The blood drained from my face. My brand was flaring. Crap. Crap. And triple crap.
“You got engaged?” she squealed.
“Oh. Uh.” Sweat beaded on my upper lip. I licked it off, as I snuck a glance at Ace, whose arms were folded and whose lips were curved in a sly smile. Shoot. I lowered my gaze to the ring. I suddenly wished Cass had noticed my brand instead.
“Oh my God, you did! You so did!” she all but shrieked. “And you didn’t tell me! Is it someone you met in Africa?”
Even though the glow of the tiki torches was low, I was pretty sure my face was the deepest shade of red ever. I combed my hand through my hair as I considered lying about it, passing the ring off as a present I’d bought myself in Africa.
“I got to hand it to you, son,” Dad said. “I wasn’t certain she’d say yes.”
I gulped. “What?”
“You didn’t think I’d ask for your hand in marriage without your father’s consent, did you?” Ace asked.
Oh.
Great.
Freaking.
Spirit.
Ace had talked to my father about this! Which was surely why he’d been grinning like an idiot earlier.
Sand, swallow me up. Lake, sweep me away.
Neither the sand nor the lake listened.
Cass’s gaze ripped off the ring and landed on Ace. “You”—I was pretty sure she was about to have an aneurism—“you asked her to marry you?”
Ace smiled. “I did.”
Both Lily and Kajika frowned, which told me they hadn’t been looped in.
Cass blinked at him and then she put her hands on her hips, and looked squarely at me. “I better be your maid of honor.”
I was starting to recover, but it was slow. Really slow. My hand no longer glowed. “Who else would I ask?” I finally said, which made Cass’s face split with a grin.
As she explained to Lily that we’d talked about each other’s weddings since we were little—which was not exactly true…whereas Cass had everything except the groom picked out, I’d never given it much thought—I asked Dad, “Are you mad?”
“Mad? I was a little surprised. Especially since I thought Ace was already engaged and about to be a father. But then he explained that Angelina’s baby wasn’t his, that he’d known since the beginning but had stayed with her out of duty, and well, when he told me he was in love with my little girl”—Dad took my hand and clasped it between both of his—“when he told me he’d never felt this way before, that you were his Nova”—his eyes misted over at the mention of Mom, as did mine—“I told him not to waste a minute, for you never know how many of those you’ll have.” He smiled. “But I have to admit, I didn’t think you would accept.” His eyes shone so bright, with tears but also with tenderness. “You’ll never cease to surprise me.”
“Your approval means the world to me, you know that, right?”
“I would hope so.”
Emotion ruffled my heart.
“So when is the mating ceremony?” Kajika’s question had me turning horror-stricken eyes on him.
“Mating ceremony? You mean, wedding?” Cass rolled her eyes. “Geez, what century are you from?”
I coughed while Lily laughed and Ace smirked.
“But yeah, when’s the wedding?” Cass asked.
Ace snuck his arm around my waist and tucked me against his side, where I stood rigid as an ironing board. “We haven’t decided yet.”
“Well, we should discuss it over dinner,” Cass proposed.
Kajika cleared his throat. “Lily suggests doing it before she leaves Rowan. She would like to be there.”
Ace’s arms stiffened around me.
“Or they could do it after your backpacking trip, Lily,” Dad suggested.
Was that what we were calling it? A backpacking trip.
“Backpacking trip?” Ace said. “You’re not going on any backpacking trip.”
Lily pressed her lips together.
“Ah. Finally. Someone reasonable,” Dad said. “To think your parents agreed to let her go off on her own.” He shook his head.
“Or…we could all go with Lily!” Cass said. “Except you, Derek. You’re too old.”
Dad gave her a lopsided grin. “Well thanks for that, Cass.”
She winked at him. “Seriously, I always dreamed of going backpacking. And it could be a neat bonding experience. Plus Kajika knows so much about nature and stuff, and Ace is very resourceful, not to mention responsible, and Cat’s almost a doctor, so that’ll come in handy if anything goes wrong. And as for me, I’m an awesome conversationalist.” She laughed, and it lifted some of the gloom from Ace’s face.
