by I. T. Lucas
He leaned and kissed Syssi’s cheek. “Don’t cry.”
She got emotional at weddings, and the pregnancy made her even more vulnerable. Usually, Syssi found comfort in his arms, but he wouldn’t be near her to offer it during the ceremony.
“I won’t.” She smiled at him. “Sari and David are already mated. This is just a party.”
“Try to remember that when Annani makes her speech.” His mother had a talent for tear-jerking.
“Don’t worry.” Syssi affected a wider smile. “Go already.” She gave him a gentle push. “Stop hovering over me like a mother hen.”
Pushing to his feet, he turned toward the room’s double doors. Brundar and Anandur were already waiting for him there, not to guard him, but to join the other groomsmen.
“I wish Lokan was here,” Kalugal said as they walked toward the door.
“Yeah, me too.” Kian actually meant it. “And your mother as well. I wish there was a way to convince her to leave your father.”
Kalugal sighed softly. “It’s a lost cause. I stopped trying a long time ago.”
“Do you still talk to her?”
“Twice a week.”
“How is she?”
“Same as always. Loving, gentle, and totally misguided.”
49
Cassandra
“So, I told the wife,” Sharon leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Your husband is not cheating on you with his secretary. He’s cheating on you with his business partner.”
Cassandra was still waiting for the punchline to Sharon’s story. What did it matter who the husband cheated with?
“What did the wife say?” Roni asked.
“She rolled her eyes and said that she’d known the two had been lovers since college. She didn’t mind, and the woman was so happy that he wasn’t schtupping the secretary that she paid us a bonus.”
Cassandra shook her head. “So, she didn’t mind the one lover, but hired your firm to investigate whether there was a second one?”
“Yep,” Sharon confirmed. “Humans are strange.” She leaned toward Robert. “I can hardly stand it if Robert so much as looks at another woman with appreciation.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I only have eyes for you, my love.”
Connor chuckled. “Let me guess. The partner was a guy, and that’s why the wife was okay with it.”
Cassandra was still stuck on Sharon’s use of the word humans. Was that the new politically correct term for people? Cassandra couldn’t for the life of her imagine what was wrong with 'people,' but these were strange times. Perhaps someone had decided that the word people was racist?
Could be.
After all, people might be from different ethnicities, but they were all human. She needed to remember that.
“Some people can be polyamorous,” Tessa said. “Personally, I can’t imagine living like that, but for some, it comes naturally.”
Cassandra let out a breath. Apparently, the word people was still okay.
For now.
“Like the Kra-ell,” Nick said and then winced. “I mean the Krall in the game.”
“What game?” Cassandra asked.
“Have you heard about the Perfect Match Virtual Adventures Studios?” Ruth asked.
“I’ve heard about them, and I thought that it was all a big hype. Virtual technology is amazing, but it is still far from being realistic.”
“It is very much so,” Roni said. “If you ever get tired of Onegus, give it a try. It’s pricey, but you can cram a two-week vacation into three hours. It’s hard to beat that when you have a busy job.”
“You don’t have to dump Onegus to try,” Sylvia said. “You can do it with him. Roni and I did it together, and it was the most fun we’ve ever had. We chose the winter spy adventure.”
Roni smiled at his girlfriend. “We were already together when we went on the virtual spy adventure, but Cassandra and Onegus are not there yet.” He turned to Cassandra and winked. “After all, it’s called the Perfect Match for a reason. The software can find you a better match than him.”
Roni had a sarcastic sense of humor that resonated well with hers. She lifted the wine glass Nick had just refilled and pretended to take a sip. “If things don’t work out with Onegus, I’ll give it a try.”
He still hadn’t made good on his promise to introduce her to his mother. In fact, he hadn’t come to check on her at all. He’d said that he would join her after all the guests had arrived, but it seemed like every chair in the banquet hall was filled, and Onegus was still a no-show.
“Jackson and I need to give it a try,” Tessa said. “But I’m scared. What if I don’t like the adventure?”
“The technician is there to monitor you,” Sylvia said. “If you get distressed, they will wake you up.”
As the group continued discussing the wonders of virtual adventures, Cassandra listened with only half an ear. Not that the subject was boring, but observing her young companions was more interesting.
They were all about the same age as the snowflakes in her creative department, but they were completely different kinds of people. They all seemed to have busy careers, and Jackson, who looked no older than twenty, ran his own successful business.
The kid worked even harder than she did, and yet he couldn’t be happier. He was excited to see his business grow and had no problem with the long hours he had to put into it. Naturally, his girlfriend wasn’t happy about him working all of the time, but she accepted it as a temporary situation only until Jackson’s business got big enough for him to delegate more of the work to others.
Cassandra had a feeling that Tessa would be waiting a long time. The guy’s ambition would drive him to open yet another business and then another. At some point, though, he might get tired of the race and slow down.
The thing was, none of them complained about having to work too hard or about slights and offenses in the workplace, and for the first time in a very long time, Cassandra felt comfortable to speak her mind without having to double-check every word.
In fact, she felt like she was among longtime friends.
“Why aren’t Vlad and Wendy sitting with us?” Tessa asked.
