Aris
What I should have done is sent Roman back to Sapphire Ridge to chill the fuck out.
What I did instead was nothing. It’s been three days since Willow stormed out, Roman shut down, and I kissed Posey not once, but twice against my better judgment. Three days of pretending like everything is okay, that I didn’t do something that will forever ruin my friendship with Posey and her brother if he finds out, which he won’t.
I’m not even thinking about Roman, however. He’s a grown-ass man. An Alpha’s son. He’ll be fine, but his presence is currently grating on my nerves, and him leaving would be the best option. He’d go back to his responsibilities, and he’d have the opportunity to bury whatever he’s going through and refuses to talk to me about it. But if he leaves, so will Posey. I can’t allow that quite yet.
I tell myself it’s not because he’ll take Posey with him, and I feel like I’m on the cusp of changing her mind, but because I need this summer as well. Like Roman and Posey, I will leave Gem Lake and immediately step into responsibilities that have, so far, not manifested. I made promises I have to keep. I have a duty to my family, to my parents, to take being an Alpha one day seriously.
Being the Shadowsynger heir is a whole other monster.
Brie’s voice is a welcome relief when I answer her call. Kieran sings loudly and unintelligibly in the background while I walk around the backyard looking for better reception. All of this power, and not to mention the handful of engineers in our family, but we haven’t solved the cell tower issue in Eastonia yet, apparently. Our family does have its weaknesses.
“I came bearing news,” she says, her grin audible through the screen. “Good news. It feels like so long since I’ve had good news to share.”
I can hear her moving through her little house in the Deadlands. Honestly, if someone had told me four years ago that Brie would end up living in a little stone cottage with blue shutters and just enough rooms to keep her family stacked on top of each other all times of the day… I would have believed them wholeheartedly. Brie is the heart of our family. She finally has that–a cozy home with an ever burning hearth and the sound of children laughing and singing to the rafters.
I feel at peace about her. I hated when she was living so far away in Emberfyll.
Now, Logan is spending his summer setting up his pack in a valley near Silverhide, building New Emberfyll piece by piece, with Brie living in domesticated bliss by his side.
“What news?” I reach the very edge of the dock, and the connection snaps into place.
“It’s a two-parter. Do you have a minute? I don’t want to interrupt your summer of debauchery. I hope you’ve been using those contraceptive drafts Mom made for you.”
My cheeks burn at the memory of Mom’s lengthy, totally unnecessary monologue about the uses of the tonics. “What’s up, Brie?” I manage to choke out.
“Well, Nora found her mate! I wasn’t sure anyone told you, seeing as you’ve been in Veiled Valley and haven’t been back since Blake and Marianna’s wedding.”
I sink onto the edge of the dock, letting my legs dangle over the water.
She continues, “He lives in Crescent Falls, which came as a shock to everyone. It’s one of Liam and Charlotte’s friends. She went there to train with a master of realism. You know, for her painting…” Brie tapers off with a soft sigh. “Anyway, it wasn’t love at first sight, but Nora is going to spend some time in Crescent Falls with Sarah and Sydney this summer to get to know the man better. His name is Kent. He’s, uh, a Beta, I think. Ryan has been silent on the details. I don’t think he’s happy about the idea of her moving to Crescent Falls, but he’s been rather busy the last few days.”
I think I know where this is going. My stomach tumbles as I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Did the baby come?”
Brie is quiet for a moment, but I can hear her smile through the phone. “Yeah, he did. Lexa is doing so well. I wanted to be the one to pass the news to everyone who’s not in the Deadlands currently. Mom and Misty were both here for the birth. Cole as well. Everything went about as well as it could have. He’s a big, healthy boy!”
A knot that’s been lodged in my chest since Lexa returned from her adventure, to say the least, eases. I stay silent, waiting for my sister to continue.
“He doesn’t have wings, which was their main concern. He does have pointed ears like Kaleb and my boys, but Mom did a power group test, and he’s fully shifter.”
I close my eyes as the breeze skitters over the lake, lifting my hair from my ears. “That’s good news. You’re right. Ryan and Aviva must be insanely busy as it stands.”
“I think having Logan and Kaleb here is helping Ryan, at least. Both men are now technically just Alphas, but they’ve been stepping in to help in Silverhide while Ryan handles his daughters.”
“Does the baby have a name?”
“Not yet,” she breathes. “They can’t decide. I think Kaleb is a little stunned. He told Logan he wasn’t sure he’d ever be a father, and Lexa was the one who changed his mind about it, but after everything they went through, I’m not surprised they’re having trouble believing things can be this easy for them. They have time. Everyone’s been calling the boy the baby.” She laughs lightly. “Kieran has dubbed him Bub, but I doubt that’ll stick. He still refuses to acknowledge Griffon as it stands. The novelty is bound to wear off within days.”
Now, I’m smiling softly. “I’ll come visit you guys in a few weeks. I miss that little monster.”
“How’s it going there?”
Gods, where do I begin? I roll my lower lip between my teeth. Brie is trustworthy. She’s the keeper of secrets in our family and knows everything about everyone without making it other people's business. She’s the only one like that.
If I need a sounding board, which I do, it has to be her.
“Do you remember Roman?”