“I have to admit,” I said, “I agree with Cass. Either we all go. Or none of us go.”
Lily narrowed her gaze at me.
I linked my arm around Ace’s waist. “And I know exactly where we should go.”
“Really?” Cass asked.
“Yeah. It’s this place called Neverra. I read about it on a travel blog. Apparently it was rated one of the places to see before you die.”
Lily gasped softly while Kajika’s eyes gleamed.
Ace kissed my temple. “I’m on board with that trip.”
“Neverra, huh?” Dad said, returning to the grill. “Never heard of it. Is it a region?”
“Sort of. It’s not on any map, though,” I added, because Cass had already started scrolling on her phone.
“Like Atlantis?” she asked.
“Atlantis isn’t real, honey,” Dad said.
I smiled, and that smile loosened months-worth of tension. I looked up at Ace to find his eyes already on mine. He smiled back, and I swear the sand vanished from underneath my feet for a moment. The beach too. My father. My friends. Everyone and everything vanished.
But just for a moment.
A beautiful moment.
Want more of The Lost Clan series. Dive right into Lily and Kajika’s story:
RAGING RIVAL HEARTS
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Acknowledgments
There are so many people I’d like to thank for this book…for this series. First and foremost, you, my reader. You gave me the desire and drive to see Catori’s story through. Well, Cat’s and Ace’s, and their family and friends. Although I’m sad to leave Rowan and Neverra behind (for now…I’ll travel back there soon, and I’m taking you with me), I have many new projects planned. The latest is a werewolf trilogy, A PACK OF BLOOD & LIES.
To my extraordinary beta readers—Astrid Arditi, Theresea Barrett, & Katie Hayoz—you make each one of my stories better. You are all at once my pit crew, my wing women, and my muses.
To my editors, Jessica Nelson, I love working with you. You get the kinks out of my writing and smooth out my prose. Josiah Davis, thank you for cleaning up my manuscript. You made me realize I had the terrible habit of chaining clauses without using an “and.”
To my cover designer, Andreea Vraciu, you are so talented and so patient, always a pleasure to work with.
To my parents, thank you for the loving childhood you’ve given me.
To my children, I know Mommy’s attached to the hip with her laptop, but I do love you more than my computer. A lot more. “Megamuch more.”
To my husband, the most patient, charming, generous man, I love you to Neverra and back. In case you’re not aware of this, Neverra is very very far away.
Also by OLIVIA WILDENSTEIN
YOUNG ADULT URBAN FANTASY
The Lost Clan series
ROSE PETAL GRAVES
ROWAN WOOD LEGENDS
RISING SILVER MIST
RAGING RIVAL HEARTS
RECKLESS CRUEL HEIRS (coming 2019)
A Pack of Blood and Lies series
A PACK OF BLOOD AND LIES (summer 2018)
A PACK OF VOWS AND TEARS (winter 2018)
YOUNG ADULT STANDALONES
GHOSTBOY, CHAMELEON & THE DUKE OF GRAFFITI
&
nbsp; HARSHVILLE (available to read on SWOON READS)
THE LAST DAYS OF JUNE (coming 2019)
YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY
Masterful series
THE MASTERKEY
THE MASTERPIECERS
THE MASTERMINDS
THE MASTERPLAN (coming 2019)
About the Author
USA TODAY bestselling author Olivia Wildenstein grew up in New York City, the daughter of a French father with a great sense of humor, and a Swedish mother whom she speaks to at least three times a day. She chose Brown University to complete her undergraduate studies and earned a bachelor’s in comparative literature. After designing jewelry for a few years, Wildenstein traded in her tools for a laptop computer and a very comfortable chair. This line of work made more sense, considering her college degree.
When she’s not writing, she’s psychoanalyzing everyone she meets (Yes. Everyone), eavesdropping on conversations to gather material for her next book, baking up a storm (that she actually eats), going to the gym (because she eats), and attempting not to be late at her children’s school (like she is 4 out of 5 mornings, on good weeks).
Wildenstein lives with her husband and three children in Geneva, Switzerland, where she’s an active member of the writing community.
oliviawildenstein.com
[email protected]
Rising Silver Mist Page 38