Jackson leaned back to scan the other tables, his chair perching precariously on its rear legs. “I see them sitting with Stella and Richard, Wendy’s mom, Bowen, Leon, and the new girl. I don’t know her name. Stella’s mom is with them as well, as are Bowen and Leon’s mothers. They have a full table.” He leaned back.
Mothers? Cassandra glanced in the direction Jackson had looked, but she could see no one older than thirty-something. They either had an in-house plastic surgeon, or she’d stumbled into a nest of vampires.
She looked at her nearly empty glass. Perhaps she’d had too much to drink already, and her vision was blurry.
“Why isn’t your mother sitting with us?” Tessa asked.
Jackson shrugged. “She decided to sit with Kalugal’s men to keep them company so they wouldn’t feel out of place. You know how she is. My mother always finds someone in need of help.”
Cassandra emptied what was left of her glass. If mothers were supposed to sit with their children, then why wasn’t Onegus’s mother sitting at their table?
It wasn’t that she particularly wanted her there, but she had to wonder why Onegus had chosen to seat her elsewhere.
Who had he thought to protect?
Her or his mother?
50
Margaret
Bowen’s mother, a lovely woman named Elise who looked unnervingly young, held on to Margaret’s hand as if she was afraid to lose her. “I’m giddy with joy that my Bowen found a mate.” Using different words, she’d said the same thing at least ten times.
Margaret wondered if Elise would have been as happy if she knew about her past—a drug addict who had abandoned her baby daughter and hadn’t gone back to look for her.
Wendy had forgiven her, but Margaret still had a hard time forgiving herself.<
br />
If what they had said about Emmett was true, then it really hadn’t been her fault, but even that wasn’t enough to eradicate her guilt. She should have fought harder.
Wendy had called her a fighter, but she wasn’t. The best term Margaret could apply to herself was a survivor.
Leon’s mother, Rowan, was more reserved than Elise. She snuck glances at Ana, and the two chatted a little about how Leon and Ana had met, but Rowan wasn’t holding Ana’s hand or gushing how happy she was that Leon had found a mate.
It was ironic. Leon had snagged himself a young, beautiful heiress, who was well educated and had no skeletons in her closet, but his mother wasn’t overjoyed. Bowen was saddled with a former drug addict, abuse victim, and child abandoner, and his mother couldn’t be happier.
Fate had a twisted sense of humor.
“Where is Eleanor?” Ana asked Leon. “I want to say hi, but I don’t see her.”
“She volunteered to guard Emmett,” Bowen said.
Stella huffed out a breath. “I’m not surprised. Greggory is here, and he’s sitting next to Vanessa. Eleanor would not have liked seeing that.”
“Can you tell me more about Eleanor?” Leon’s mother said. “I was under the impression that Kian wasn’t at all happy to let her into the village, and now she’s assigned guard duties?”
Bowen answered Rowan. “Eleanor helped Leon and Peter get Anastasia out of Safe Haven, and she was also instrumental in unmasking Emmett Haderech, the cult’s leader. She’s proven herself as not only trustworthy but also capable. Kian authorized her inclusion in the Guardian training program.”
Stella snorted. “He must be desperate for new trainees to let her into the program. I don’t trust her.”
“Why?” Margaret asked. “I met Eleanor, and she might be rough around the edges, but she was nice to me, and Peter seemed to like her.”
“Peter likes everybody,” Elise said. “He has a good heart.”
Margaret smiled at Bowen. “No one has a better heart than your son.”
“I know.” Elise smiled. “He was such an unruly child that I still can’t believe what a good male he became.”
Bowen had been a troublemaker?
“Is that true?” She looked at his smiling eyes.
He nodded. “I’m afraid so.” He leaned, kissed her cheek, and then whispered in her ear, “If the Fates bless us with a child, I hope it will be a girl. I don’t want to put you through what my mother had to endure.”
Margaret was still reeling from the idea of having a child with Bowen when Elise said, “I heard that, and it’s nonsense. You were a sweet boy who had a couple of hellion teenage years. I wouldn’t have traded you for anyone. Margaret already has a wonderful daughter. I’m sure she wants a son.”
“Well, in that case, whatever the Fates decide is fine with me.” Bowen wrapped his arm around Margaret’s shoulders.
Desperate to change the subject, she blurted, “Emmett is right here in the keep, right? Can I see him?”
Next to her, Bowen tensed. “Not tonight, that’s for sure. Kian or Onegus have to approve it, and then you will need to wear earpieces that will nullify his compulsion.”
“I’ve met him,” Stella said. “He’s not as bad as I thought he would be. He’s polite, even charming.”
“Villains often are,” Ana said. “At least in movies. And being handsome doesn’t hurt either.”
Stella’s mother, who was a very different person from her daughter, arched a brow. “Why did you go to see the cult leader?”
Margaret wanted to know that too.
For some reason, Stella glanced at Vlad before answering her mother. “Kian wanted me to help with the interrogation.”
Vlad seemed relieved to hear her answer.
Was Stella hiding something?
“In what way?” Vlad’s grandmother asked.
