Ciprian stuffs his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. “That we’re together. All of us.”
There’s a beat of silence, interrupted only by the large clock ticking on the wall.
“Okay,” I say quietly, giving him a chance to elaborate.
He doesn’t.
“Did he freak out?” Alistair asks.
Ciprian shakes his head.
We wait again, but he’s lost in his thoughts.
“For fuck’s sake,” Luca snaps. “The suspense is killing me. What did he say?”
“That he wants me to be happy.” Ciprian sounds far more stunned by that than most people would, but I remember the conversation we had in his bedroom after his dad died. He stood by that childhood photo of him, Callum, and Gideon and told meabout how things used to be between them. There was so much longing in his voice.
I erase the distance between us, pull his hands from his pockets, and squeeze them. “That’s good, Ciprian. That’s really good, right?” He nods jerkily, then his face crumples. I wrap my arms around him. “He was obviously worried about you.”
“We talked about everything, and...” He sighs, his voice raspier than usual. “I think we’re okay. Gods, I think for the first time in eleven years, me and Callum are fucking okay.”
Luca and Alistair slide in on either side of us, and my lips twitch. Poor Ciprian. He’s in a relationship with three only children. We can’t fully understand a damaged sibling bond, but we can try.
And if Callum matters to Ciprian, he matters to me.
Someone bangs on the door, and we jump apart. “I don’t know how you got by me outside, squirt, but if you don’t open this door, I’ll break it down.”
“You will do no such thing,” a posh voice mutters. “Pretend to be civilized for five minutes.”
There’s a scuffle with grunting before Ciprian sighs and opens the door. “I’m here, Gideon, what’s the issue?”
The oversized shifter releases the fae from a headlock and shoves him away. In the next second, he wraps Ciprian in a bone-crushing hug that lifts his feet completely off the floor. “You scared the fuck out of us,” he says. “I nearly started breaking things.”
I chuckle. “From the state of my apartment door, that ship has sailed.”
Gideon grins at me, drops Ciprian, and scoops me up in a hug. “Thank you for keeping him safe.” His voice is gruff and low.
I pat his back. “We kept each other safe.”
Gideon releases me and focuses his golden gaze onLuca and Alistair. “I’m Gideon Therion. Ciprian is basically a little brother to me. If you hurt him, I’ll kill you.”
They nod solemnly, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to be threatened before nine in the morning.
Ciprian scowls at Gideon. “I’m not a damsel or some blushing virgin. If I had any honor left, I wouldn’t need you to defend it.”
“Whatever.” Gideon shrugs. “I said what I said.” And from the primal glow behind his eyes, he meant every word.
Idris introduces himself to Luca and offers Alistair a tense nod. I know they met when Sheena lifted Ali’s sun curse, and from the look of it, the fae hasn’t forgotten that encounter either. “Callum is preparing breakfast,” he says.
“Really?” Ciprian raises his eyebrows.
Gideon snorts. “I think he went to Eggs ’N Bakin’.”
Ciprian rubs his hands together. “Even better. I would kill for a breakfast sandwich.”
“Then get a move on!” Callum appears in the doorway, holding half a dozen brown paper bags. The sides are spotted with grease, and I can already smell sausage.
My stomach growls, and I rub my belly. “That smells amazing.”
