“Three weeks!Only you two lovesick fools would think I can pull off a grand wedding and a once-in-a-generation coronation in twenty-one days—Daisy! Tell Elma I needed those cake samples yesterday!”
And that was just the beginning of Seiji’s downward spiral.
The Elf bakery is a shop where small beings with sharp, pointy ears work their magic to make the most delicious desserts in the realm.
Just kidding.Elves aren’t short. But they do have pointy ears and sharp features, and no one in all supernatural realms can beat their desserts. Which is why Seiji insisted we get all the wedding desserts from there, including the cake.
I didn’t know why Seiji was so surprised by the wedding announcement. I expected the couple to be married and off to their honeymoon the day after we stepped into the kingdom.
Harvey and Grace waited a whole month longer than I thought they would. That’s practically a year in Harvey’s world.
In short, it’s been a little chaotic around here.
Grace gave Seiji total dictatorship over her day, with only one condition that damn near gave him a heart attack. She wants the ceremony to besimpleandminimal. Nothing extravagant.
Seiji almost fainted when he heard that. He wanted to go all out—floating lamps, flowers, even dragons in the sky. But for Grace’s sake, he agreed to tone it down while still planning a wedding the entire supernatural world would envy.
I hear Monkey tiptoeing back into the kitchen before I see him. The little werewolf hugs my legs, acting all cute and innocent like he didn’t side with the evil water fairy over me.
Those two are thick as thieves now. August is slowly getting better at allowing people he trusts into his personal space, and he is smart enough to understand why Hazel doesn’t allow the same. Not once has he tried or even accidentally stood tooclose to her in case it made her uncomfortable.
I hate that August understands what it means to want to protect your body, but it’s comforting to see how much Hazel lets her guard down around him.
August huffs loudly when I pretend like I don’t have a little boy pressing his cheek against my thigh. He whines as he stretches his arms up, asking me to pick him up and stop ignoring him.
Those big blue eyes are my weakness. I can never stay mad at my little Monkey when he pouts like that. I scoop him up and smother his face with kisses until he’s giggling wildly and trying to wriggle free.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Hazel trying to sneak and realize she’s trying to use August’s cuteness to distract me.
“Don’t make me chase you, Sharky. You won’t like what happens when I catch you.”
“I wasn’t running. I was just… going for a walk.”
I hum suspiciously, and her eyes narrow, waiting for an attack that isn’t coming. I don’t have to do anything. Watching her sweat and anxiously wait for my next move is punishment enough.
Angel takes August from my arms and plants a loud kiss on his cheek. “Ready for bedtime, little man?”
August shakes his head, but yawns right after. Angel chuckles and starts swaying gently, knowing the motion will lull him to sleep.
When Seiji ropes me into a debate over a centerpiece Hazel doesn’tapprove of, Angel quietly slips away to tuck our son into bed.
It’s been a month since I returned to the Horsemen castle after visiting Harvey’s parents’ shrine. That night, Angel had to carry me home. I was so devastated, drowning in guilt, I could barely stand.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d ever face Harvey again. But there he was… standing outside the front gates, waiting for me.
The moment he saw me, Harvey pulled me into a tight hug, and we both cried for the life that was stolen from us.
I couldn’t even get an apology out before he warned me he’d kick my ass if I blamed myself.
We talked for hours that night, recalling the moments of light in that dark place. Before the sun came up, Harvey had spent hours drilling it into my head that none of it was my fault. We promised to stop blaming ourselves for things that were beyond our control and focus on growing from the wreckage of our past.
I’m not completely healed, not even close. I still have a lot to work on, but now every time I hear Visha’s voice in my head, I remind myself that I was just a kid too… avictimlike everyone else trapped in that dungeon.
The reminder has helped me slowly overcome the guilt I’ve carried for years. I have a long way to go, but I’m not stopping now.
One day, I’ll be okay.
“Are you even listening to me?” Seiji grumbles.
