Page 175 of Wicked Magik

Mom hummed, her grip tightening on my arm. "These gatherings will become commonplace, mark my words. Veylor's already talking about making it an annual affair. And who knows? The custom might spread to the outer territories." She tilted her head back, eyes rolling skyward. "This realm stretches far beyond what you've seen."

“How do you know?”

Mom nodded. “Sylvaine has shown me maps. This world is just as big as Earth. This is just a small portion, but it isn’t as over populated as earth. Most of the blue bloods are gone and hopefully we can all live a simple life now.”

I laughed at that notion. "Simple" hardly described our lives with mates who insisted on adorning us in silks and jewels whenever possible. Mom and I wore our finery only for occasions like tonight. Most days found us in the town markets alongside our partners, bartering with local craftspeople and organizing labor for the estate. We'd become quite the economic force in these parts, though I doubted anyone would call our existence "simple."

Veylor wanted to create more vessels like Oryx, give souls that deserve another chance…a chance. Find their mates by their heart rather than by looks or gold. A rehabilitation slash sanctuary.

Oryx and I were on board with it.

We reached the far corner of the courtyard, where nature had reclaimed its territory. Mom's brow furrowed as I moved ahead, parting the curtain of tangled vines with both hands to reveal what lay hidden behind.

Mom crossed her arms and stared at the rounded stone. “What is this?”

I snorted and giggled. “When Oryx first learned to read my memories, he saw me crying over your grave. He thought I was worshiping a rock, or had some fetish.”

Mom’s mouth fell open.

“He erected this rock and gave me flowers as he has seen me put by your grave so I could do it here at the estate and not have to worry about me running away.”

Mom stared at the stone and back to me. “I don’t know if I should be amused or troubled. He really thought you worshiped a rock?”

“I’m not sure what he thought.”

We both smiled until we were in a fit of giggles.

“You must know that the males here are different from humanmen.I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sylvaine has always been more possessive than Thackery, he was ready to share while Sylvaine found me first and was confused and territorial of me. Then of course he had mixed feelings about Thackery.”

Mom’s cheeks reddened as she talked. The past few months she had talked little about their relationship, she was more interested in talking about me and how I was doing. How I had managed to be okay, if the decision to send me away was the right one.

At first I was angry, I didn’t show it though because I was happy that she was back with me now. Overall, what decision was the right one? No one would ever know. If mom told me she had cancer and was put to sleep by some cat, I wouldn’t have believed her. There was a chance she would have never woken up and I would have never left her side and well, never found where I was meant to be.

Things worked out in the end. It just took time.

Now they were a healthy triad, getting to know each other and me. They would be returning to the mountains in the next few days, apparently to work on giving me a new sibling.

Father was ecstatic about that one.

“Ladies! Ladies!” A familiar voice came running down the cobblestone pathway. We didn’t flinch. Instead we readied ourselves as he came around the corner.

A flash of purple hair appeared around the corner, followed by Benedict's flushed face, his pink eyes wide with urgency. Despite having raced through the densest part of the courtyard, not a speck of dust marred his impeccable household manager's uniform as he skidded to a halt before us, catching his breath.

Benedict stood up and straightened his tux. This new vessel bore little resemblance to his previous one—the lean frame and delicate features gave him an almost ethereal quality I hadn't associated with him before.

“Your mates are requesting your presence,” he panted. “May I escort you both back to the main hall?”

Benedict stood awkwardly in front of us, ready for a rejection.

Veylor and Oryx weren’t especially happy when I requested that Benedict be brought back from the Under Shadows. He had betrayed us in their eyes. However, I thought Benedict deserved another chance. His mate was still waiting and my father could be persuasive and hide information quite well as Mom has said.

Veylor put the pieces of Benedict’s new vessel together, I sewed him up and Benedict was given a less than impressive penis until he proved himself worthy again.

Father did reveal who Benedict’s mate was and he was to meet her tonight so that was why he was extra nervous.

Penis size wasn't the issue here, though. Veylor had already crafted a replacement that he would attach later tonight since he has been, ‘good.” I wasn't permitted to perform such procedures on anyone except Oryx—should the need ever arise.

Not that I cared to touch anyone else…