by Erin R Flynn
“Vitor, this one has—” I turned to say, yelping when he was right there to eat off my spoon.
He reacted like I had slapped him when a small whimper came out. I looked away, glad I didn’t almost wet myself this time. I hadn’t since the time he’d accidently hit me when I’d tried to push Kristof out of the way, but I almost had several times when he startled me and was too close like right then.
“Thank you for thinking of me and my love of marshmallow,” he said quietly. “Only the kindest and most loving princess would remember something so small that her guard said.”
“You’re welcome,” I whispered, turning away and focusing on the next carton.
“I think all of this is more than enough,” Nora said, giving me a worried look, and I was sure she knew I was scared of him. “Serving it in these plastic cartons would be tacky, but while unconventional to serve for a wedding, times have changed and this is a delicious, now rare treat.”
“It is divine,” Matilda agreed. “With your permission, I would look for nice bowls and have the servers bring out rounds of it to the tables. People can have one, or say, all of five options.”
“Instead of a wine tasting, have a gelato tasting for dessert?” Olivia asked, nodding after her mother did. “You could use those topping stands you mentioned for Friday with the cheesecakes. Nothing that should be too hard to gather quickly. Fresh whipped cream, nuts, and maybe some sauces.”
“I think that a perfect project to help her organizers with to show you support your brother in giving his oath,” Hanna suggested.
“With your permission?” Olivia agreed, giving me a questioning look.
I swallowed something snarky and nodded. “Thank you. That would be a big help if you could coordinate with Hope, Nick, and either Branko or Sisay as they tend to grab the fruits to spoil me. And by grab, I mean these gigantic totes that forklifts are meant to pick up. They just go get a bunch and bring it up because they can.”
“You’re grateful, and enjoy the happiness it brings from Nick having more ingredients to play with. And for the children who are delighted for fresh fruit they haven’t seen before,” Sisay said as he happily ate his ice cream. “It’s been being put to wonderful use as I love gelato and those breakfasts Nick makes with all the fruit everything.”
“Oh? How spoiled is she?” Matilda teased me.
“I’m shocked I don’t weigh a billion pounds,” I admitted. “There’s always fruit pancakes or thick waffles with fresh fruit or fruit syrups. Everyone’s been having a blast at all the areas. Thomas Gagnon’s mate and some of the others in their clan have been making jams, jellies, and syrups after they found a huge grove of all kinds of everything.”
“There was also a small factory for it there that Inez got back online,” Cerdic added. “We used some of it in the gelatos.” He shot me a wink. “We’ll get there.”
I moaned. “Those apple pancakes with that fresh maple syrup? That was so, so good.”
“We’ve heard, in detail,” Nora chuckled, elaborating when I gave her a questioning look. “People have been lining up to be traded out for our deals. I’m not saying my people are disloyal, but we’ve all needed things to change, and it’s a vacation from our reality to come here and be fed like that, even if they work here too.”
“And do they work,” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Columbus and Cincinnati are completely cleared out, Indianapolis almost done as well. That’s crazy in only a few months.”
“You made us a generous deal, and we weren’t going to do anything but live up to the expectations,” Hanna said firmly. “We’ll move onto the next places, but we were—”
“Yes,” I granted.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “I didn’t ask a question yet.”
I mirrored her expression. “I’m shocked you haven’t asked yet as I’ve been expecting it. Yes, you may clear out the smaller, surrounding areas to the ones you’re in instead of moving on from those resources that could be lost. Yeah, I can suffer that given the deal and how much we get.” I shook my head. “I cannot believe that was the deal. It’s so mean. One of twenty-four pallets.”
“You could always change that to better terms,” Nora reminded me.
“I could,” I muttered, tapping my fingers on the table and thinking about something Sisay had been working on. “There are at least four human settlements we’ve had contact with that we think aren’t completely crazy. Now and again, he loads up goods in a trailer and leaves them near the camps. I like that we’re doing that given we’re not all that content with canned fish now that we have fresh.”
“I could use help with that,” Sisay agreed.
I nodded, glancing between the three of them. “Have your people coordinate with him, and for every trailer they load and drive there and then return back, I’ll let you have a full trailer of food raiding from stores. No factory silos or whatever. That’s a different thing.” I tapped my fingers again when they nodded. “And I think we should discuss sending live animals.”
“Oh?” Nora asked, glancing at the others.
I nodded. “You’ll need to repopulate eventually. Cerdic was saying there was some overpopulation that needed to be handled in Texas and added wild boar to the list. That’s not actually a native species to there, but it is for you guys though. I mean, I know we’ve been focused on short-term survival and doing better goals, but maybe it’s something to discuss long term.”
“We thought it overstepping as you could keep making deals with us for meat forever,” Hanna admitted.
“No, I’m not that big of a bitch,” I drawled. “There’s too much to do to be that childish.” I twirled the bottle of water I had on the table with my fingers. “Besides, it takes away time from other endeavors that are important. Say someone who has an affinity with plants common in her house would be more effective helping grow new trees to replace the ones decimated.”
Nora bit back a smirk as she spooned out some more gelato. “Is that right? That’s a tall order.”
