Page 22
Story: Drake and Danger
“Yes, what happened?You were a mess yesterday and now you look great!”Emma sat on my other side.Bran and Lachlan were back from the Fae Realm and they sat on either side of her.
“Did something happen to Avery’s face?”Bran asked, frowning.When we had first met him, he had appeared as a skinny, nerdy human but that was only because he was using an uglification spell on himself.Now, in his true form, he was a tall, blond, Fae warrior with blazing blue eyes.
“It looks fine to me,” Lachlan remarked, glancing up from his plate of Eggs Benedict.He was almost as tall as Bran and equally gorgeous.He had black hair and green eyes—he was a very powerful Fae mage.
Emma, sitting between them with her midnight hair and starry, violet eyes, looked like the princess she was.The three of them together were enough to take your breath away but at the moment, all I could think of was coming up with an explanation as to why I was suddenly healed of all my cuts and abrasions from the day before.And though I am normally never at a loss for words, my mind was drawing a complete blank.
“Avery got into an…altercation with several of the Drakes in his physical education class yesterday,” Griffin said carefully.“I’m afraid some blows were exchanged.”
“Notexchanged, exactly,” I said, trying to smile.“More likeabsorbed, on my part.But I’m fine now—really.”
“You certainly are,” Megan said.“But how?”
“Yeah, Avery—how did you get your face fixed so fast?”Jalli asked, coming to sit beside Griffin.She was careful to keep some distance from Saint at the other end of the table.Her threechimelings,Spike, Sweet tooth, and Jelly Belly, were scared to death of his cursed Drake and flew away, chiming in alarm, anytime she got too near him.
“I, um…” I couldn’t help shooting a glace at Saint and then looking away quickly.I couldn’t tell them the truth—not here in the Dining Hall in front of everyone.Later, Imightadmit it to my closest Coven mates—Kaitlyn and Megan and Emma—but I couldn’t say what had happened between me and my roommate last night in mixed company like this.
For one thing, Saint would probably hate me even more if I exposed what we had done.And for another, though Griffin and Bran and Lachlan and Ari all liked and got along with me, I still didn’t think a bunch of straight guys would want to hear about the semi-homoerotic encounter that had healed my face.
“Avery?”Megan was frowning at me in concern.“Is something wrong?Why aren’t you talking?Howdidyou get your face healed?”
“He probably went to the Healer before any of the rest of us was up,” Kaitlyn answered to my great relief.“You know what an early riser he is.”She and Ari got settled beside Lachlan with their breakfast trays.
Now why hadn’t I thought of that?
“Yes, of course.”I smiled around the table.“You know me—I couldn’t stand to be anything less than gorgeous for long.But speaking of gorgeous…” I turned to Bran and Lachlan.“We missed the two of you yesterday—at least, I know Emmers did.How are things in the Realm and what did you have to do there?”
“Oh, er, well…” Bran cleared his throat, his face looking a little red.
“We had to sign a marriage contract,” Lachlan said matter-of-factly.
“Oh, really?”I raised my eyebrows.“But didn’t Emma need to be there, too?”
“Nope.Because this was a contract between Bran and Lachlan,” Emma explained.
“Really?”I looked at them in surprise.I had only been trying to change the subject away from my magically healed face, but this was interesting news.“The two of you have to get married in order to be with Emma?”
“Essentially.”Lachlan nodded.He still didn’t seem too upset about having to marry his best friend and I remembered what Emma had said about the Fae realm being less judgmental when it came to the LGBTQ community.
“We cannot share her unless all three of us are wed to each other,” Bran explained—his face was still a bit red.
“Though they didn’t have the actual wedding yet,” Emma put in.“They only signed the contract.I wouldn’t miss their wedding for the world!Besides, it’s part of mine—all the weddings will be together,” she added.She put her arms around both her guys’ waists and gave them a squeeze.
“We missed having you with us yesterday, Emma,” Bran turned and dropped a loving kiss on her left cheek.“I wouldn’t marry another man for anyone other than you,” he added.Then he shot a glance at me.“Oh, sorry, Avery—no offense.”
“None taken,” I said airily.“I don’t know many straight men who would marry each other foranyreason.It’s actually kind of fascinating.”
“It’s simply the law of the Realms” Lachlan said, shrugging.He kissed Emma’s right cheek and smiled at me.“And I don’t mind marrying another man.Bran and I have been best friends for years—why shouldn’t we be wed?Especially as we’re going to share the woman we both love.”
“So what happens on the actual wedding day?”I asked, now thoroughly intrigued.“I mean, what is the ceremony supposed to be like?”
I was hoping I would be there to see it—I knew that Emma was trying to get a special dispensation to allow her non-Fae friends to visit the Fae Ream for the big day—and I wanted to know what to expect if I did.
“Well, first I will be wed to Bran and then I will be wed to Lachlan,” Emma said, ticking off the ceremonies on her fingers as she went.“Then they will be wed to each other and then, as the finale, the three of us will tie the knot in front of both Fae Courts at once—they’re going to merge especially for our wedding,” she added, smiling.
“Of course, none of this can happen until after we areallof age,” Bran added, looking meaningfully at Emma, who wasn’t legal yet.“But there are so many technicalities, legalities, and formalities to get through in order to pull such a big, complicated event together, we’ve already started the paperwork.”
“Which is why we had to miss classes yesterday to sign our marriage contract,” Lachlan added, smiling over Emma’s head at Bran.“Isn’t that right, my husband?”
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