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Damiel ignored him. “Is something wrong with your body, General? Your pulse sounds a tad unsteady.”

General Silverstar stiffened. “I assure you that my pulse is as steady as the day I became an angel. And my body is at peak performance.”

“Yes, you’re as rigid and inflexible as you ever were,” Damiel commented, amused. “But that is neither here nor there. There’s definitely something off. I just can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Calli stepped into the room to announce the start of dinner.

General Silverstar went to find his seat, but Damiel caught his arm. “Thatis it? You’re…ohoho…” Damiel chuckled. “You’re smitten with Callista Pierce?”

Cadence’s gaze bounced between Calli and General Silverstar. “It appears she is pretty smitten with him too.”

Calli set a fresh, steaming pie on the table, a soft blush kissing her cheeks. Cadence was right. Calli really liked General Silverstar. Likereallyliked.

“Great work, Leda.” Damiel took my hand and shook it. “Congratulations are well in order. You found Rhydian Silverstar a girlfriend. It’s about damn time.”

“You are being ridiculous as usual, Dragonsire,” General Silverstar told him, then took Calli’s arm and led her to her place at the table.

Damiel made an amused comment about General Silverstar’s charming old-fashioned courting, but I hardly heard him. Nero had just sat down next to me, so I was pretty distracted. There wasn’t enough space at Calli’s table for fifteen chairs, so we were using benches instead. Even with the benches, it was a tight squeeze. My thigh was pressed so close to Nero’s, I was practically sitting on him.

Not that I was complaining. I leaned my elbow on the table and dipped back just far enough to drink in the marvelous sight of him.

“Something wrong?” Nero asked, raising one eyebrow.

“No. Nothing.” I wetted my lips. “Just enjoying the view.”

His gaze swept over me. “As am I.”

I wassoglad that I’d remembered to change before coming here. I slid my foot over his.

Behave, Pandora,Nero said in my mind.

I chuckled.You don’t really mean that.

No,he replied.I really don’t.

We ate and laughed and flirted a little. Ok, a lot. But so did all of the other couples at the table.

“Well, I suppose we should get going,” Calli said hours later, after everyone had eaten their dessert—and I’d eaten two.

Speaking of desserts…Sierra, Eira, and Angel had stolen a plate of Calli’s cookies and were munching on them in my old room. And they were getting crumbs everywhere. Literally.

Tessa joined me by the bedroom door. “Wow, that’s a big mess. Good thing you don’t sleep here anymore, Leda.” She winked.

“The earthquake before the hurricane,” I muttered.

“Pandora?” Nero asked.

“Oh, it’s just something Calli used to say to us when we were younger.”

“Say toyou, Leda,” Gin corrected me.

“Fine, say tome,” I conceded. “It basically means ‘the chaos before the chaos’.”

“I’m sure you can see why Calli coined a saying just for Leda,” Zane said.

Which elicited a snort from Nero.

“I’m happy to share the saying with Sierra.” I glanced at our daughter. “She gets into even more trouble than I did.”