Page 61 of A Siren Song for Christmas

Surprisingly, he smiled. “Briar! Wulfric!”

The two began to walk towards them. A pigeon circled overhead.

Trent released him and approached the two.

“What are you doing out here, Trent?” one of them, a human with glasses, asked.

“Malachi invited me to help him harvest some aquatic plants from the lake.” Trent gestured to the sacks and crates. “Although, I just stood here and watched him do it. It’s way too cold in the lake for me.” He laughed.

“Will you introduce us?” the one with glasses asked.

“Oh! Right! Malachi, this is Briar, my brother, and Wulfric, his mate.” Then Trent gestured to Malachi. “This is Malachi.”

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Malachi inclined his head.

“It’s nice to finally put a name to a face.” Briar pushed his glasses up his nose. “There is a lot of talk about you in the bakery.”

Malachi looked between them.What sort of talk?

Briar pointed in the direction they’d come. “Wulfric and I live out here in a cave not so far away. We’re on our way to the bakery now.”

“And we should get going if we don’t want to be late.” Wulfric placed a large hand on Briar’s shoulder. “Otherwise, Grady might have words with us.”

“You should come,” Briar said to Malachi. “You haven’t been to the bakery yet, have you? Everyone is curious to meet you.”

“They are?” Malachi hesitated.

“Only if you want,” Trent said. “You don’t have to.”

Meeting more of Trent’s siblings did seem like a lot of pressure. He imagined it would be quite overwhelming. But he was curious about Trent’s siblings. And it seemed they were curious about him.

Which made sense, since Trent had been spending a lot of time with him. Maybe Malachi dropping by would put their minds at ease.

Malachi hesitated. “I can come by briefly. But I will need to get back to the emporium soon.” He reached down to grab his collection of aquatic plants.

Wulfric stepped in. “Here, let me help you with that.” He lifted the crates with ease.

“Thank you.” Malachi tugged his rucksack onto his back.

As they set off in the direction of the city, he tried to squash the nerves that wriggled in his belly. He was just meeting Trent’s family. No need to be worried.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Trent fell into step with Briar whilst Wulfric and Malachi walked ahead.

His palms sweat. He really hoped Malachi was ready to meet his siblings. Trent loved his family, and he really cared for Malachi. He hoped they liked each other. After all, these were his favourite people all coming together.

They walked through the bare trees, Wulfric and Malachi talking. Snow rested on the branches and ground. The weak wintry light cast the forest in a soft magical glow.

“It looks like you and the siren are doing well together.” Briar bumped their shoulders together. “I’m happy for you, Trent.”

“It’s not like that.” Trent gave a shake of his head. “We’re friends. Just friends.” Trent tried to hide the disappointment from his voice. He didn’t want his siblings to know he wasn’t content with the situation.

“And you fuck?”

Trent’s cheeks burned. “Well, yes. We are doing that. But we’re still just friends and not…” He shrugged. “…together romantically.”