Page 37 of The Stone Initiation
And there would be more. So, I needed to toughen up and get on with it.
Starting with pasta for breakfast.
Yum.
* * *
Sharniza wasin the kitchen with Touron when I arrived. It was a spacious room with long wooden tables and benches for seating. There were two double ovens and three stoves, along with plenty of pots, pans, and cupboards filled with dried goods. The fridge was fully stocked, and so was the freezer, mainly with meat, eggs, and fish. Gargoyle staples.
I heated some pasta in the microwave and joined the others at the table. The food was meaty, saucy, and delicious. We ate in silence for a while.
“Touron says Parker paid you a visit?” Sharniza said.
“Yes. She brought me coffee.”
“Be careful,” Sharniza said. “I’ve heard that she can be temperamental.”
“I’ll try not to piss her off.”
The twins entered the kitchen rubbing sleep from their eyes. Ginia’s wavy hair was pulled up in a high ponytail today while her sister’s poker-straight locks were loose.
“Any pasta left?” they said in unison.
“Plenty,” Touron said around a mouthful of food.
“You’ll make some omega very happy someday,” Ginia said almost wistfully.
They grabbed plates and served themselves.
I looked across at Touron. “Omegas?”
Sharniza sat back in her seat with her frown. “You really are clueless, aren’t you? Your mother must have known she was bedding a gargoyle. Did your sire not teach youanythingabout this world?”
My mood dipped at the mention of my father. “My sire wasn’t around. I don’t know who he is.” The lie tripped off my tongue easily but left a bitter taste in my mouth. “My mother died when I was a child. So, yeah, I didn’t really give a shit about this world until…” I’d said too much.
“Until?” Touron prompted.
I speared some more pasta with my fork. “Until I decided to find out.”
“By becoming a guardian?” Touron looked equally impressed and confused. “Talk about immersive education.”
Sharniza was watching me with a shrewd expression. I’d messed up, and she’d picked up on it. My story, my reasoning for being here, was flimsy, and I mentally kicked myself for not preparing better. This was my Achilles heel—the lead with my heart and jump in before thinking things through. Romi had warned me about this time and time again.
But his death.
His loss.
I’d been completely focused on one goal. Getting here. Now that I’d succeeded in that, the rest was uncertain.
Sharniza was still watching me, waiting for me to elaborate. If there was one thing I knew, it was that the best lies were built on a foundation of the truth. So, that’s what I’d give them.
“Look,” I sat back in my seat. “I didn’t care about this world before because I had a life and a family outside of it, but a week ago, I lost my half-brother.” They’d think I meant my fully human sibling. “After that I was alone, and I needed something. A connection. I was grieving so…” I threw up my hands.
“You acted impulsively and signed up to enroll at the academy.” Sharniza said.
I nodded. “I figured it was the quickest way to find out about my heritage.”
“And maybe who your father is?” Touron added.
