“You still won’t tell us where you’re going tomorrow?” Remi asked, and not for the first time.
I shook my head. “Nope. But I promise you will be the first to know when we decide to tell people.”
“You’re not getting married, are you? Because I want to be there for that,” Remi questioned suspiciously.
Derek snorted out a laugh. “Why would we bother with marriage? Being mated is final in a much more permanent way than marriage is.”
“For the ceremony,” Remi replied easily. “To celebrate your love with your closest friends and family.”
“But that’s a mating ceremony?” I stated, but it somehow sounded like a question.
“True, but you can’t blame me for trying to figure out why you’re so secretive.”
I knew Remi only worried, so he was right, I couldn’t blame him for trying to guess it. I had a tiny desire to tell him that he’d never guess it, but that would only spur him on.
Derek spoke then, not looking away from his painting as he did so. “We can tell you that it isn’t only about us, so when we keep it a secret, it’s because we have to respect the privacy of someone else, too.”
“Oh,” Remi said, seeming surprised by that. “I, um, hope nothing is wrong or that no one is dying or something.” Then he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, like that might be the reason and he was afraid to bring it up. I doubted Derek had told Remi much about his mother and upbringing, but knowing how awful Remi’s parents had been, maybe they had talked about it?
Juno’s voice startled me. “Did you ask them about something sexual?”
“What?!” Remi screeched.
Juno seemed to stumble back at that. “You had your hands over your mouth, what else was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know! Something less creepy maybe?!”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Derek was trying so hard not to join in and soon lost it too, and then Juno and Remi joined us, all of us feeling lighter. It really was the perfect way to end the day before we left for who knew how long.
Chapter Twenty-One
Derek
This week had been amazing. I’d even started to learn more about my magic, which was way easier than I’d thought it would be. Our magic was connected to our thoughts, so all I had to do for most of it, was to think about what I wanted to happen, and it happened. Glamour was the easiest magic to learn, in my case.
Remi and Juno had been over every day, and even if they had no idea about my broken magical core or that Aiden existed, they seemed to know I needed their presence. Nolen was amazing, but with Remi and Juno here too, I had a brother and another friend to help bring my mood up. I didn’t even feel awkward or…different, like I usually did when I socialized back home. I still felt guilty over bailing on Amber, who was such a kind soul. I hoped she did well on the assignment and wasn’t too mad at me.
With us leaving early tomorrow morning, I had asked Nolen if we could have a date night at home, which he agreed to easily. We had taken sometime outside of our little borrowed home to explore the world, often with Remi and Juno. I loved being here and seeing Remi explore their world with me was something I cherished, too. Hopefully, I’d get to do it with Aiden one day.
I’d turned down the rulers’ offer of having my memories back, they’d suggested that maybe remembering Aiden would help me convince him to come with us, but I doubted he would remember me, since they knew he’d lost his memories too, from what they saw in my father’s memories, anyway. I didn’t want to remember until I knew he was alive, because even with just the knowledge of him, it was hard to imagine living life without him forever. If I remembered and he had died….Nope, not going to think about it.
“So,” Nolen said, joining me on the couch. “What do you want us to cook for dinner?”
Remi and Juno had just left for the day, and I had a craving for Chicken Parma, one of my favorite meals cooked by Nolen, so really, choosing what to cook came easy.
“Chicken Parma, and I want us to make something bubbly to drink with it.”
He chuckled as he sat down next to me, his hand resting on my thigh. “Juno’s drinks inspired you?”
I nodded with a serious expression. “They’re addictive. I want to try out some for ourselves and surprise him with our versions of them.”
“Deal. But remember, we might be gone for a while.”
He didn’t have to remind me, I hated leaving now that Remi and I had grown so close, but knowing Aiden was out there…
“I’m looking forward to seeing Aiden, but I’ll miss Juno and Remi while we’re gone,” I said instead.
Nolen had already called his parents and informed them of Aiden and our upcoming trip to get him. They missed Nolen and desperately wanted to meet me, but I wasn’t ready for a real conversation with them yet, so I had promised Nolen we could do that when we returned and things with Aiden had calmed down.
