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Another early chapter! This one was so much fun to write. I hope you like it!

Masterlist

Chapter Four

Rean

“How is she doing?” my brother asks me as I enter his room. I plop down on the end of his unmade bed.

“Better. I think she’s more comfortable here now, and she’s enjoying all the reading.” I run my hand through my hair, trying to tidy the seemingly untameable mess. Corin rocks the bedhead look, but I like to put at least a little effort in looking clean.

Corin sits up and looks at me, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Did you just go on a flight?”

I sigh. “I needed some time to clear my mind. I feel like I’m doing this all wrong.”

“But you said she was doing better.”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe she’s just ignoring her feelings, burying them in books. Is that what’s supposed to happen? What do you even do for someone who just lost both their parents?” Corin moves so he’s sitting next to me. I lean my head on his shoulder. “What can I do?”

“You should get her interacting with more people–people who understand what she’s going through. Mom and Dad could help, I know.”

“I’m taking her to the city to visit her friend today. Should we all have supper together tonight?”

“By ‘we all’ you mean…”

“You and me, Mom and Dad. Maybe Christine and Hana, too? Then we might as well invite Cass and Nes. That’s everyone that’s here in Velaris. And we could invite Mila’s friend… I think her name is Luna?”

“Talk to Mila about it. I think it would be good for her. When are you going to the city?”

I glance at the clock on his night stand. “Now,” I say, getting up. “Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime, brother. See you at supper!”

I close Corin’s bedroom door behind me and make my way toward Milena’s room, not too far down the hall.

“Rean!” I turn at my father’s voice, and wait for him to catch up to me. “Where are you off to?”

“I’m taking Milena to see her friend… what are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to be in my own house?” he laughs.

“No, it’s just you’re usually–”

“I’m teasing. I came to talk to your brother. I’ll be back at the townhouse in an hour and be out of your way, don’t worry.” He bumps his elbow on my arm. “I’ll do my best not to embarrass you in front of your mate.”

I roll my eyes. “Actually, I was planning on us all having supper together tonight. I just have to make sure with Milena, who hasn’t even accepted the bond yet, Dad.” He laughs and puts his hands up in a fake surrender.

“Supper sounds nice. It’ll be good to finally meet her. I can judge if she’s truly worthy of my precious little boy,” he says, ruffling my hair. We’re in front of Mila’s door now.

“Dad!”

“I’m going!” He laughs all the way back to Corin’s room.

Sighing, I knock on Mila’s door and ease it open. She is sitting in the armchair we had brought up, reading a book, as usual. Her slippered feet are tucked under her, and she wears an oversized sweater and leggings. Even from the door, I can tell that her hair hasn’t been washed in days. She tells me that she is feeling better, but it sure doesn’t look like it.

She looks up from her book and smiles, and my heart skips a beat.

“Are you ready to go?”

Her smile falters a little, but she stands up and puts away her book. I use my magic to summon jackets for both of us, and hand one to her. It’s warm here in the House of Wind, but it’s still Winter in the rest of the Court.

She takes my arm, as always she does when we go somewhere. It’s almost as if she’s afraid of letting me out of her sight.

“I’m excited to see Luna,” she sighs. “But I’m also nervous. Should I feel nervous?” Her green eyes stare straight ahead, wide and a little unfocused. I tell myself she’s just tired.

“It’s okay to feel nervous,” I assure her. “There’s a lot for you two to talk about.”

“I’m going to tell her we’re mates. I’m excited for that.” It’s impossible for me to hold back my smile. We’ve only each other known for less than a week, and already I can’t imagine a life without Mila–without my mate.

“I was thinking,” I start, “how would you feel about having supper with some of my family tonight?” Her hand tightens slightly on my arm. “It’ll be casual, and I promise we can leave whenever you want.”

She takes a deep breath. “Alright.”

“Yeah?”

“Who will be there?”

We’re on the balcony now, and summon my wings and lift Mila into my arms. I wait until we’ve leveled out in the sky and the wind has died down to answer her. “My brother and parents, my aunt and uncle–Nesta and Cassian–and two of my cousins.” She nods. “We can invite Luna, if you want.”

Her face instantly lights up.“Yes, I’ll ask her! She’ll be so excited.”

The wind rips through her hair, leaving strands of gold across her face, which is turning red in the cold. Seeing her mussed like this–the way I so often am–makes her even more beautiful, though I didn’t think it was possible. She shakes her head to get her hair out of her face.

“So, where exactly does Luna live?” I ask. “Am I even going in the right direction?”

“She lives right by the library. I’m not exactly sure how to navigate through the sky.”

“I know where to go.” I veer left, and within five minutes, we’re there. I set Mila down on the ground, and she heads in the direction of one of the apartment buildings that line the street.

Despite her jacket, Mila shivers a little as we walk. I take her hand when we reach the entrance of the building. “I’m going to go take care of some things in town, so when you want me to come back, just give a little shout down the bond.”

“You can come too, if you want. You don’t have to leave.”

My heart breaks a little at my mate’s generous heart. “I want to give you some time with your friend, but let me know when I should come back. I’d love to meet her.” I kiss her cheek and take back to the skies before she can try to change my mind. Only after I’m well into the clouds to I realize–I just kissed her again. It felt like such a natural thing to do, I didn’t even think about it.

I hope she isn’t upset.

___________

Milena

I still feel the ghost of his lips on my cheek as I climb the stairs to Luna’s apartment. I don’t think he even meant to do it, but I’m glad he did.

Before I know it, I’m standing in front of Luna’s door. Taking a deep breath and mustering up my remaining strength, I knock.

