“They’re nice, actually,” Rod added. “When Mom and Dad visited last time, Cinaed and I used one to get some alone time.”
“And that let Mom and Dad have the kids to themselves,” Owen said. “Smart.”
“Let me show them to you,” Rod suggested. “Maybe seeing them will convince you to come visit more.”
“Absolutely!” Owen's eyes lit up. “Let’s do it.”
Rod gave me a quick kiss before the three headed down the fork in the path.“Don’t stay too long. Everyone will be here soon.”
“Okay, we won’t take too long.”
I watched them go, Rod gesturing animatedly as he explained something to his brother. The sight filled me with a contentment I once thought impossible. Even after ten years together, these simple moments of happiness still felt like miracles.
A whoosh of phoenix wings interrupted my thoughts. I didn’t need to look to know two of my siblings had arrived. Their two copper-gold forms streaked past me and landed a few feet away. Their feet had barely touched the ground before they shifted. Showoffs.
Elspeth swept me off my feet while Colum watched with a grin. When she set me down, he did the same. “Okay, what did I do?”
“You saved us from party duty,” Elspeth said.
Her cryptic answer explained nothing. Did she think I invited her late so she didn’t have to help? “I don’t get it.”
“Mom’s going crazy,” Colum said. “This siblings-only party was a great idea.”
It took me a moment to decipher this sibling code. I was clearly out of practice. “Oh.”
“It’s partially your fault,” Colum continued. “She is NOT happy you excluded her. She’s the grandmother after all.”
He used all the right inflections, and I could see and hear Mom telling anyone who’d listen. I laughed and led them toward the house. “She was never this obsessed over us kids.”
“Grandkids are different,” Elspeth hooked my arm as we walked. “You can expect a frosty reception tomorrow.”
She didn’t need to explain. I’d seen Mom do that before. “Not happening,” I said. “Like you said, grandkids are different. If Mom ices me out, she won’t see them.”
“You’d stop her from seeing your children?” Colum looked as shocked as he sounded.
My first reaction was annoyance, but I had to remember they weren’t parents. “No, I’m not an asshole. The kids keep us so busy, we need a schedule for everything. We even made one for contacting all the siblings. If Mom didn’t call me, I might go two weeks or more without calling her. If she gives me the silent treatment, who do you think suffers more?”
“Oh! My! God!” Elspeth punctuated each word with a slap on my arm. “You’re devious. I love it.”
When we first had Ailpein and Adelais, I didn’t realize how much my life would change. What she saw as devious was reality. “Anyway. We’re prepared. When we arrive, we’ll send the twins first. Mom will be too busy being in G’ma mode to remember why she’s mad at me.”
A thought hit me as we neared the house. “Where are your dates?”
“Helping Mom at the castle,” Colum looked decidedly unhappy with the answer. “Moira thinks Mom doesn’t like her, so she’s trying to earn points.”
“Becca can’t fly,” Elspeth said. “She didn’t want me to pull her in a boat. We’ll survive a day apart, and she and Mom get on well. She took one for the team.”
Reading between the lines, I realized two things. Mom wasn’t nearly as mad as they suggested, and I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my siblings. “That's serious if you left them with Mom.”
“You having a mate and kids is putting pressure on the rest of us.” Elspeth elbowed me playfully. “Mom’s hints get less subtle by the day.”
Rod and I had to start adulting sooner than all of my siblings except Lauch. He had to step into the crown prince role, but even that was simple compared to being a guardian. “Sorry not sorry.” I sighed. “The island is too small for everyone. Even siblings only is a big crowd.”
“We get it.” Elspeth’s tone changed. She was back to being the protective big sister. Or Aunt. “The kids get the party they want before the madness at the castle tomorrow.”
My sister wasn’t as clueless as she pretended. We passed through the rose gardens, and Elspeth paused to touch a copper-colored bloom. “These are stunning, Cini. They look just like Mother's.”
That was the highest praise she could give me. “Mom helped me lay out the bed, choose the colors for the original plants, and taught me how to recreate the protective spells she used at the castle. Surprisingly, Rod’s a big fan of gardening.”
