“We might have come second, but don’t think that means we’ll let you three do as you please,” Kian warned, a smile forming. It would have made others think the threat was halfhearted, but those others would not have been Andinna. Every Andinna knew a male would kill for his children as there were never many of them, never enough of them. “You’ll continue to treat her right, or she can come to our household, where you will be denied entry until everything is sorted. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Kian,” Luykas said, smirking. “It’s clear. Go coddle your daughter. She doesn’t need you to threaten us. She keeps us well in hand.”
Kian’s biting smile turned into a beaming grin. “I know, but I couldn’t resist. Zayden understands.”
At the mention of his name, Zayden turned from a conversation he was having with Rain and grinned.
“Now, I won’t be the only asshole father in the Company.”
Mat shoved him and got a growl in return. After more laughter, the new fathers left to find their wife and daughter.
“Lunch is already made at home,” Zayden said. “You three can dive in while I walk back.”
“Thanks.” Mat thumped his shoulder and took off, knowing Bryn and Luykas were right behind him. They landed together outside their home and raced to get inside first, wondering what Zayden made for lunch.
“Oh, he made deer leg!” Bryn exclaimed. “Perfect. I was hopin’ for somethin’ good today.”
“Same,” Luykas agreed. “How long do you think it’ll take him to get back?”
“We’re not going to eat all of it and leave him with nothing,” Mat snapped, giving Luykas a look. The mutt grinned and shrugged.
“Fine.”
“Speakin’ of Zayden…” Bryn started cutting into the leg, frowning. “Have y’all noticed that he is goin’ a bit…uncomfortable with Mave?”
“Uncomfortable or something else?” Mat asked, eyeing the rogue. “What have you seen that we haven’t?”
“I think he’s attracted to her,” Bryn explained. “You’re the one who helped cover her tits in the hot spring. I thought you noticed.”
“What do you mean? When I lowered her into the water more? I did that so her chest didn’t get cold.”
“Ah…” Bryn grabbed a plate from a stack Zayden must have left out for everyone. “He was checkin’ her out. He was red-faced. I think he’s into her.”
“Really?” Luykas’ interest sharpened. Mat looked over at the mutt, who seemed almost worried. “That makes things…more complicated.” That second part was mumbled, and Mat realized Luykas didn’t see him watching.
“It makes what more complicated? Our living situation? I don’t think so.” Mat shrugged. “If he’s attracted to her, then he’s attracted to her. A lot of the males in the war group are but are too intimidated to say anything, which only proves they’re not the right males for her. I like Zayden, and I would love to see him in the same family as me, but I don’t know if Mave and he think of each other like that.”
“No…” Luykas stepped back, sighing. “Forget I said anything. Sorry.”
Mat narrowed his eyes on the mutt. Luykas was one of Mave’s husbands, and he respected that. He knew Luykas would keep secrets, things he knew that none of them could. Mat knew he didn’t like it, but he would live with it.
“Does it hurt Mave?” Mat asked softly. “Whatever you’re keeping to yourself?”
“No,” Luykas answered, shaking his head. “It doesn’t. It’s just complicated. It will be complicated for everyone once it comes out, but it’s not life-threatening. Just a secret.”
“So, we just wait and see?”
“You’ll know what I’m talking about when it happens,” Luykas promised, looking annoyed. “It’s…” He gave an exasperated sigh. “But on the topic of Zayden and Mave, have either of you considered they actually spend a lot of time together when we’re not around? Mave sticks closer to home than us, and Zayden is a homebody and currently grounded. They also train every morning in private. If something is brewing there, I say we let it. They’ll figure it out, or they won’t.”
“I like that idea,” Mat agreed, but not really believing his own words.
If Zayden liked my wife, he would tell me, right? We’ve been friends for a long time. Certainly, he would have said something.
Something about it bugged Matesh, but when Zayden walked in later and eyed the piece of leg left for him, Mat decided to keep his mouth shut. Bryn eyed him, then gave a pointed look to the distracted Zayden.
Mat still said nothing, shaking his head a little.
Not yet. There was enough going on, and maybe Luykas was right. Maybe they needed to stay out of the way this time.
18
Mave
Mave somehow made it through the afternoon of meetings and found herself back at Senri’s home, curled up on a cushion in the main room.
“So, we haven’t mentioned it yet, but while you and Kian were gone, we set up one of our spare rooms here to be yours,” Senri explained, sitting across from her. “There are no furs in it, but we were able to make a proper bed in there for you. You can thank Gentrin and Willem for that.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Mave said, smiling as Willem gave her a tea. “I’m just glad that you’re really my…my mother now.” It felt so right. Senri had taught her so many things about how to be a female Andinna and how to live in a community. However, it was still hard for Mave to say. There was a newness to it that made it feel awkward on her tongue. She wasn’t used to people wanting her like this and acknowledging it. Brothers and lovers were one thing.
They had wanted to be her parents.
Mave didn’t know how to be someone’s child.