“As I said, I’m learning there are long-term and short-term goals. Long term, we’re planning on refilling the areas with craters from bombs and maybe with some fertile ocean dirt.”
“That won’t really do much for the sea level that rose too high,” Olivia muttered.
“No, but it’s better than it was,” I replied easily. “We’re making that river and we have ideas. I’m just saying I’d rather let you have the damn wild boars that are actually a problem here and say we need help with trees instead of the games that just bore me.” I winced. “We did tell the humans there we wouldn’t be raiding Texas, though we did say we’d help the animal problem.”
“But not the hogs which they would want for meat,” Nora sighed. “Would you turn a blind eye to some being absconded with in the night? Say one left dead for them as meat for every twenty four taken live?”
“And hopefully some trees we can plant that were native to the area would come on return trips?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed, but then flinched. “It might take a bit. We need to find another greenhouse. Starting saplings now is fine, but they need protection in winter.”
“Funny you should mention that,” I purred. “Would you prefer twenty-four-by-eighty feet or thirty-by-sixty?”
She shot me an amused look. “You have greenhouses?”
“We found a massive warehouse with hundreds of kits, the company that made them even.”
“And you would like?”
“Increase your production of cheese,” I moaned. “That cheese is so good, all of it. We’re making cheese now, but all the blue cheese culture things with the things and bacteria went bad, and it wasn’t what the clan knew anyway. It would be so much better if we all did more of whatever we’re good at instead of all of us doing a little of it all. We’re going to be going back and forth anyways.”
“Agreed, and we’ve already started after Sebastian said how much you all liked it. I agree it’s better to divide and conqu
er some of the more intricate items and processes that we have as a forte. We might be able to make sausages and brats, but Hanna’s people do it so much better, like their beer.”
“Thank you, Nora,” Hanna replied.
She shrugged. “You were miffed I didn’t let you know sooner about the miracle my son found. Now she has that twinkle in her eye as she undoubtedly wants beer, and more for her people.”
“Yes, and not to complain we have meat as that would be crass, but there’re only so many ways we’re currently able to eat it all, and we’ve also had some overpopulation problems.” I shook my head. “Fucking turkeys. There has to be something in the water there. It’s not rabbits that go at it like crazy; it’s the fucking turkeys.”
“Or just being left alone as we found that chicken farm that was crazy too,” Sisay reminded me.
“Fucking chickens,” I groaned, but smiled at him. “They were tasty.”
“Says the woman who bounces in her seat as she eats a turkey leg and moans the whole time,” he teased me.
“That’s Nick’s cooking more than anything, but yes, I love turkey legs, just not the mean birds. We’re going to get overrun by the damn things if we don’t clear out that area completely.”
Nora reached over and patted my hand. “You poor, poor dear. Say the word and we will handle those mean creatures and take them off your hands.”
I snickered. “Yeah, I know. I’m just cranky as we went for some to serve this weekend, and I swear some had that look in their eyes like they were corrupted and came after me.”
“They knew you ate their cousins’ legs,” Sisay threw in, most of us bursting out laughing. It was such a goofy thing to think about.
We finished with the ice cream, everyone agreeing on the five flavors that would be the biggest winners among a crowd. Once Olivia promised she’d handle the toppings, Jacob fired up the navigator with possible locations where to pull it all together along with the bowls Matilda said she’d locate. Plus marking out more ad more we needed to handle.
We headed to Salt Lake for what was next. Cerdic gave me a confused look when we were at the owner’s cabin at one of the resorts. I’d sort of taken it over as mine, planning to use it when we stayed there, but I hadn’t as I’d been using it for hiding his gift. I held up a finger for him to wait as I went into the guest room and found the first of the many, many cases.
“As Kristof appreciates the art that is a fine car, there is something I noticed you always pay attention to and like.”
“Watches,” he muttered as he stared at the case. “I love timepieces and watches.”
“You do.”
“I’ve never told you that.”
I smiled at him. “No, but I pay attention too, my Zen master.” I handed him the case.
He opened it and smiled, touching the array before plucking one out. “You have no idea what to look for, do you, love?”
“No, which is why that’s one of lots of cases,” I answered honestly, smirking when he blinked at me in shock. “That whole guest room is full of them and so is the other one. I made a deal with a lot of the people raiding that if they brought Wolfe and Wilson watches, I would trade new and fixed electronics. They’ve been helping me with this for months.”
“I love you,” he blurted loudly in front of everyone gathered to see what the gift was.
I felt my flush. “Well, I hope so if we’re getting married, but I’m glad you like the gift.”
He moved closer, cupping my cheek after he put the watch back. “I do. It’s amazing, like you.” He gave me a sweet kiss I gladly accepted. “And this is not a lacking gift. You just like sweets that much.”
“I do.” I leaned in to be a brat and licked his neck. “Yup, sweet and nummy.” I smiled when he burst out laughing, hugging me tightly.
“Let’s head home,” he murmured as he set the case down.
“You don’t want to look at them?”
“Later. Kristof didn’t check out his cars either.”
