Page 31 of Birthright

“Tomorrow morning, my room,” I whispered back. Abbey gave me a nod of understanding.

Bevin swooped in and stood glaring down at us. “You two need to gossip less and cast more.”

“Us?” Abbey cooed in protest.

Bevin raised an eyebrow to reiterate her point. “Gather your things. We have much to do to help prepare the meet room. Abbey, you must have a million things to do for the food preparations.”

“I have everything in order, but I guess I need to make sure the Imps haven’t gone lax on me.” She winked at me. “Terribly lazy, we are. It’s amazing we get a thing done.”

Every single meal I’d had at the manor had been decadent, delicious, and superbly presented. “Lax” was the last adjective I’d use for Abbey’s kitchen Imps.

“Off with you, lazy wench,” I said with a voice that boomed through the quiet of the library. Abbey and I laughed aloud and only stopped at the heat from Bevin’s glare. “Okay, okay, we’re going. Loosen up, Bevin. It’s a wedding, for cauldron’s sake, not a political uprising.”

“Every occasion is an opportunity for you to win over the loyalties of the Kith—even a wedding,” she retorted.

“It’s a party, Bevin, let her have some fun,” Abbey huffed.

“We shall see,” Bevin snorted and stomped away but not before I saw the smile she secreted away. We watched her hips and bun as they moved side to side with each step.

I knew why she was concerned. Every time I’d been in the same room with the wicked half-sister, we had nearly come to blows. I’d been lectured and scolded not to let the bickering happen at the wedding. I had agreed but insisted that Blondie be lectured as well. Doran had assured me she had given Dema the same instructions and that she had agreed.

I wasn’t buying a bit of it.

The meeting room finally looked like it was being used for the purpose for which it had been designed. The light green walls and soft wood trim, lavishly decorated with wild orchids, tiger lilies, and freesia, resembled a photo from a bride’s magazine. The smell of the flowers drifted thick in the air. Music filled the space from an unknown source, mingling with the birds’ songs as they flitted around the open windows. Butterflies danced above my head as I took my place beside Doran. I made a conscious effort not to even look at Dema.

We had greeted all the guests with Doran and Bevin between us, preventing any communication. Feldema appeared to be doing her best to ignore my presence as well. Maybe she had taken the warnings from Doran to heart. She was graceful and pleasant to the guests, even those I knew she disliked.

Shadowing Dema were two new consorts. Both were very attractive, dark-haired men I took to be Magicians. I found all the Magicians pretty, of course, but wasn’t drawn to them like I was to Vamps or Weres. Bevin explained they lacked the animal instincts that my body responded to.

I had found I had little control over those reactions, but I was still holding out on finding a second consort. I was in love with Tynan and just couldn’t bring myself to cheat on him, even though he and everyone else insisted, over and over, that it was not cheating.

I suspected that was why he was starting to be needed out of town so much lately. I had asked him about it and, of course, he denied it. He just recited the same ol’ song about listening to my body and all those other things I didn’t really want to hear.

The ceremony was beautiful. Seven Gnome couples shared their vows with us and all of WildLand. Dema anointed them with fresh waters and for the first time in centuries, a Priestess of the Wild would anoint them with the earth. As the priest said a prayer to the land, I knelt before each couple and rubbed the deep, rich earth of the island on the foreheads of the females, wishing them fertility and peace for all their years. They all cried and I had to bite my lip more than once not to do the same.

When I finished and stood, the whole room seemed to let out a collective breath. As I made my way back to my seat, I realized it was the first official act I had performed in public that didn’t consist of beating the crap out of my sister. I made my curtsey to the line of colorfully dressed Gnome couples and sat, pleased with myself and my grace. I didn’t trip and hadn’t even looked at Dema—but I could sure feel her leering at me.

After the ceremony, the guests started mingling and talking and eating, and the music got a little louder to be heard over the conversation. There was laughter and even some dancing. I was amazed at how much the nuptials mimicked human weddings. The Magician I was talking with told me that those types of ceremonies far predated modern religion. He was extremely chatty, and we discussed his life in Sacramento, California, where he led a small coven that seemed very excited about me. He gushed on and on about my coming to visit the coven and the plans they had made for assisting in my fulfillment of the prophecy. I found the compliments embarrassing and the flattery irritating.

I excused myself from the Magician and found Hogan and his date, the librarian. We sat at one of the elaborately decorated tables and watched the festivities. I chatted with them and some of the other guests who made their way over to introduce themselves. A palpable feeling of happiness was in the room and I couldn’t help but wish that Tynan was there. He’d returned earlier that afternoon as promised but outside our bedroom, he found all things frilly and romantic both useless and tiring. In public, he projected a serious, powerful image.

I smiled at the thought of him, without communicating. I had gotten much better at that and no longer invoked the spell in the amulet every time he crossed my mind.

After I felt I had greeted and spoken to everyone, I headed off to the kitchen to find Abbey. I hadn’t seen her since the ceremony, and I figured she was coordinating the appearance of all the food and drink. I was happy as I walked through the hall toward the kitchen.

Happy, that is, until I walked around a corner and found Dema and one of her new consorts standing in the hall, blocking my way. Intentionally, I suspected. The consort was bigger and looked sterner than most Magicians, but he was still prettier than me. He turned his back to me in insult. I really didn’t care about such things, but I knew what he was trying to convey—I don’t like you and I’ll hurt you if I can.

“What is it, Dema?” I sighed and crossed my arms. “Can’t pick on anyone at the party?” Okay, so I started it this time. But it was coming either way.

She smiled her wicked, white-toothed smile at me. “Listen, old Witch.” Her favorite affront was the constant reference to the age at which I came into my powers. “You’re running out of time.” She held her snide smile as she spoke.

“I know how much time I have,” I replied.

“I underestimated you for the battle of might. I will not do so again. I owe you for the loss of my consort—and you will pay for that with your life!” she seethed.

“Kendrick was a slug, baby sister. I did you a favor.” I stood with my arms still crossed, trying to appear bored. I saw the anger building in her. “So easily rattled,” I said as a show of being her superior.

She mumbled and before I realized what she was doing, a ripping noise boomed from my side. A pipe burst through the wall and the spray of water threw me across the wide hall into the other wall.