“If you argue with your males or just need a night away from them, you can come here. If you go into your fertile cycle, we can hide you here until we can take you out of the village into a better hiding place. Kian, Willem, and Gentrin are safe. I want this to feel like a safe harbor, a home where no one can touch you,” Senri continued to explain, pulling Willem down to sit next to her. He sighed heavily as he relaxed, something Mave never saw whenever she was in Senri’s home. He was always on his feet, taking care of the house and keeping everyone else comfortable. “So, as all children should, you have a room in our house. It’s yours, no matter what you think. We’re also going to begin denying entry to your males on principle. If they want to see you, they can see you in your household, where I know you’ll be in charge. Here, I am in charge, and my goal is to make this a place where you can be someone different from the female they need. You can be vulnerable. You can cry. You can just relax and let someone else dote on you without other expectations.”
“Which I had already started doing,” Mave said, half to herself. Senri wasn’t giving her anything new. She had run to Senri when her heart was bruised. She knew she would comfort her, make arrangements, and help Mave with anything that was too much for her.
“Yes,” Senri agreed wisely, smiling over her cup with a twinkle in her eye. “Mave, we probably didn’t need the ritual today. I’ve considered you my daughter for most of our friendship, maybe since the moment I met you. I’m always honored when you come to me for things a daughter would go to her mother for.”
“I know,” Mave whispered, swallowing the lump of emotion in her throat again. “What else is there? We’ve done it, and now what? Do we have dinner? Celebrate? I don’t know…”
“Well, we’ve prepared gifts,” Willem said, looking around. “Kian and Gentrin should be back by now…”
“Gifts?” Mave practically squeaked.
“We’ve missed a lot of important moments in your life,” he said, a small smile forming. “We want to catch up. Turning one hundred and entering adulthood is a big moment in an Andinna’s life. So is settling with your first husband and starting your own household. We want to do some of that for you.” Somewhere a door opened and closed, and heavy footsteps drew closer.
“None of my males have�
�mentioned any of that.”
“Ah, this is something males trying to get their cocks wet wouldn’t think about!” Gentrin said loudly as he entered the room, several wooden boxes piled on his arms. “You have good husbands, and we like them, but they don’t look at the world the way a father does, they don’t see you like that. They don’t consider the small things you’ve missed, not having parents. There’s nothing wrong with them missing it because it’s not their place to fix those things.”
“They probably don’t see anything wrong,” Senri said, smiling as well. “But we’ve been parents, and we wanted to be yours, so we’re going to fix some things.”
“Oh…” Mave had spent most of the day feeling overwhelmed, and it just wasn’t ending. Every time any of them opened their mouths, it was more and more. “Fix things like what?”
“First, more clothing,” Senri said plainly. “Gentrin?”
“I have the other things,” he said, shuffling to the side. He dared to wink at her. “Been wanting to treat a daughter for a long time, so when Senri asked if we were comfortable with her adopting you, we dove right in.”
“I have the rest,” Kian called out, stumbling in with boxes as well. “Senri, love, I know we wanted to do this right, but I think you three went overboard while I was away.”
“If we had done even one fewer box, you would have thought we didn’t do enough,” Senri answered with an indulgent smile. When she looked at Mave, she laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s really not so much.”
“It looks like a lot,” Mave mumbled, eyeing the boxes Kian placed in the middle of the room.
“It’s not a lot. It’s not a thousand years’ worth of gifts you should have gotten, but it’s what we can do considering the circumstances,” he said, grunting as he picked one back up and fell on to a cushion next to her. He held it out, giving her a look that made her realize he wanted her to take it now. She slowly grabbed it and pulled it into her lap. “Open it.”
Taking a deep breath, she opened it. It wasn’t all that big, so she knew it couldn’t be anything huge or cumbersome.
It was a new flute. Mave swallowed and looked up.
“The one I gave you is old and would need replacing soon,” Senri explained.
“And I heard tales from the females about how you played music for them in Kerit and sent word ahead,” Kian finished, leaning to her shoulder. “We thought a new one, for special occasions, might be something you like.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, picking it up. Delicately carved out of a light wood, it had little designs in it and was treated in a dark stain.
“There’s also a drum set here for you to learn on,” Senri continued. “One of these boxes has the sticks you’ll need to play, or you can learn with your hands.”
Mave nodded, gently putting the flute back in the box so it didn’t get broken.
The next several boxes were wraps and breeches. Somehow, they had figured out her size and had several things done for her. Her wardrobe would no longer be in dark browns and blacks. She had a color for every season, and her face turned red as she stumbled on an Andinna dress.
“I’m not s+upposed to wear this outside, am I?” she asked, pulling it up.
“Yes, you are, but I think if you wore it at home, your husbands would be much more appreciative.” Senri’s grin was wicked.
“This isn’t something a mother gets her daughter,” Mave accused.
“Yes, it is, but you grew up in Elliar with prudes who did everything behind closed doors. I’ll forgive you the assumption. I won’t ask you to try it on right now, but if there’s anything formal with nobility, that’s the type of dress you would wear.”
Mave sputtered and folded the dress back up and closed the box. “Thank you. I’ll consider it. I have armor.”
