between Hanna and Luna. Hanna leans forward, sticking her hands out and making ‘gimme-gimme’ motions while Luna carefully collects the pile of cards and hands them over.
My eyes scan over the room, and a small smile appears on my face. Fabian is sitting opposite me, looking like he might fall asleep any minute. His eyes warm when they meet mine and he gives me a sleepy smile, causing my stomach to flip over.
Zeph moves closer to the action, taking a seat on Dante’s other side while Una squeezes in next to me and Roscoe, squeezing herself up against the arm of the sofa.
