The weather was lovely. It was a warm spring day, and the sun was out. It’d rained last night, and the air smelled fresh. Flowers were starting to come up in the beds that lined that cobblestone path to the estate, and the birds were pleasantly singing.
In the yard, Ozzie had set up a round table covered with a light cloth. On the table were a variety of fine china plates, teacups, saucers, and teapots, all decorated with the same floral design. He’d arranged a variety of cookies, scones, cakes, and pastries on tiered trays, and even accented the table with flowers. The whole thing looked even better than tea time at the palace.
He was very talented. I hoped after all of this was over, he got his bakery. It’d be such a wonderful place to have lunch.
I put a hand over my mouth to suppress a laugh. Ozzie was taking tea timeveryseriously. He’d slicked back his hair, and donned a jacket with coattails. He pulled out chairs for each of us before he scurried to his seat, and tripped over it. He rose with a bashful smile, straightened his shirt, and donned a top hat before sitting down. The babies weren’t quite big enough to be in high chairs yet, so we took turns passing them around as we ate.
“This looks very good,” Odette said as she tucked into a rose tart.
“It’s all allergen-friendly, so you’re good, Emma,” Ozzie said proudly. “I think you’ll like my cream puffs best.”
I was already tucking into an eclair and dying of happiness. No one could quite bake like Ozzie.
Tygrys was having the time of his life. He lapped up a saucer of honey before he immersed himself in powdered sugar.Malyludwycouldn’t get enough. It was good for them.
“No illusions this time?” Delmare asked as she took a bite of devil’s food cake.
“Oh, no, they have them,” Ozzie said. “But they’re slight. Mood illusions, to lift your spirits with every bite. I figured we could all use a little more joy around here.”
I put a lump of sugar into my raspberry hibiscus tea and stirred it before I said, “So where’s Jasper today?”
“I’m not sure.” Ozzie seemed to deflate with the mention of his mate. “He sometimes goes on patrol with Ethan and the rest of the guys, but mostly, he locks himself in our room and never comes out. Not even for sunlight.”
“That’s not good,” I replied.
“Maybe he’s turned into a vampire,” Delmare joked.
“I’m really worried.” Tears began to fill Ozzie’s eyes. “He doesn’t want to spend time with me anymore. He basically ignores me. I’m worried he’s getting tired of me.”
Ozzie dropped his head, and a teardrop splashed onto his plate.
“I bet it’s not even about you,” I offered. “Jasper loves you.”
“So he loves me. Big deal.” Ozzie sniffed. “If he cares so much, he’dshow me, but I can’t even get a kiss out of him lately. He feels so distant. Maybe we’re going to break up.”
Ozzie dotted his eyes with the napkin. I frowned. What was up with Jasper lately? I knew for a fact he was crazy about Ozzie. Why was he behaving like this?
“All mates have hard times,” Kiara said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “There are periods when things are good, and then times when things are awful. It’s normal. You just have to ride through it.”
“Yeah, not to mention nobody is having a good time lately, with Droga taking over and all,” Delmare said with a mouthful of cake. “Jasper’s probably taking it harder than the rest of us.”
Ozzie stuck out his bottom lip. “Well… he hasn’t been right since Vara… had to go. I think he’s worried about which one of us is next.”
“None of us,” I said sharply. “We’re all going to get through this together. We’re not losing anyone else.”
“Gosh, I sure hope so.” Ozzie brightened as he took a big bite out of a jelly doughnut. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you girls down here to talk about myself. How are things going in your life, Emma?”
I scowled. “Well, we’re looking for a lost city that probably doesn’t exist, so there’s that. It’s like the Unseelie stone up and vanished into nowhere.”
“The gods give us information when we are ready for it, at the proper time,” Kiara reminded me. “It’s happened before with all the stones. Whenever we thought we hit a dead end, things always panned out at the end. Whatever we needed came in at just the right moment.”
“Well, the gods need to hurry up, because I’m tired of waiting around,” I grumbled. Kalina spat up, and I wiped her chin with a handkerchief.
Amantha and Finlay came around the corner. She was holding his arm, as they were on a morning stroll. Her eyes lit up when she saw us, although Finlay’s look remained deadened.
“What are you guys doing?” Amantha asked.
“Having brunch. Care to join?” Ozzie asked.