“Yeah, Alchan beat us on the gift giving and got Mave her own set of armor. Three sets, actually. For the King’s Champion. Black dragon on black.” Kian sounded annoyed, but when she looked at him, he smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair.
“I saw,” Senri said, sighing. “What else? Gentrin, I know you did some things…”
“Damn right,” the blacksmith said with a grin. He picked up a long, wrapped bundle. “Weapons. A new morok and two new daggers. Because we’re warriors in this household.”
“Except Willem,” Kian teased.
“I have gifts for her, too,” the other male growled. “Get done with yours.”
Mave took the bundle and opened it, gasping at the new, shining steel. The hilts were well-crafted black leather, and in the pommels of all three, a detailed design of a dragon with black onyx eyes.
“We’ll find someone who can send most of this to your home,” Gentrin promised, lifting the weapons away. “There you go, Willem. Your turn.”
“You already have a household, so I made you things you can say came from home,” he said softly, lifting one of the last boxes. “It’s customary when a female moves out of her mother’s residence, her fathers give her everything she needs to begin her own household. Back in Olost, it was a community effort to make sure you had everything you needed, but I always thought that seemed so impersonal. You had no idea where anything came from. So, this is from your fathers to help you with your household and give your husbands something to work with.”
She opened to find a carving knife set—knives for breads, knives for meat, knives for butter, knives for the table.
“I made those too. A blade is a blade, no matter its purpose.” Gentrin sounded so immensely proud of himself.
Mave smiled brightly as Kian’s arm wound around her shoulders, and their wings bumped.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to do this for someone,” he whispered, picking up one of the knives. “And we couldn’t think of a better person to do this for.”
“I’ve never…” Mave couldn’t find the right words. “This is too much. I didn’t need all of this.”
Kian grabbed her horn and yanked it playfully.
“Get over it,” he said, before releasing it. Senri laughed from her spot, covering her mouth as she continued to giggle when Mave looked in her direction. Gentrin finally sat down on Mave’s other side.
“Do you like it?” he asked, seeming more nervous than he had a moment ago.
“I love it, but it’s just a lot. I’m still not used to…” She waved her hands around at everything. “I’m very overwhelmed.”
“It’s not about the gifts. Those are more for us,” Senri admitted. “I just wanted you to understand we’re here for you. We can help you with things. We want to. I selfishly want to be someone you rely on.”
“I already do,” Mave promised. “I rely on you for a lot.”
“I know,” Senri whispered, her eyes going tear bright again. “And I’m so—”
There was a loud knocking at the door. Mave tried to stand, but Kian held her down as Willem jumped up and ran to the door.
“We asked for the evening off,” Willem growled in a more ferocious way than Mave had ever heard from him before.
There was a quiet but insistent person outside, and Mave couldn’t make out what was being said. Willem walked back into the main room, looking worried and disappointed.
“The watch group you stationed south of us have a report,” he said quietly to Senri. He glanced Mave’s way as well before looking back at his wife. “It’s not good news.”
“Looks like we are working tonight,” Senri said, sighing. “Mave, I really wanted to spend one night just here with you, but…”
Mave didn’t say anything, standing up without waiting to hear more.
“It’s fine,” she said, shrugging. “We’re at war.” And I need a break.
“Here,” Gentrin said, reaching around through the boxes of things around them. He pulled out Mave’s new sword belt and held it out. She slid it on and noticed the two slots for the daggers as well. He held out each weapon next, but she didn’t grab them in time. Kian took them and put them away for her, noddin
g at the good work.
“Please stop,” she whispered. “I can get myself ready.”
Senri laughed as she walked out, her belt and sword ready to go. Mave eyed Kian for a moment.
“Too much?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
“We’ll tone it down,” he promised. “We’re excited.”
“I can tell, but I don’t have my own males dress me every day. I certainly don’t need you three,” she said, smiling with no small amount of annoyance. Kian started to chuckle.
“Let me get my belt, and I’ll follow you both out. Gentrin?”
“I’m going to stay. Tomorrow a bunch of new orders will come in, and I’m not going to stress myself about it tonight. Go find out what the bad news is.”
Mave walked out, following Senri to her landing, and jumped off behind her, hearing Kian follow behind as well. Together, they landed at the war room, and Mave saw her males, relieved.
She grabbed Mat and pulled him to her side, sighing. “Save me,” she muttered.
“I could have warned you that this would be more than you expected, but it’s fun to see you like this right now,” he whispered with a smirk. “How are they?”
“Showering me in gifts,” she growled softly. “Will it always be like this?”
“No, they’ll slow down. You’ll settle into a new normal with them.”
“Willem and Gentrin surprised me the most. I don’t talk to them like I talk to Senri or Kian.”
“You’re Senri’s daughter. Therefore, you’re their daughter. Welcome to Andinna families, Mave.” He chuckled before sobering. “Bryn is out with scouts for training, but I’m positive he’s on his way. Zayden decided to stay in and get relayed the information. I told Dave to stay home as well.”
“Luykas?”
“He’s probably already here,” Mat reminded her.
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