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“You are my family. I cannot be selfish with all of you. You have been growing apart for a while now, it seems. I know I carry much of the blame for that. I left you all here to pick up pieces you should have never had to deal with. A thousand years of cleaning up my mess. No more.”
Logan and Neverra beamed at each other. Imogen sighed so heavily that I was afraid she was about to cry. Cameron had his hands over his face, and Xavier was poking at the leftover food on his plate. Vincent stared at Samkiel as if seeing him for the first time.
“I mean, we will still be family, right?” Xavier looked up, near desperation in his eyes as his gaze landed on everyone at the table before settling on Samkiel.
“Of course. That will never change.”
“And we can still visit each other. You know, check in?” Cameron asked next, dropping his hands.
“Yes.” Samkiel smiled. “I thought perhaps we could have our own holiday. Something special for all of us. A day that no matter what happens, we can come back together, even for a short time.”
Xavier smiled, nodding. “I would like that.”
“Me too,” Imogen said, her voice sounding a bit choked. Logan and Neverra agreed enthusiastically. Vincent and Cameron chimed in, both of them unusually quiet. Samkiel nodded and moved on to planning, discussing what dates would work best for them all and what they may do with their futures.
I sat quietly, watching the room. They laughed and joked about any and everything. The tension eased, but I could feel the change even without my powers. The spark of joy that had permeated the gathering earlier in the night had faded.
* * *
I rested my arms on the stone railing and sipped my wine, needing a moment to myself. I could hear them all inside, yelling over a game Cameron had picked.
A star far off in the distance seemed to twinkle as I stared at the night sky.
“You know, even the shadows don’t move that way, right?” I said.
“I apologize. You seemed to wish to be alone.”
I shrugged and turned to lean against the railing, facing Roccurem. Even the fate had dressed up tonight. I glanced back into the house and caught Samkiel staring at me. It may have been the angle I was leaning with my dress riding up my thighs, but I didn’t think he even noticed Roccurem at my side. Or maybe it was just a trick of fate.
“Longing looks between lovers,” Reggie said, motioning to Samkiel. Cameron punched Samkiel in the shoulder, his hands waving as he berated him for not paying attention.
I smiled, watching the two of them argue good-naturedly. “What are you doing here?”
“Samkiel allowed me to attend if I wished.”
I almost choked on the wine. “Allowed?”
“Why yes, he forbade me from seeing you. I feel it was in large part due to his feelings for you and concern for your well-being.”
“Or he’s a jealous ass.”
“Do not blame him. There are reasons he cannot control that part of him.”
“Yeah, I have seen that part of him.”
“It seems appropriate timing for both of you.”
I laughed and took another sip of wine.
“How are you….” Reggie paused as if a thousand questions ran through his skull, “feeling?”
I cocked my head. “Concern for my well-being?”
He waited, perfectly comfortable with the silence.
“If I say I’m good, I feel guilty because she isn’t here, and when I look at them and how happy and kind they are to me, I feel even worse for what I put them through because of him.”
“And then?”
