Helen and Claire shared a wide-eyed stare, which melted into
identical warm smiles. They had both been only children, both
growing up not being allowed to raise their voices indoors. Together,
they?d dreamed of having big families and full houses with a
thousand things happening at once, and now they saw in the other
the remembrance of that girlish wish. The yelling jangled the
nerves a bit, but there was no denying that it made the Delos house
feel like a home. ?Hec-Jace-Castor-Lucas!? Noel sputtered while
she stared at her son?s face and repeatedly forgot what she had
named him. ?Go drag your little sister down here. We have guests
tonight.?
Lucas did as his mother asked, returning with a very grouchy
Cassandra thrown over a shoulder.
?But I see them every day!? Cassandra whined as Lucas bent forward
and put her down on her own feet next to Helen.
?Mom said,? Lucas replied with an apologetic shrug. Apparently,
there was no arguing with that because Cassandra rolled her eyes
and sat down at the table without another word.
?Hi,? Cassandra said in a slightly miffed way to Helen. ?Do you
eat a lot of garlic??
?No. Why? Does my breath stink?? Helen replied uncertainly,
already working up a blush at the thought of having gassed Lucas
all day with dragon breath.
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?Not at all. Just trying to figure out why you?re impervious to
weapons,? she said. She held up a book she had clutched in her
hand and waved it at Noel?s uncaring back. ?I?m trying to solve a
problem here,? she said loudly, obviously intending for her mother
to hear, but Noel kept right on cooking.
?I?ve been looking stuff up, too,? Hector added, hands behind his