She doesn’t answer right away, and I wonder if she’s even here. What was her schedule? Did she have a class today? Maybe she crashed another lecture?

I knock again, and just before I’m about to give up and call Rean to come get me, the door opens.

At the sight of my friend–her familiar dark hair, her smile, the scent of chocolate, whatever emotions I’ve been holding back for the last four days suddenly come breaking to the surface, and as much as I try to hold it together, I burst into sobs. Luna is instantly there, hugging me, pushing the hair back from my face, wiping my tears.

“Mila,” she murmurs. “I heard what happened. I’m so sorry.”

She steers me into the apartment and sits me down on her couch. The tears have all but stopped now, and I take a few deep breaths again to steady myself. Luna sits in the chair across from me on the other side of the coffee table, which is piled with open books. She must have been studying.

Luna’s dark eyes are a fiery furnace, and her hands are clenched at her sides. “I’ll kill whoever did this to you. I swear it–I’ll kill them.”

“I know.” I say automatically. Then I make sense of what she just said. “Wait, you think someone did this on purpose?”

“You don’t? Mila, what else could it have been? Your parents wouldn’t have let an accident like that just happen. They’ve put out small fires in the bakery before–they know what to do.”

“I guess I just hadn’t really thought about it. Why would someone want to hurt my parents?”

“You have to admit you don’t know much about their past. They never told you or anyone much about their lives in the Spring Court. They completely broke any old ties.”

I jump at a sudden realization, and Luna’s brows shoot up in confusion. “That’s not true! I remember, Mum used to write letters. I don’t know who they were addressed to, but I know they were going to Spring.”

“If we can find one of these letters,” Luna stands up and paces the room, “we can write to whoever this person in the Spring Court is and get some information.” She stops and looks at me. “Where can we find one?”

“There might still be one at the post office, if it hasn’t been sent yet. I can get Rean to check right now.”

Luna’s jaw drops. “Wait, say that again. Did you say ‘Rean’? As in Prince Rean?”

I wince, just a little bit. I planned on telling her in some big special way, but this will work too. “Prince Rean is my mate…”

“WHAT? Mila, why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I was going to, but then, you know…”

Realization flashes across her features, deep and burning. “I’m sorry, of course.” She sits next to me on the couch and puts a comforting arm around me. “Did you accept the bond?”

“We’re taking things slow. Or at least, we’re trying to.”

“But you can mind-speak with him? You said you were going to ask him to find the letter…”

“He’s daemati,” I think back to what he explained to me that first night. I know I heard him, but I wasn’t really listening. “He set up a sort of bridge between our minds–not as strong as an accepted bond, but enough that I can talk to him if I need to. I didn’t want to be alone.”

“He sounds very kind. You’re going to introduce us, right?”

“I was planning on calling him over here at some point during our visit. Do you want him to come now?”

“Yes! I need to make sure he’s worthy of my friend.”

I reach down the bond again. Luna wants to meet you.

I sense his amusement, then hear his voice in my head. I’m on my way.

“Don’t be too harsh on him,” I say, turning my attention back to Luna. “He’s a little awkward at first, but a charming kind of awkward–if that makes sense.”

“Oh,” she nods sarcastically, “perfect sense.” She stands back up and walks to the kitchen, which is technically in the same room, just along the back wall. “I’ll make us some tea.”

“Tea sounds lovely,” I sigh, leaning back on the cushions. It’s only been less than a week since I last saw her, but I’ve missed Luna. I’ve missed this apartment, cluttered as it is. I’ve missed the sense of familiarity. “Oh, Lu, can I borrow some clothes? Just until I can buy some more.”

“Yeah,” she calls from the sink, “take whatever you want. Even my favourites.”

“You’re a gem,” I call back, heading into her bedroom.

By the time I come back to the living room with a bag full of clothes, a soft knock sounds at the door. I rush to open it before Luna can.

“Rean,” she exclaims, “come on in, have a seat! Let’s chat over some tea.”

We spend the better part of the afternoon chatting around Luna’s coffee table. Rean survived Luna’s neverending list of questions, but I could feel that he was getting anxious at some points. Luna is a sweetheart, but she can also be intimidating, especially when it comes to looking after her friends. I could tell that she was happy with him, though. We also invited her for supper at the House of Wind, and she nearly burst with excitement. I could hardly make out a word she was saying.

Before we left, Luna pulled Rean aside and said something that I couldn’t hear. Rean’s face turned red, and he nodded and stumbled over his words. I’m glad to have a friend that loves me so much she would threaten a prince.

“That was actually very fun,” Rean comments as we fly back to the House of Wind. “It’s only fair that you meet my family now, though,” he teases. The wind tousles his dark hair, mussing it again, and I know it’s going to annoy him. I’ve learned by now that he likes to keep it neat, but usually to no avail. I reach up and run my fingers through the black curls, smoothing them back into place. His arms tighten around me slightly.

“I didn’t think I was ready to meet your family, but I’m excited now. Thank you for coming, by the way. I know Luna can be…”

“Scary?”

I hit his chest with my fist, and he chuckles. I feel it in my entire body. “I was going to say protective… caring.”

“And a little scary.”

I sigh and shift the bag of clothes in my arms. “Hey, I don’t have to dress up for supper, do I?”

“Nah,” he shakes his head. “We’re pretty laid back. You could wear a bathrobe, for all they would care.” I only nod.

When I get back to my room, I plop down on the middle of the bed, and let out a long sigh. Today has been a long day, but it’s not over yet. I know I’ll have both Rean and Luna there with me, but the thought of supper with so many people makes me a little anxious.

But it will be good, I know. This will potentially be my new family, so while I am anxious, I’m even more excited.