Margaret stifled the need to shake her head. None of the immortals looked old enough to be the parents of adult children, and definitely not anyone’s grandparents, and yet some of them were ancient. Bowen included.
It was difficult to wrap her head around that.
“I speak Chinese, Stella said. “Both the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects, just not very well. I know enough to get by. But as far as I know, no other clan member does.”
“Morris speaks it,” Bowen said. “I don’t know how well, though.”
“He’s fluent,” Richard said. “He’s teaching Mey and Jin Chinese in preparation for their trip.”
Margaret shook her head. “Why did Kian need someone who spoke Chinese to interrogate Emmett?”
“There is still a lot you don’t know about him.” Bowen took her hand.
“Can you tell me?”
Bowen and Leon exchanged glances, and then Bowen shrugged. “You are a clan member now, so there is no reason to keep it from you. But now is not the time. Besides, I don’t have all the details either. Only those who were involved with the interrogation do.”
“I will fill you in,” Stella said. “Just not tonight. This is a time to celebrate and rejoice.”
51
Cassandra
Connor tapped Cassandra’s arm. “Onegus is heading this way, which means that the ceremony is about to start.”
She looked over her shoulder, hoping to see him walking toward her with an older woman that looked like him. Instead, he was holding a drink in each hand. The one with the lychees floating inside was probably for her, no doubt another attempt to get her drunk.
They were all drinking like fiends, but none of them seemed to be even tipsy, while she’d had to watch her step returning to the table. Then she’d had a martini, which had been delicious, and now her head was spinning.
She’d better not mention his mother and blurt out something that would sound bitchy. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was eager to meet the woman. In fact, Cassandra would gladly skip it.
Perhaps Onegus was planning to introduce them after the ceremony?
That actually made sense even to her alcohol-addled brain. He’d been too busy before, and now that everyone had arrived, the ceremony was about to start.
“Thank you.” She accepted the drink he handed her. “Are you free to finally join me?” There had been more bite to her words than she’d intended.
Watch the bitchy tone, Cassandra.
“Yes.” He pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. “Now that everyone is here, I have the place locked down, so my team and I can sit down and enjoy the ceremony.”
Lockdown sounded ominous; had Onegus locked the doors to the banquet hall?
“You shouldn’t have done that. It’s a fire hazard to lock the doors with so many people inside.”
“The doors are not locked. The lockdown refers to the entry to the building.”
Glancing at the closed doors, she noticed that all the servers were gone. “What’s going on?"
"It’s just a security measure,” Onegus said. “We had every member of the serving staff thoroughly searched for bugs and weapons, but you never know what our enemies might come up with. This is just one more precaution to safeguard the bride and groom and the head of our clan.”
“You mean Kian?”
Onegus cocked a brow. “Did you meet him?”
“Amanda took me to the family table and introduced me to her brother and sister-in-law.”
“That’s good.” Onegus’s expression and tone didn’t match his words.
Was he upset that someone else had introduced her to his boss?
As the music was silenced, everyone turned to look at the closed doors, and a moment later they were opened by two burly men in tuxes.
A hush fell over the room.
It was as if they were all holding their breath, and Cassandra wondered whether it was in anticipation of the bride and groom. Perhaps their tradition didn’t include the wedding song.
A small woman in a long white dress walked through the open doors, or rather floated because she moved with such fluidit
y that it didn’t look like walking at all.
Was that the bride?
The dress looked more like a priestess’s robe than a wedding gown, and the woman didn’t wear a veil over her mane of flaming red hair, or hold flowers in her hands, and she glowed.
Cassandra wanted to rub her eyes to make sure that she wasn’t hallucinating, but that would have ruined her makeup, so she just peeled them as wide open as she could and gaped.
It must be a trick of the light. Someone was shining a soft spotlight on the woman, or rather girl because she couldn’t be more than eighteen, and the shiny fabric of her robe-like dress must be reflecting it, making it look as if her skin was glowing.
She wanted to ask Onegus who the beautiful angel was, but it was so quiet in the room that a needle dropping would have been heard. Cassandra barely dared to breathe, let alone whisper.
The woman floated up the three-rung platform at the back of the room, turned to face the guests, and lifted her arms. “It is with boundless love and joy that we gather here to celebrate my daughter and David’s joining.”
Cassandra closed her eyes and let that angelic voice wash over her.
Someone must have slipped her a roofie because she was hallucinating for sure. Angels weren’t real, and the girl on the dais couldn’t be anyone’s mother.
But what if she was a priestess? Priests called everyone son or daughter, right?
Yeah, that made more sense than someone slipping her a roofie. Her boyfriend was the head of security. No one would dare to do that to his date.
The priestess just happened to be the most beautiful female Cassandra had ever seen, and she also happened to possess an angelic voice.
After all, the woman had no wings, and despite the glow, there was no halo floating above her head.
“Let us welcome Sari and David with the musical composition they chose for this joyous moment.”
As the soft instrumental music started playing, the doors opened once more, and the groomsmen entered. She recognized Kian and the guy who had been sitting next to him at the family table. The other four were also inhumanly handsome, but next to those two, they looked almost ordinary.
