“Delinda! No!” I yell, not willing to sacrifice one daughter for another.
“It’s okay, Ma,” she says coming out of the room with Thia tucked in her arms, cooing like a little princess and waving her hands around minus the fire. “Dragon fire doesn’t hurt me.”
Ma?
“Still,” I shriek at her. “You don’t know what else is mixed in there with it.”
“Well, she seems happy now to me,” Delinda says with a shrug, jiggling her sister and blowing raspberries at her.
I purse my lips, but I can’t deny that Thia is now calm and baby-like again. I hoist myself to my feet, the men and Marguerite decide to stay in their cover spots for a bit longer, and reach for her, only to be fired upon again, the stream narrowly missing the top of my head.
“Jesus,” I cry as I drop to my knees again and peer up at her. “I guess it’s up to you then…for now,” I add mournfully. This rejection stings.
“She might just be missing her daddy,” Devon says, crawling over to me. “He’s been gone a while.”
“Too fucking long,” I agree, my sorrow overwhelming me as the tears well up.
“Oh, don’t cry!” Delinda wails, stepping closer. “I just got home.”
I lift my head up and it sobers me up. “Yes, which reminds me, you owe your father an apology, young lady!”
“Excuse me?” she asks, peering down at me with a far too imperious look for my liking.
“Your behavior seems to have left a lot to be desired,” I continue, kneeling at her feet like some sort of servant. How authoritative…not! “We treat each other with respect around here,” I continue with my hands on my hips.
“I–I respect, Papa,” she stammers under my baleful glare.
“Then do the right thing, Delinda,” I urge her.
She lowers her eyes and turns towards Remiel, the only one brave enough-or invulnerable enough-to be standing on his own two feet now. “Sorry, Papa,” she mumbles.
He clears his throat. “I am only looking out for you,” he says stiffly, clearly uncomfortable with this. “That man is not right for you.”
Man? I look quickly between the two of them. “There’s a man?” I shriek at a volume that I am sure only Lincoln in Wolf form can hear. It gets me on my feet, regardless of setting Thia off on a murderous rampage.
“Hardly,” Delinda scoffs. “To’Kah is a Dragon,” she adds with a dreamy look that makes me want to retch.
“Oh no!” I storm, stepping closer, but halt when Thia’s hands go up. I freeze. She freezes and everyone daren’t take a breath. “Over my dead body,” I seethe quietly at my eldest.
She looks at me again and cocks her hip in my direction. “Uncle D said you would react that way, because you don’t understand.”
“Oh, he did now, did he?” I clench my fists and grit my teeth to stop myself from blasting out a stream of Fae magick that would knock that smug look off her face. I blink as the abhorrent though crosses my mind and I take a calming step back with a deep breath, straight into CKs waiting arms.
“Everything okay here?” he asks, his hands on my stiff shoulders.
“Yes!” I say, spinning quickly and falling into his embrace. “Now it is.”
I know I need to deal with this Delinda thing, but right now, I need my husband’s strong arms wrapped around me.
He kisses me quickly and then looks up at Delinda, holding his daughter. He holds his arms out for her, but I push them down. “Be careful. She’s in a mood.”
But of course, Arathia-apple-of-his-eye can’t get into her father’s arms quick enough. She Astrals herself there, leaving me to grab Delinda by the arm before she can Astral herself off somewhere else.
“We need to talk about this,” I tell her, giving her my best evil eye.
“All I can do is try to explain it to you,” she says. “But you don’t have to worry. Uncle D says that he isn’t a suitor, so…” A non-committal shrug.
“So…?” I press.