“My brain is perfectly fine.” He tapped his temple. “All systems operating within tolerances—”
“That’s anorder, Zane Dorian Cimmerian, not a suggestion!” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “Notelepathy.None.”
He opened his mouth, but I raised my eyebrows, and he gave me a sharp salute with mock solemnity.
“Yes, ma’am.Operation: Stay Outta Headscommences now.”
“Don’tma’amme,” I muttered.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, moonbeam.” His wink made me both melt and frown.
“You handle them well.” Kaori’s eyes danced with laughter.
“Someonehas to, especially this one.” I ignored Zane’s theatrical gasp of offense.
“I promise, Seri. No more heroics until I’m back to full Zane power.”
“Good.” I nodded, satisfied. “Because if you collapse again, I’m going to be very upset with you.”
“And we all know that’s the real nightmare scenario,” Koa smirked, making Kaori laugh into her napkin.
Then Addison appeared to ask if he could take “Señor Lobo” for a walk. The fourteen-year-old had grown increasingly comfortable at Evermere, and his bond with Brummy seemed to be helping him overcome some of the trauma that still haunted his eyes.
The second Brummy heard the ‘W’ word, he bounded to Addison’s side, tail wagging like a propeller.
“Of course, and thank you.”
“Anytime, Lady Seri.” Addison nodded, a rare smile brightening his face.
As Koa, Zane, and Papa began talking about what to do with Amabel, I pulled the baby monitor from my pocket and laid it on the table.
“Kaori, Papa, you are welcome to the garden or the library or whatever you want to do. Zoodle, Koko, you can handle Amabel.Iam going to Simmy now.”
“Abandoning us for your favorite husband?” Koa teased. “I see how it is.”
“Yeah, our Simmy’s too pretty to resist, even half-dead,” Zane added.
“He’s not half-dead,” I protested with a scowl. “He’srecovering.”
“And he’ll recover faster with you there.” Koa kissed my temple. “Go on, sweet girl. We’ve got this.”
“Yeah, buttercup. Your boys will handle the icky bits.”
I kissed each of their cheeks and smiled at Kaori and Lucian before heading to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast tray for Casimir, but Mrs. Wentzel intercepted me at the doorway.
“I already have it started, Lady Seri.” She shooed me away from the refrigerator. “You just sit tight.”
I knew better than to argue with Mrs. Wentzel, so I perched on a barstool, watching as she arranged everything on a tray: Fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, a little dish of blackberry jam, another of butter, and a mug of rich bone broth.
“There,” she said, handing me the tray.
“He’s going to complain about no black coffee,” I told her with a grin.
“He’s going to eat what I make for him.” She gave me a no-nonsense nod. “Now go take care of that husband of yours.”
Thanking her, I made my way upstairs. On the landing, I paused by the wide window overlooking the grounds. In the distance, Addison collapsed in a pile of giggles as Brummy paraded around with a mangled soccer ball in his jaws, his tail wagging in pure joy.
“They’re good for each other.”
