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21

FENELLA

"Bloody hell." Fenella looked up at the ceiling to contain the sniffles. "I'm not just part of the clan now. I'm part of an actual family. How am I supposed to ever leave this sodding place?"

Jasmine leaned away from her. "I didn't know that you had plans to leave."

Fenella shrugged. "I'm still making my mind up. The village is lovely, but it is claustrophobic. I need room to breathe." She sighed. "But I like having cousins." She reached for Jasmine's hand. "Even remote ones like you. Blood is blood, right?"

"Definitely," Kyra said. "And we take care of our own."

"Well, in this case," Fenella rose to her feet, pushing her chair back, "I think it's time for a group hug." She pulled Kyra and Jasmine to their feet and into a fierce embrace.

The three of them stood, arms wrapped around each other, foreheads touching, creating a circle of connection that felt ancient and new all at once. Fenella held back tears, but Jasmine had no qualms about shedding them openly.

Kyra, the quintessential warrior, somehow managed to remain dry-eyed.

For Fenella, the moment was surreal. Just weeks ago, she'd been alone, expecting to die in captivity with no one to miss her, let alone mourn her. Now here she was, embracing distant cousins she hadn't known existed and dating a guy who might be her fated mate.

"I still can't believe it," she murmured, her voice muffled against Kyra's shoulder. "I've spent most of my life drifting, and now I'm part of something. It's a strange feeling."

"Now you're stuck with us," Jasmine said with a watery laugh. "The ever-expanding Persian clan."

"Does this mean I have to learn Farsi?" Fenella pulled back to look at them both.

"Absolutely," Kyra deadpanned. "It's a family requirement, but since Jasmine doesn't speak it either, I think we will make do with the translation earpieces for the near future."

Bridget stood and collected her tablet. "I'll leave you three to process the good news."

"Are you okay?" Kyra asked Fenella after the physician left. "You look a little green."

"I do?" Fenella patted her cheeks.

Kyra laughed. "No, not really. Just a little dazed."

"Can you blame me? It changes everything and nothing," she said. "I'm still me, with all my baggage and complications. But knowing I have family, real blood family, feels like finding an anchor after drifting for decades."

"That's how I felt when I found Jasmine," Kyra said. "Or rather, when she found me. And then again, when I found out that the girls were my nieces, and again when I got my sisters and their kids out of Iran. It's like pieces of myself that had been missing were suddenly returned to me."

"I've always wanted a sister," Jasmine said with a smile. "But I'll settle for a cousin, even a ridiculously distant one who's technically older than me."

"Cheeky," Fenella said, but she was smiling too.

"We should tell the others," Kyra said. "My sisters will be thrilled. More family is always cause for celebration in our culture."

"God, what a day," Fenella sighed, running a hand through her hair. "First, I agree to go on another date with Din, then I find out I'm part of your family. What's next? Am I secretly a princess too?"

Jasmine laughed. "I wouldn't rule it out. Did I tell you about my quest for a prince and how I found Ell-rom, my real-life prince?"

Fenella shook her head.

"I promised Mom I would tell her the entire story, and you are welcome to join us. We can do it over coffee and pastries at the café."

"That's a great idea." Fenella glanced at the time on her phone. "Din is picking me up from Shira's place at two-thirty, but I have plenty of time until then."

With the café being right outside the clinic, it took about fifteen steps for them to find a table and sit down.

"The Clan Mother seems to think Fenella might help us find Khiann," Kyra said. "This blood connection might have something to do with it."