“Roman? Of course I do.”
“And his sister?”
“Posey? Goddess, I haven’t seen her in years!”
“Well, she’s… here.” I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say. “I need some advice.”
Brie pauses, then murmurs something to who I believe might be Logan, and then the background noise fades, replaced by an echoing kind of silence like she just stepped into an empty room.
“What’s up?”
“Roman is… you know he’ll be Alpha of Sapphire Ridge one day. Maybe soon, if his father steps down in his stead. He’s on the marriage path, stepping into more responsibility.” I explain the situation as best as I can without giving away Posey’s secrets. But when I mention that Posey is joining the priestesses because she doesn’t have a wolf and because she thinks her inability to shift is going to cause issues for Roman’s future, Brie sighs heavily. And my voice fades.
“Do you remember how I was four or five years ago? So obsessed with what I thought was the right thing for Maeve?”
“Clearly.”
“I thought I needed to marry an Alpha and tormented the family about it. No one could convince me otherwise, that it didn’t matter. It took Logan to change my mind.”
“So someone needs to change Posey’s mind?”
“If she’s only doing this because she feels like she has to… yeah. I mean, I would have been trapped in an unhappy marriage had I continued on that path. She’d be giving her life to the Goddess and… the Goddess might not intend that for her. Maybe She’ll intervene.”
I don’t think Posey would even listen if the Goddess sent a bolt of lightning through her skull the second she stepped foot on the steps of the temple.
“If she’s going through seminary in Moonrise, it’s likely she’ll be training at the smaller temple in Old Moonrise, seeing as Blake made such a mess of things last year. The new temple will be under construction for years as it stands.”
I’m barely listening as Brie continues, changing the subject to Blake and Marianna, who are apparently living in blissful solitude in their recently finished mansion on the outskirts of Moonrise.
Posey is now in the backyard, slipping her feet into sandals, carrying her market bags. I watch her, losing track of Brie’s voice.
“Can you hear me?” Brie asks.
“I think I’m losing you,” I lie. “I’ll call you later. Tell Lexa congratulations for me.”
I hang up before she can reply. I rise, but Posey walks off, not even looking in the direction of the dock, and by the time I reach the lawn, she’s gone, having disappeared around the house.
I walk inside with every intention of following her to the market. We haven’t had a moment alone since three days ago at the cove, and I feel like I need to explain why I kissed her like that… twice. Aggressively. Consuming her.
Fuck.
“Hey.”
I whirl to Roman’s voice. He’s standing in the kitchen, leaning against the island with his hands wrapped around a water bottle. He’s shirtless, too, like he just returned from shifting.
“Hey.”
“I just wanted to let you know I spoke to Miles. He’s in town making a call to the barracks in Veiled Valley. It sounds like he and Tate are being called back to duty, their leave cut short.”
“How come?” I glance in the direction of the foyer, trying to catch a glimpse of Posey in the driveway through the ceiling height windows.
“I have no idea, but they need to be back by tomorrow morning at dawn, and both would rather have a night to sleep off their perpetual hangovers, so they’re leaving this afternoon, and I’m going with them.”
My stomach twists. I brace my hands on the counter preparing to argue my point, which I’m unaware of at the moment, as to why Posey should stay behind, but he continues, “I think it would be wise for Posey to remain here for another week or two.”
Shock. Uncertainty. The works. They roll through my body, overwhelming a single flicker of relief. I look up, meeting his sharp, sapphire gaze. “Why?”
He shrugs, looking more put together than I’ve seen him in days. “I have some shit to take care of back home, and she has her entrance exams for the seminary next month. When she returns to Sapphire Ridge, our parents will be all over her about it, and I don’t want the distraction of family drama getting in my way. I need her to stay, to study here, take what time she needs to prepare, while I handle my business with our family.”
I bite back my rising anger. “So you’re going to allow this to happen to her?”
“She doesn’t have alchemy or a wolf. She’s right. This is her only option. My only option.”
I straighten at his thick, serious tone.
“I’m packing, but once Miles returns from his errand, we’ll take off. I’ll make sure Posey is aware of the plan when she gets back from the market.”
“Does she know you’re leaving her here?”
“I plan on telling her.”
Commanding her, more like it.
He starts to turn away, but I ask, “Did you reject Willow?”
He stiffens, clutching his water bottle like his life depends on it. “It’s complicated.”
“It’s a yes or no answer.”
“No. Not yet. That’s part of why I need to return home–to get my affairs in order and nip that in the bud so I can move on like planned.”
“She’s Posey’s friend.”
“Exactly.”
“You slept with her, you both felt the bond, and you pushed her away, didn’t you?”
“I’m doing what needs to be done for the family, Aris. You should understand, given your position.” He looks me up and down, and I feel the rift between us open wide, a cavern I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to cross. “I’ll come back to get Posey when I’m settled.”
He trusts me with her wholeheartedly, which is why he simply walks away without another word, leaving me in the kitchen wondering if two weeks is enough time to change her mind, or if I just have to accept that it's none of my business, and this strange, foreign gnawing in my chest means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.
If Posey really wants to be a priestess… so be it.
But she wanted a kiss.
What else does she want to know before she signs away her life forever?