know what to do so I just took him back into my arms. As we swayed together, I could almost hear the ghostly echo of music from centuries before.
“Come on,” he said. “Your family will be here soon.”
“Our family,” I corrected. He smiled, but his eyes still looked so sad.
It was a look that dissipated the second Dashiell McPhee arrived.
We stood on the terrace at the entrance to Castlewick, watching the state car circle the fountain out front and pull to a stop in front of the steps leading up to the palace. Dash was the first to jump from the car, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head as he took it all in. “Pea!” he cried before he ran up the steps, ignoring all the staff that had come to greet them, to launch himself into my arms.
“Careful,” Auggie cautioned with a smile.
“Oh, right,” Dash said, climbing down. “Sorry, Jack!” he said to my tummy. He turned to Auggie and bowed respectfully. “Your Grace,” he greeted.
I had to suppress a smile. I knew my brother had rehearsed this greeting for months.
Auggie rolled with it, bowing himself. “Sire,” he greeted.
Dash giggled. “Can I hug you now?”
“I’ll be offended if you don’t,” Auggie replied. Dash launched into his arms and Auggie spun him around. He held him on his hip as Mom, Dad and Dallas joined us. “Welcome to my home,” he said, bowing to my parents.
Dad didn’t know what to say, which was no surprise. That it left my mother speechless was the real shocker.
“You live here?” Dallas echoed, staring up at the massive palatial home.
“Occasionally,” he said as he indicated we should follow him into the house. “When my mom and dad returned to Aldayne when I was five, this was where we resided. Most Quinn children are reared here, under the watchful eye of King’s Keep.”
“That’s the island in the middle of Unity Lake,” Dash told the rest of the family.
Auggie chuckled. “I see you’ve been doing your homework.”
Dashie nodded. “For five long months,” was his emphatic reply.
“Well, good. Let’s see what you’ve learned.”
Auggie retraced the tour, asking Dash questions that he easily answered. He knew all the Kings and Queens, and eagerly inhaled all the extra information that Auggie provided about royal tradition and protocol.
Finally, we reached the third floor. “And this is where you will all be staying,” Auggie said as he set Dash back on the floor.
“This is really too much,” Mom said, as overwhelmed as I had ever seen her.
“It is but a penance of what you’ve given me,” he said, drawing me to his side. “Please. Make yourself at home.”
Dash needed little encouragement. He found his room easily, a light blue room with enough toys to keep him busy for a year, much less the week or so they were going to stay. Also on his bed was his magical tutu, which had been all over the world. It was worn by a big teddy bear, almost the size of Dash himself. This royal bear also came with a sash that read ‘Lord Dashiell’, perhaps a hint of titles to come. Dash grabbed it with a happy squeal.
“Happy belated birthday, six-year-old-boy,” Auggie said, recognizing Dashie’s birthday we had missed by mere days.
Dallas’s room was right next to Dash, designated by a brand-new pair of ice skates that hung from the door. He had spared no expense, which was easily recognized by the dedicated skater. “Mom,” she breathed, holding them up to our mother.
“Say thank you,” she encouraged, but Dallas was too shocked to eke out much of anything. Instead she jumped up to hug him, which Auggie happily indulged.
The room down the hall had been prepared for my parents, a private oasis with its own sitting room and a giant private bathroom with its own soaking tub facing the lake. The staff had provided some Yaars bubbly, which chilled in a silver ice bucket. On either side of the king-sized bed were vases full of Charlemonde and Aldayne roses.
“This is truly lovely,” Mom told Auggie. “Thank you doesn’t even seem big enough.”
“If you can feel as at home as you have always made me feel, that’s all the thanks I need.” He reached for a hug. Mom didn’t deny him.
Heck, Dad didn’t either.
“Which room is your room, Pea?” Dash asked. I was almost embarrassed to say.
“We’re on the second floor,” Auggie told him. “Would you like to see?”
A short jaunt later and my whole family stood bug-eyed in King Riordan’s master