I had hardly seen any remnants of his grandfathers in him until now. There was something about the way he acted when he wasn't getting his way that got under my skin. Any reasoning with him about Matthieu was damn near impossible. It was like how Silas was defensive when it came to him. But Emperor Lloyd was much older than Matthieu.
"A rage potion antidote would be immensely helpful, but we don't know for sure that you'll get an antidote," he stated, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Matthieu could be going through any number of experiments."
"I can get the antidote," Bastian claimed, running his fingers over the rune on his arm, causing it to glow with magic. "I'm not worried about if. It's the matter of when. I just need the time to do it."
Emperor Lloyd stayed quiet for a few moments, but the sour expression on his face remained. "I will send out another qualified team to try and rescue Matthieu while you six focus on the antidote. You have three days. If you don't have one by then and Matthieu still needs rescuing, you will abandon this mission to save Matthieu."
"Of course." Silas bowed his head in response.
I bit my tongue to not say anything as they said their goodbyes. Once Emperor Lloyd's face faded, I let out an irritated groan. I swore my eye hadn't stopped twitching since we got on the call with him. "That wasn't very promising."
"Why not? He agreed to time for the antidote," Bastian reminded me with a cheeky smile.
"Yes, but he was extremely pushy when it came to saving Matthieu." I pursed my lips. "I didn't like his persistence."
"Muse, you have to understand," Silas said, pacing back and forth in the room. "Matthieu and Emperor Lloyd are close. They've always had each other. I think Emperor Lloyd thinks of him as a son. Of course he'd be eager to save him."
"I don't get that vibe." I gnawed my lip between my teeth, but Jasper's wisp tugged it out.
"What vibe do you get then, goddess?"
"Like Emperor Lloyd looks to Matthieu like a dad," I admitted, shaking my head and getting up off the bed. "It doesn't matter. At least we secured time for Bastian to work on the antidote. I need to call Declan."
"Would you mind if we go to the cottage first, bug?" Aimon's fingers scratched his beard as he strode over to me with a bashful grin. "I enjoy being served meals and all, but I miss home cooking."
Excitement buzzed through my veins at the thought of home, and I nodded. "Can you help me with something before you start cooking?"
"What do you need?"
"Renovations." A smile spread on my lips, and my chest hadn't felt so light inyears.
I loved sleeping in the same bed with them at the manor, and I wanted to create a big enough one like it back at the cottage. I really needed to expand the entire structure anyway since they would be staying with me indefinitely.
My cottage hadn't been touched since I'd built it, structure-wise. The only thing I'd added to it was the magical stove. Everything else in my home was an older style back from when I had been born.
I hoped my sweet cats wouldn't be too upset with the changes.
Casper pulled me into his chest with a dramatic sigh. "Fuck, sunshine.I miss you.Can I sleep next to you tonight?"
"Sure," I answered with a breathy chuckle. "I missed you too."
"Dibs on her other side," Aimon stated just before Jasper tried to speak.
"No fair," Jas whined.
"Entirely fair. You slept next to her last night," Aimon shot him down.
"We're going to have to come up with a schedule so everyone gets a turn at this point," Silas scoffed with a shake of his head.
"Does that include you?" Casper asked with a glint in his gaze.
Silas's neck and cheeks flushed red, but he scowled at Cas. "Shut up. Obviously not."
"We don't need to say bye or anything, right?" Jas asked, accompanied by a yawn as he stretched his arms over his head.
"No. We already told them we had to leave early--"
I didn't get to finish my sentence before Jas's darkness spread over all of us, and we shadow-jumped back to my cottage.
