“It’s good to hear her laugh like this,” he said. “To see her this happy.”
My gaze lingered outside.
In Vistos, she carried the world. Here, she got to be part of one.
“I’ll do anything to keep her happy,” I said.
Etienne’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile. “She’s not someone to keep happy,” he said quietly. “She fights for it. Claims it. No matter how hard life swings. All you can really do isgive her somewhere to land when the world isn’t kind.” I caught the rough edge in his voice.
“Yeah,” I said. “I can do that.”
“I’m sorry,” Etienne said, his gaze dropping to the pillow he clutched in his hands. “You two had to babysit me last night. Instead of?—”
“Don’t.” I dropped the folded blanket on the couch and straightened. I kept my gaze on him until he met my eyes. “Teddy and Elias have done the same for me countless times. That’s what family does.”
His jaw eased.
“And she’s your family, which makes you mine. So don’t apologize.”
He nodded.
The front door creaked open, and a gust of warm air swept in, carrying laughter with it. Finley and Everly stumbled in, sweaty and red and grinning like they’d conquered all sorts of battles.
She looked like war and sunlight, and my heart did that thing where it twisted at the mere sight of her.
Alastor followed with one of the many stray cats the shifter mages brought back from the human realm, weaving through his legs. “I never realized how fast you are,” he told Finley before he turned to Everly. “Or how slow you are.”
Everly snorted as she collapsed onto the couch. “I can barely keep up with you.”
The cat walked up to Finley, and she took her time to scratch behind his ears. “Is that why you pushed me?”
“I told you,” Everly said. “You tripped.”
“I’ve never seen Finny trip before,” Etienne said.
The cat took his time strolling to each of us, meowing in demand for more ear scratches.
“Because I don’t trip.” Finley wrapped an arm around my back, leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. “You tripped me.”
“Semantics.”
When the cat curled at Etienne’s feet, he shifted slowly to kneel beside him. “Luana doesn’t mind this guy coming around?”
At the sound of her name, Luana rose from the dog bed by the fireplace. When she reached the cat, he launched into a playful pounce, then sprang back and jumped on the couch.
“They’re old friends,” I said. I turned to Alastor. “You’re looking much better.”
It wasn’t just that his complexion was better, but the way he carried himself. The exhaustion that had dragged his shoulders down seemed lighter now. Even his shadows moved more gracefully, no longer dragging at the edges.
“Being back in Respandora is healing,” he said. “Teddy’s relentless tea schedule probably doesn’t hurt either. It’s hard to die when she’s force-feeding me that stuff.”
“A couple more cups and she’ll make you immortal,” I said with a small smile.
Although he smiled at my tease, there was a heaviness in his eyes I recognized. The same conflicting ache I’d seen during our conversation at the beach in Vistos. “Tea and my homeland can only do so much.” Then he dusted his hands together like he was shaking something loose. He glanced at Finley and Etienne before nodding his head toward the door. “If you’re up for it, I’d like to show you around Respandora.”
“Am I invited?” I asked. “Or will I have to carve a path like you did with the astral realm?”
“You’ve already carved your way through Respandora and her people,” he said, voice quieter. “Makes it easier for when she’s yours to guide.”
