Lee sent his brother a shake of his head. “Now you have to do it, and she’s pissed. So good luck with that.”
Rhys had gone a bit pale. “Of course I would love to escort you, Mothe…Mom. It would be great.”
There was a part of me that wanted to walk away, but I was his mom and I didn’t get to put my ego over my relationship with him. I’d been gone for twelve years, and I needed to figure out how to reach the most reserved of my children.
Even if I was going to fix this thing. Even if it didn’t matter that there was distance between us because when I fixed it he would be a child and I would have another chance.
I forced a sunny smile on my face and walked back his way, threading my arm through his. “We should take a picnic lunch. My breakfast was interrupted by your awful uncle. It’s okay. I poured something over his head. It’s my new plan. I’ll make sure he leaves soon.”
Lee waved, a huge smile on his face. “Have fun storming the castle, you two.”
I could have sworn Rhys cried a little, but he marched on.
Chapter Eighteen
I sat by the fire Rhys had built and had to admit that if I wanted to have a picnic, I should have picked a country that wasn’t so near the arctic in the middle of winter. While Frelsi was magically lit and the sun shined down during daylight hours, out here in the real world the day was already dying and giving way to what felt like endless night.
“Are you all right?” Rhys got to one knee and started to dig through the backpack he’d brought along.
I wasn’t about to admit that I was incredibly cold and wanted to hike back into the city and find the nearest warm café and never leave it again. Instead I gave him a smile that I hoped didn’t freeze on my face. “Great. Though I have to admit, I was hoping this was the one.”
We’d been to four bridges on the outskirts of Reykjavík. Luckily Sasha kept a car with a friendly family in the city so we hadn’t been forced to walk all the way. While Rhys had driven around the city, I’d managed to get him to admit that he liked movies, especially action movies, and enjoyed pizza when he went out in the city.
That was about it. I’d done most of the talking, and I was coming to believe that my son thought I was some sort of pampered princess queen who’d never done a day of work in my life, much less fought monsters the way he had. It wasn’t that Rhys was acting superior. He’d been perfectly solicitous, but there was a distance between us that rankled.
What had Lee said? Rhys was worried I wouldn’t like who he was now.
And I didn’t like the fact that he was holding out on me. In more ways than one.
“Are you sure you want to keep going?” Rhys asked in a polite tone. He sat down on the rock across from me. “It’s cold today. We could head back into the city and get lunch there.”
Where I was certain he would find someone to join us so he didn’t have to be alone with his mom. Neil and Cassie had come with us as far as the portal. They were doing some shopping and then heading back into Frelsi, but we could probably still catch them, and that would mean Rhys didn’t have to sit and talk to me.
“Or you could take out that eternal flame in your backpack and make us comfortable.”
He frowned. “And how did you know I had that?”
“I looked through your pack, of course. I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed,” I replied primly. “You’ll also discover I slipped a couple of notes in there so you can find them later and know your mom loves you.”
His jaw went tight, and he managed to not let his lips curve up. “You are incorrigible.” He sighed and reached back into his pack. “And I remember you used to do that. I would open my backpack and there would be a note about how special I was and how I should never forget that you love me.”
It was good he remembered one of the things I did right. “I wanted to let you know I was with you. I know school was hard on you.”
He nodded as he pulled out the small, enchanted stone I’d recognized earlier. “Yes, and it was made so much easier when the kids around me found all the notes you wrote.”
I frowned as he dropped the stone into the fire. Someone—probably Lily—had enchanted the stone and it did its job, creating a warm bubble around us. I sighed in pure pleasure as our small encampment was suddenly comfortable. “I’m your mom. I do embarrassing stuff.”