Page 10 of Vicious Fates and Vast Futures
“I thought you had good, kind parents, Bryn....” Adi looks more upset than Bryn does right now, but he’s masking.
“I do,” he starts, still looking down. He sighs again. “They just...love each other so much...that we often took a backseat. My brother and I raised our little sisters, more or less. And when that bitch Rose called in her claim...I knew Callum wouldn’t survive the abuse. He’d fade away and pass through the veil before his ‘term’ was over. I couldn’t let the girls lose him.”
Adi, soaking wet and naked, throws herself at Bryn, sobbing. He takes her in his arms and buries his face in her wet hair. His eyes flick up to me and I quickly step up, putting my chest to Adi’s back and wrapping up them both in my arms. A moment later, I feel Nairna’s tentative arms touch my sides as she leans into Bryn too. I feel Bryn relax, safe and protected by our love.
Eventually, Adi softly says, “We need to have a family meeting.”
I’M HUMMING SOFTLYas I putter about the kitchen. There’s something about feeding my mates that releases happy brain chemicals for me. I turn away from the large deep sink to slice the apple I just rinsed. The white subway tiles above the navy-blue kitchen cabinets are relaxing. I slide the thin slices onto the wide knife and drop them onto the platter with the olives and cheese. I pace to the fridge to grab some flatbread in order to finish off Adi’s favorite evening snack. Then, I grab the tray andbring it to the kitchen table. As I turn back to grab the wine, Nairna’s hand brushes my side.
“I’ll get it, Osmund,” she says. Her voice still holds her usual cold edge that she uses with me, but she’s been touching me more and isn’t a raging beast most of the time.
I smile internally. I’ve given her enough time to get used to the idea of being mate-bonded to me as well. I’m going to make my move soon, if things would calm down for three damned hours. I’ve already discussed it with Adi; I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be upset if I bed Nairna. Adi had looked at me like I’d grown a second head, so absurd was the idea that she’d be hurt by it. When I asked Bryn, well, he couldn’t stop laughing long enough to answer.
Bryn and Adi slip in from the main bedroom. Bryn is wearing low-slung grey sweatpants, and my gaze roves over his naked chest for a moment before falling to eye the outline of his cock. He catches me eyeing him and grins, coming around the table to pull me to him, hand in my hair and mouth on mine possessively. “Later, hmm?” he asks in a husky voice as he pulls away.
I nod with a smile as he presses our foreheads together.
Adi, in a purple nightgown, smiles as she slips into a chair. “That means it’s you and me tonight, En.”
Nairna pours wine into each glass and flicks a glance to me before raising an eyebrow at Adi. “What if I want to join these two idiots?” Her tone is teasing, but both Bryn and I respond with heat.
“Ohh, pup, anytime,” Bryn growls.
Adi laughs and rolls her eyes. “Okay, okay. Enough, you hornballs.” But then her tone becomes serious. “We need to discuss some heavy stuff.”
We all sit and wait for her to continue. I take a sip of wine.
“I’ve decided I don’t want to be queen.”
I start coughing.
“And...I’m on birth control.”
I manage to swallow and get out a hoarse, “What?”
Adi winces noticeably and her eyes flick to Nairna. “I decided I wanted to stop attempting pregnancy back in the Dark Court, after I got the news about Declan and Eira using my mixed blood to rile up the houses and the news from Glario about the uprisings.” She sighs. “I wrote my lawyer to get some human birth control. Then the whole thing with Tavish and his mother happened, so I only just got on it.”
Bryn’s face is blank. He’s not happy.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” I ask, trying to keep the hurt from my voice.
Adi snorts. “Iamtelling you,” she snaps. Another big sigh slips out of her and I want to wrap her in my arms and pull her onto my lap, even though my mind is reeling from the loss of my daydreams about a curly-blonde-haired babe.
“Between the unseelies trying to execute En and this mess with Marchara today,” she continues, “I’ve only just come the decision to reject the throne, separate from the idea of not wanting a pregnancy.”
The silence is only broken by the sound of Bryn striding to the kitchen. He opens a cabinet and pulls a bottle of whiskey out, shutting the cabinet with more force than strictly necessary before yanking out the cork and taking a pull straight from the bottle.
Adi gives him a sideways look and continues. “They are evil. I can’t lead them with gentle change. They will never allow it. We’ll spend all our time trying to stay safe and battling for the smallest of small changes. I won’t do it.” She shakes her head mournfully and sighs quietly. “Instead...I think we need to dig out the roots and raze the land.”
The quiet stretches as we absorb what our mate has just declared, Bryn taking another drink obvious in the silence.
Nairna clears her throat. “What does that look like, birdie?”
Adelaide takes a large drink of her wine before slowly looking at each of us. “It’s time to burn it down.”
WE DISCUSS PLANS WELLinto the night. Once we got over our initial shock, Bryn and I both got on board. Even though I had loved the thought of a child, I hadn’ttrulywanted to raise him or her at this disastrous and dangerous court. Anywhere is better than here. And if I have my family with me, then I don’treallycare where we end up. So I tell myself that mayhap this is just a rain check on Faelings of our own.
First, we need things settled here. Then we’ll see where the chips fall and go from there.
