I narrowed my eyes at him, doing my best impression of a deadly threat. “Don’t mess around, Varga. Remember, I can always spike your drink.”
That was enough to wipe the smirk off his face. For Christmas Kailani had given me a set of the niftiest little potions, neatly wrapped in tiny bubbles—and designed to mess with my brother whenever he tried or even succeeded to pull a prank on me. Kailani knew Varga and me well enough to understand that I needed a bit of an edge in our sibling “war.” All innocent fun, of course! And mostly potions that messed with his sentry senses, gave him annoying itches, or made him spit out frogs. Nothing too gnarly. Maybe a little gooey, at most.
And Varga had already been on the receiving end of two such bubbles since Christmas. I doubted he was ready for a third one so soon.
“Okay, okay, enough with the threats for now! Wait until the night after tomorrow!” Serena chimed in, struggling not to laugh as she ushered us all toward the staircase leading to a lower level. “Dinner is about to be served!”
That was something I’d been looking forward to. As a vampire-sentry, my dietary options were restricted to blood. Any other fluid I had, like coffee or tea, was simply to enjoy the taste, now and then. So, when it came to the blood, I’d grown accustomed to the flavored types. Sure, the blood was different from one planet to another, since it was sourced from local animals. However, since Neraka, I’d developed a taste for blood with spices added into it. There was one in particular that I was most fond of, as it contained a combination of saffron and other slightly peppered herbs that gave the blood an absolutely phenomenal taste.
And I knew Serena would make sure to stock up on a few batches, just for me.
Nevis took my hand as we walked behind Draven and Serena. Varga, Dmitri, and Douma were right behind us. We made our way down the white marble stairs and through the main hallway. At the very end, a sumptuous dinner hall opened up, with sturdy but beautifully sculpted columns connecting the floor to the picturesque ceiling.
Fires burned bright orange in the elegant, wall-mounted torches. Cream satin curtains adorned the giant windows overlooking the northern gardens of Luceria below. They matched the chairs and the table napkins. I had to give Serena credit: the girl knew how to throw a proper dinner party. The table, long and rectangular, was covered with gold-plated silverware, fine porcelains, and crystal glasses, along with a plethora of local flowers. An explosion of whites, pale pinks, and lilacs.
Not all the guests had made it tonight, with most of them due to meet us in The Shade for the wedding, instead. With GASP permanently expanding, it had become quite a challenge to squeeze in a day or two for celebrations like this. Nevertheless, it was always a pleasure for me to be here, on Calliope. It was definitely one of my favorite spots in the universe.
Harper and Caspian were already here, seated at the head of the table. Joining them were Hazel and Tejus, Viola and Phoenix, Rose and Caleb, Ben and River, Derek and Sofia, Abby and Erik, and their daughter, Amelia, on one side. On the other, Grandma Claudia and Grandpa Yuri, Cameron and Liana, with their son, Cedric, Lucas and Marion, Xavier and Vivienne, and Victoria and Bastien.
We smiled and said hello to everyone, then took our own seats. Nevis and I were next to Hazel and Tejus. Varga joined us, carefully checking the table from end to end.
“Where are Jovi and Anjani?” he asked.
“Oh, they won’t make it tonight. Richard came down with a little fever, and there’s no way in hell those two will come out, now,” Serena replied.
“I hope the kid’s okay,” Varga muttered, his brow furrowed.
“He’s totally fine,” Bastien replied. “Little Richie is teething.”
“Oh, good, another Blackhall to bite me,” Varga complained. “And no Jovi for me to torment tonight. Ugh… Not my night.”
I chuckled, and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s okay, you might get lucky with Bijarki.”
“Ha-ha,” Varga retorted, twisting his face like a petulant little brat.
Even so, he was the light of my eyes. My beacon. My big brother. Despite our taunts, I knew I could always rely on him for anything.
The double doors opened again, making everyone turn their heads. Aida and Field came in, with Voss firmly wrapped around his father’s torso. Behind them, Vita and Bijarki carefully guided Chantal in—the most beautiful little thing in a frilly, pale green dress, as she stepped into the room.
“Look at her. Barely a year old and already close to running circles around us,” Dmitri murmured, unable to take his eyes off the incubus-fae baby girl.
“She takes after her mom, I’ll bet,” Amelia replied.
Vita giggled. “Thank you, Amelia. Glad to see someone recognizes the awesomeness on this side of the family.”
“It’s hard not to,” Bijarki said to her. “I’m the luckiest bastard in the In-Between.”
Amelia laughed. “I’m pretty sure every Eritopian at this table is saying that.”
I had to admit, I liked Amelia a lot. She was usually shy and quiet, but the spiced rose water was tearing away at her inhibitions. I had a feeling that there was quite a fighter somewhere beneath that adorably nerdy façade of hers. Then again, if she kept coming to these dinners, one of us was bound to rub off on her.
We all got comfortable on the other side of the table and settled into drinks and dinner, while Amelia brought us up to speed with some of the technological developments in The Shade. The serium imports were a real gamechanger, it seemed.
“The entire island is now on blue energy,” Amelia said. “Blue, solar, and wind, actually. We’ve got backup in case the serium dries out.”
“But it shouldn’t, right? That’s the beauty of serium,” Dmitri replied. “Once harvested, as long as there’s the occasional lightning to feed into it, it’ll go on forever. Right?”
“Well, not forever. But close to it, yes. Serium is a phenomenal conduit and energy storage solution,” Amelia explained. “If there are no storms for, say, an entire year, then the serium crystals will dim down a little. We might not even notice it.”
“Besides, the jinn could always make it rain, if needed,” Sofia replied.
I was pretty ecstatic about the presence of serium in The Shade. It helped with our need to nurture and protect the planet. Ever since we’d discovered the Hermessi, we’d become even more respectful and careful of our own Mother Earth, our own Hermessi.
As expected, Serena had made sure that we were all treated to the best that Calliope had to offer—from spiced blood for vampires, to a selection of grilled meats and veggies for the others. Draven, of course, had his meal later, since he still disliked eating his raw meat in public. Personally, I didn’t see the need for all the fuss, but, then again, Draven’s relationship with his inner snake had always been difficult.
However, he did take an occasional morsel from Serena’s plate. He wasn’t exactly partial to cooked food, in general, but he loved teasing her—ever since her pregnancy, Serena had become hilariously protective of her food.
“You’re depriving our child of precious nutrients,” she jokingly said to Draven as he snatched a grilled plum.
“Oh, come on!” Phoenix groaned, rolling his eyes. “Let the guy eat. You need the father healthy and sated, too, don’t you?”
Serena shifted her focus to her brother, who suddenly looked like a deer in headlights. “Wait till Viola gets pregnant. Can’t wait to see you then.”
We all laughed, mostly because of the speed with which Phoenix’s cheeks turned bright pink. Viola kissed his cheek and whispered something in his ear. It accentuated the blush, which, in turn, made us laugh even harder.
“Where is Lumi?” Nevis asked. “Kailani? Hunter? Shouldn’t they be here, too?”
Serena nodded once, but gave herself an extra couple of seconds to finish chewing and swallowing before she spoke. “They were, but Lumi’s got a ceremony with her apprentices tonight,” she said. “It’s something she didn’t get to do with Kale because of the whole Strava mess, and it’s really important with these ladies. Kale didn’t really need this specific part of the induction to the Word because of her witch nature, but the five apprentices that Lumi has now definitely need it. The whole ritual, that is.”
