bite of our food.
It was nothing like the pretentious shit that we always ate with Father. This meal was warm and wholesome and full of love and I grinned in appreciation across the table at my mom. "This is amazing," I told her honestly.
"Freaking perfect," Xavier agreed and she beamed before tucking into her own food.
We stayed there throughout the evening, demolishing our meals and listening to all the fun things Mom and 'Hammy' had been getting up to since she'd come to stay with him.
They'd been working to build up a list of Fae who were unhappy with Father's rule which Hamish kept referring to as 'la rebellion' without explaining his need to add the 'la'.
Mom was actually really helpful as far as figuring out who my father’s enemies were because she’d spent years by his side, attending events with him and seeing the relationships he had with many powerful Fae. Father liked to listen to the sound of his own voice, so he’d also vented to her about Fae he didn’t like and given her plenty of ammunition to use against him when Hamish approached them now.
They were being careful to keep my mom’s involvement out of everything, not letting anyone know she was alive aside from him and I found myself really warming to this man who owed us absolutely nothing and yet had taken her in when she needed help without so much as a question over her loyalty.
The rebels had been creating networks across the kingdom to help hide the persecuted Orders and get them to safety and they even had the beginnings of some plans to break the Tiberian Rats my father had imprisoned in his Nebular Inquisition Centres free.
Geraldine gushed about the A.S.S. and how they’d been secretly meeting up still and between the two of them it sounded like there was a strong rebellion growing out of sight, ready to come and stand against my father as soon as we were ready to strike. I mean, yeah, they intended to back the Vegas for the throne, but they were also happy with the idea of me and the other Heirs continuing on as Councillors. They’d just have to accept the fact that the Vegas wouldn’t actually be wearing any crowns when the time came for the kingdom’s new rulers to ascend. Because to claim the throne they’d have to prove they were stronger than us and I had trouble believing that day would ever come to pass.
Aside from their work against my father, Mom had thrown herself into being domesticated. She was learning to cook and bake and spending time with Hamish while they worked on honing their earth magic - hence all the beautiful plants everywhere. In short, she was happy. And the knowledge of that soothed the pain and heartache in my soul in a way I hadn't even realised I'd been needing.
She gushed about getting to choose what time she woke up in the mornings and picking her own clothes and the evening she’d spent reading a book just because she felt like it, and my heart ached for the life she’d been trapped in. But here she was finally free, and it felt so damn good to just have something to be happy about for once that I bathed in it for the entire evening, never wanting to leave this little place of contentment.
The Gruses might have been pretty damn weird at times, but they were seriously good people and I owed them a debt that I would never be able to pay back. So I'd have to settle for killing my father and making sure this bubble of peace was able to extend beyond these walls one day.
“T uck your hineys!” Washer called as we did squats in the mud, the rain beating down on us on the Pitball pitch.
We never shielded from the weather while we were training so we got used to all conditions during a match. No magic could be wasted for that when we had to reserve it all for fighting the opposition. Washer had had some mercy on the cheerleading squad at least after making them rehearse in the pouring rain until their costumes were drenched, and he’d finally let them head off to the changing rooms to shower.
“Do we really need to do any more of this shit?” Darius barked at Washer who was casting the rain away from himself as he sat on a fold out chair in some lycra