Emma approached me with Kalina, extending her arms. My entire spirit brightened up when Kalina was handed to me. “Aren’t you adorable.”
Kalina’s tiny dress matched Emma’s. I kissed her forehead, and she kicked out her arms and legs.
It was incredulous to me that Evonna wanted to get rid of her own granddaughter. I had a fond attachment to Kalina that I couldn’t quite describe. My wolf wanted to protect her with every fiber of his being, as if she were my own child.
Leaving her out in the woods to die, or to be raised to be wild by some strange faekin? Inconceivable. I couldn’t imagine Kalina being anywhere that wasn’t close to me, so I could guard and defend her. Despite not having any biological ties to her, I was closer to this child than her own grandmother was.
Perhaps that would be sad, to an outsider, but not to me. I loved her and Kazim, and as far as I was concerned, they belonged to all of us just as much as they belonged to Arthur. None of us would permit Evonna to harm her, no matter what the consequences of her demigod powers were. We would keep the twins together and happy, despite the risks.
We were having cake when Odette plopped in the seat next to me with a huff. She looked quite bothered as she took a massive slice, and chewed furiously, her cheeks inflated like a hamster.
“Something bothering you, my dear?” Theo asked as he took a refined bite.
Odette swallowed and took a big breath. “I just had an idea. Abrilliantidea, I’d say. I was thinking— but no. Maybe… ugh, forget about it.”
“What?” Emma asked, annoyed. She stabbed at her cake and nearly broke the plate.
“Well… I was kind of waiting for the wedding to be over,” Odette said reluctantly.
“You come up with something?” I asked the question a little too quickly. Even through all the celebration, I just couldn’t get my mind off things.
“Kind of… yes?” Odette said.
“Do wehaveto discuss business, today of all days?” Kiara complained. “It’s a wedding, for the gods’ sakes.”
“No, hold on.” I glanced behind me. Stefan and Delmare were out of earshot. They’d smashed the cake in each other’s faces while feeding each other, and were flirting as Isaak smeared icing all over his clothes, sucking on his cake-covered fist.
I didn’t want to ruin their wedding day with worries of the future, but if we spoke quickly, they wouldn’t overhear us. I leaned forward and dropped my voice. “You have a plan?”
Odette opened her mouth. Then she looked at Delmare and Stefan, shook her head, and dropped her fork.
“It’s nothing,” she said, and she abruptly stood. She grasped onto her skirts as she turned around and said, “Enjoy the wedding, everyone.”
Odette rushed out of the hall, and Theo hurried after her. Emma and I shared a concerned glance.
Whatever she’d said, I was certain Odette knew more than she was telling us.
Chapter Sixteen
Emma
Iwasn’t going to hide any longer. I was tired of Droga and everything he’d done. I was the Worldweaver. It was my job to put a stop to this, and I was finished with cowering away. It was time to make our final stand.
Finlay and Amantha had shown up the day after the wedding. Fin told Ethan and I he needed to speak with everyone. We took our seats in the dining room, preparing to discuss our next strategy over breakfast. Arthur and Lucien accompanied us. Our friends were still sleeping upstairs, hung over from the wedding.
We’d fill them in later— that is, if Finlay’s plan wasn’t absolutely ridiculous.
My mother wasn’t here, either. She’d been avoiding me since the incredulous family argument. If she didn’t want to show up, fine. We couldn’t have people around that weren’t on board, and lately, my mother was insistent on getting her way at every turn.
Finlay stared at me for a moment before taking me into a hug. “I thought for sure I’d never see ye again, lass.”
“I’m alive and well,” I said as I hugged him back, before turning to embrace Amantha. “Better than that, I’m here to put Droga in his grave, where he belongs. I hope you have a plan.”
“It’s not so much of a plan,” Amantha admitted. “More of a… discovery.”
“A crucial one,” Finlay said as I took a seat beside Ethan. I took a few waffles from the center of the table and poured strawberry syrup on top of them. I chewed on my waffle absentmindedly as Finlay spread a grouping of papers on the table. My grandmother was a wonderful cook, but she couldn’t quite make waffles like Ozzie could.
Their sweetness turned bland in my mouth as a lump rose in my throat. The others had time to get used to Ozzie and Jasper’s deaths, but I hadn’t. After all, for me, it was as if they’d died yesterday, though in the real world they’d already been gone for months.
