"And this is Asher, he is from Runefjell like Otso, except he is from a snow leopard clan, not a bear," Felix said and patted the male beside him on the head.
Asher was the leanest and smallest of all the shifters. He had silvery fur with darker gray spots and three slender horns peaking through his thick white hair.
"Nice to meet you," he said with a smile. Compared to the others, he seemed almost gentle. Delphi didn't doubt that he could fight just as viciously as the others if he had been guarding a gateway all this time.
"Excellent, we all know each other. Now let's eat already. I'm starving." Felix pushed Eiran out of the way and put an arm around Delphi's shoulder. "I'll help you go get it from the kitchen."
"Another one that thinks with his balls and stomach," Eiran complained to Delphi.
"At least I don't have an antler stuck up my ass, Frosty," Felix shot back.
Tenebrys gave Delphi a long-suffering look. "Are you sure you don't want to go find somewhere quieter?"
32
Delphi sat in Tenebrys's lap and let the chaos of the shifters coming together for a meal wash over her. She tried to think about what old Delphi would have done if she had been told this was where she would end up. Her life had always been strange. This was like living in some kind of warped dream.
It wasn't because she was surrounded by fantastical, beautiful monsters, but because she washappy. Sitting in the lap of her beast king, being fed the choicest bits of food by him, she was safe and content and free to be herself. She didn't have to hide her heritage or magic or her opinions. She could just beDelphi.
"I have to admit, it was nice to have a hot shower again," Asher said from the other side of the table. "The château's magic was always a miracle to behold, but after living without it for so long, it seems especially wonderful."
"I noticed it made you all clothes," Delphi replied and toyed with the hem of Tenebrys's sleeve. "They suit you."
"It was an effort to put them on again. I like being naked all the time," Otso grumbled, stabbing a piece of roasted venison with the tip of a knife.
"You can be as naked as you want in the woods. We don't need to see your twig and berries around the dinner table," Felix commented.
Osto grinned at him. "There is nothing twig-like about it."
"Enough. Delphi doesn't need to hear you talk about your dick," Tenebrys said in warning.
Delphi sipped her wine. "Don't I? He seems very proud of it."
"He almost cost us a whole peace treaty with one of the Runefjell packs when he decided to tell one of the wolf princesses all about how well-endowed he was," Tenebrys complained. "Do you remember that, Otso? I thought they were going to kill us all."
Otso grinned, wide and mischievous. "I remember she was buck wild in bed that night when she came knocking on my door. I got us into trouble, but I got us out again."
"I always wondered why they went to bed wanting to kill us and, by morning, had decided to join us against the fae," Tenebrys said with a deep chuckle. "I'm surprised you didn't brag about it earlier."
"A gentleman never kisses and tells," Otso replied. His expression turned sad. "She died right before Plagues threw the first curse at us."
The table went silent, the air heavy with remembrance.
"I'm sorry," Delphi said to Otso.
"Don't be," he replied with a shake of his big head. "Her people lived for the fight. She was a fierce warrior, and when she fell, she took a fuck load of the fae with her. She will be in the great feast halls of her warrior goddess right now. She never suffered or wasted away from sickness. No, it was how she would have wanted to go."
"Do you think there is a chance you could help undo this curse?" Asher asked.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Nahir grunted, breaking his silence finally.
Delphi lifted her chin. "I don't know if I can, but I'm still going to try. I'm going to start by making sure that the original plague is gone from the soil so that if any shifters come here, they won't catch it."
"A good plan," Eiran said before Nahir could answer her. "We need allies more than we need to be pretty again."
"You are all still pretty. Just different," Delphi replied honestly.
"It's nice of you to say, but we know what we are," Otso rumbled and poured another goblet of wine.