“I plan to check one a day and thank her each time,” Kristof clarified, chuckling when I shivered. “Let’s go home, My Princess.”
I nodded, letting Cerdic blur us to the castle. He stopped outside the door and flinched as he set me on my feet, letting me know there was a problem. I turned to see Tyson, one of my knights and my battle buddy, pacing.
“My Princess, I apologize for interrupting your night and when you have visitors, but I beg you for a moment that I might—”
“It’s fine, what’s going on?” I worried as I rushed over to him. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him, relieved when he settled down. Tyson was the ultimate calm, even more than Cerdic. He rarely got his feathers—or fur, as a lion shifter—ruffled. I’d never seen him remotely upset like this and it was coming off of him in waves. “Talk to me, Ty.”
He let out a shaky breath. “Chris is alive. My Chris is alive, Inez. You met him today.”
That took me a moment. “Oh. Oh!” I gasped when he nodded, feeling like an idiot. “I always assumed Chris was a girl. I’m so sorry.”
“No, guy, but I’m bisexual,” he muttered.
I snuggled with my knights now and again, and there had been a few times we’d had confusing wake ups and it was clear he’d been… Interested more than just morning wood.
“He’s alive, Inez. I thought he was gone. I never thought—that base was gone, we thought.”
“This is great. I’m missing the problem,” I admitted.
“He wants to go see him,” James explained. “He wants to fill Chris in.”
Oh shit. Crap. “I know you love him, but did he even know about you?”
“Yes. Sort of, but he knew I wasn’t human.”
I nodded, weighing that. I cupped his face and brushed my lips over his. “Of course you can go see him. I ask one thing before we fill him in.”
“Anything.”
“Treat him like you’re checking he wasn’t taken over by an alien,” I said after figuring how to try and word it. “Take that slower, hesitant path like you’re not sure he wasn’t body snatched.” I shook my head when he opened his mouth. “It’s been over six years, Tyson. I lost all my memories. People change. I’m sure he hasn’t and he’s still your guy, but please, please, let’s make sure to protect all of us.”
“The other option is we have to protect all of us later and that would destroy you, Ty,” Trisha said gently.
“Okay, yeah, I got it. We go slow and Chris isn’t a threat,” he agreed.
“Good.” I glanced at Vitor. “Can you come with us and help? There’s got to be—”
“Princess, respectfully, we maybe should think about this more,” James said quietly.
I gave him a hard look. “You would have done anything to see Vance. Just because it’s not his brother, tell me he doesn’t deserve the same. It kills me that I only led you guys back together when there could be so many more with family they don’t know are alive. Aether let me because it was the start of my coven. I don’t have that power and I’ve asked for it to help more. We can help Tyson.”
He swallowed loudly. “I didn’t know you felt that way. You shouldn’t. We only do what we can and you’re right, I’m thinking as military and not as I should.” He let out a slow breath and looked at Tyson. “What can we do to help?”
“Grab whoever wants to do some hunting,” I answered. “We were going to bring bobcats to them, and maybe getting them in will distract them enough where Tyson and Chris can talk a bit without everyone standing there and watching like they were with us.” I waited until he nodded before looking at Vitor again. “There have to be enough vehicles somewhere close we can make a semi and trailer.”
“Of course and if not, we can quickly gather the energy beads,” he agreed. “Tyson is always jumping in to help everyone and it’s time to help him when he needs it.”
“Thank you,” Tyson sighed, hugging me tightly.
I nodded, looking at James. “Take a chopper down there ou
tside of where we’re going, figure it out with Vitor. It’s the only way we’ll explain this all. Everyone armed to the teeth. I’m going, and I could pull out corrupted from San Antonio then.”
We broke up and I headed right for the armory that was also included in my castle. It was huge.
It was also the fucking apocalypse, so it better be huge.
“This is impressive,” Matilda praised as she joined me.
“Thanks. After Vitor started turning everything into energy beads to help, we got a bit better organized, and I made a lot of the right bullets instead of older guns or he even pulled casings from shooting ranges or military bases.” I nodded to the far wall where all the swords we’d picked up along the way were hanging. “Eventually, I want to come up with some sort of house crest and sword.”
“There probably is a family crest for Garner,” she told me.
I sighed as I clipped on my thigh holsters. “There is; I didn’t like it. It just doesn’t feel right. I don’t know if this was my real last name or I chose it, but it didn’t feel like me.”
“Does that question bother you often?” Nora asked gently.
“All the fucking time,” I admitted under my breath. “It seems better to start with a fresh one after my memories were wiped and it’s my tree. I wing a lot of it.”
“I was going to ask if I could see the tree,” Hanna confessed.
I nodded. “We don’t have lights out there yet.” I froze in reaching for more loaded clips. “Don’t touch the tree. I don’t know why, but I don’t want you touching it.”
“Anyone not of your court or sworn to you should never touch your tree,” Nora said firmly. “It’s a major faux paus. No one should be around it alone. It’s the coven’s life blood and sacred, not a church open to anyone. To see from a distance, yes, fine, but not be near or touch.”
“I didn’t know that. I’ll make sure we tell people, thank you.”