317
Tony
It had been a hell of a week after Eliza’s attack, and while Ginevra and I had talked about a lot of things, I didn’t think we’d talked nearly enough. It had been her demanding to go to the Crescent Moon Festival with me rather than letting me go alone. I had no idea why, but her flashing eyes and the glow of her hair told me she wasn’t going to back down, even though her cowlick was worse than ever, no matter how long she kept her head under a hat.
Between a regimen of potions and more rest, she had regained most of her strength and started to put on a bit more weight. Nora was going to leave the day after Ginevra’s birthday so she could be the pink ranger to Quillan’s red. Matt had been made the white ranger for some reason, and I was green at Ginevra’s insistence. I knew nothing about the Power Rangers, but seeing how happy Quillan was made it inconsequential, honestly.
I checked my watch, wondering when they were going to get back. Matt was gone, though he promised to be there. He said something about some last-minute preparations, but I wasn’t completely sold on that. The penthouse had become more lively than I ever remembered the Estate being.
Having it empty after days of the constant sound and other presences was unsettling. The space felt hollow in a way I’d never realized, heavy and unwelcome. This had to be why werewolves preferred to live in large houses with all of the pack that could fit.
I couldn’t say when the last time I was truly alone like this was. I shook my head and pulled the plastic off my tuxedo, fresh from the cleaners. I set it in the closet next to Ginevra’s dress and grinned. I’d picked it out the same day she told me she was going, and I couldn’t wait to see her in it. My suit was a midnight blue embroidered with gold.
I took a shower, washed my hair, and tried not to focus on the way the silence seemed to make everything echo. By the time I was starting to dress, it felt like I would jump out of my skin.
What the hell was I so on edge about?
The front door chimed and opened.
“Daddy, we’re back!” Quillan called.
I smiled and headed out. He rushed toward me, and I really hoped he wasn’t sticky as I picked him up and squeezed him close.
“You had fun?”
“Yeah,” he grinned at me. “You should have come!”
I shook my head. “Then, who would get things ready?”
“I guess that’s true.”
I looked over as Nora and Ginevra came in. She was radiant and flushed with a healthy pink. Her hat was pulled down on her head, and her arms were full of bags. Nora followed with more bags and a weary smile. Matt was already gone, talking about pre-festival preparations, but he wasn’t clear about what that meant. He hadn’t even let me get his tuxedo. I hoped he didn’t show up in a regular suit.
Ginevra, kicking off her boots, sank onto the sofa, stretched her legs up, and looked completely at home in her sweatpants. I crossed the room, sank down beside her, and twined my hands with hers with Quillan curled up against me. The warmth anchored me and seemed to calm my anxiety.
“You found everything?”
She grinned. “Right down to the obnoxious helmets. We’ll try them all on tomorrow, but I got a few sizes. I’ll take whatever doesn’t fit back.”
I nodded. Nora came back with a huff. “Don’t you two have to get ready?”
“Yes,” I said. Quillan scrambled over to hug Ginevra.
“You’ll have a good time, Mommy?”
“I promise, pumpkin,” she said, her voice soft as she squeezed him close. “Make your auntie read you at least three stories with all the voices.”
He giggled and hopped up before looking at me. “You promise to make Mommy have a good time? You have to dance with her, okay?”
I smiled and embraced him. “I promise. Be good for your aunt, yeah?”
“I will.” He left with Nora, who eyed me and huffed.
“Is that... good?”
“Seems like Nora thinks you’re actually a decent person,” she said. “Now she’s going to start wondering if it was my fault, so thanks for that.”
I winced. “I’ll tell her… everything I can.”
“I know,” Ginevra said and hopped up. “You already took a shower… Shame.”
My jaw dropped, and I watched her saunter into my bedroom, tugging her hat from her head. The curls were much longer than they had been when she left. They were just past her shoulders, longer than I ever remembered it being. I smirked.
“You cheated!” I called after her.
“Magic is my birthright!”
I chuckled before getting to my feet. I couldn't argue with that. According to the lineage test she’d gotten, she wasn’t a werewolf, but an aesir of some sort. The woman hadn’t let me remain in the room while she explained, but Ginevra explained it as a mix between a deathless shield maiden and an angel with a heaping dose of magical resistance. My bite had activated her magical lineage for some reason she wouldn’t explain, though she did say that Quillan could inherit her gifts.
I hadn’t looked at my lineage test. It wasn’t on my radar, and part of me was absolutely terrified of what it would say.
She slipped into my bathroom, which she claimed was the best of all the bathrooms. Luckily, I’d already put everything I’d picked up for her in there, including a few options of perfume. I smiled as I smelled the scent I had hoped she’d pick. It seemed that even though I didn’t remember all of our relationship before Quillan was born, I remembered enough about her tastes.
I pulled on my dress shirt and buttoned it, looking at myself in the mirror. There was something off, but I couldn’t exactly place it.
For the first time in my life, I looked at my reflection and saw something else.
Someone else.
“Are you pulling a narcissus right now?” I turned, and my blood heated, seeing her leaning against the doorframe. Her hips tilted. Water slipped down over her naked body. The towel around her shoulders and on her head looked suspiciously dry. She eyed me.
“Though, I prefer the three-piece, if I can say.”
“Ginevra…” I breathed. “Are you… doing this on purpose?”
She cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’m raising a boy who shouldn’t be freaked out, overheated, or over-excited at the sight of women.”
I flushed. “You do not walk around naked around Quillan.”
“One efficiency-sized room in the summer with no A/C? Shit happens. He was a baby. All he knew was I was around to feed him… and he was warm.” She pushed off. “Besides, you’ve seen all of it.”
She turned to look at us both in the mirror and rubbed the water from her hair.
“Don’t do that,” I said, tugging her hands away. “Why didn’t you use the cloth I left for you?”
“The sheet?”
I snorted and tugged the towel from around her shoulders. The glint of the dandelion pendant caught the light. I draped the towel over her shoulders and squeezed.
“Your cowlick and frizz is mostly dryness, not length.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Looked into this?”
My lips twitched, and I leaned down, taking a deep breath of her scent. I shuddered; the electric feeling that rushed through me was enough to make me say to hell with the Ball altogether.
“If I did?”
“Spill the secrets.”
I laughed and guided her back into the bathroom, sitting her on the bench. I pulled the drying sheet down and started to dry her hair gently. I handed her a bottle of styling conditioner.
“Be generous.”
She pumped some into her hand. Then, I gave her the wide-toothed comb, shaking my head. I frowned, thinking about it. I got a flash of something from so long ago. I heard my mother’s voice, but it couldn’t be right.
Her hair was more wavy than curly.
“My hair…”
“What?” She asked, working it through her hair. I frowned at my reflection.
“Why I was a kid… I had curly hair.”
Why was it so straight now?
“So glad you grew out of curls,” she said, combing her hair. “Now what.”
I handed her the hairdryer with a diffuser.
“Ugh, this thing? Can’t I have a regular blow dryer?”
“Not if you want to take pictures for Quillan.”
She groused and turned it on. I frowned at my reflection. Something was wrong. My stomach churned.
"Nervous?" She asked, my voice barely a murmur.
“I don’t know.”
She hummed and stood, leaning against my side. “You’re cuter when you’re playing at confidence.”
“Thanks.”
“Though, I prefer the honest side of you.”
Honest.
Right. I tore my gaze away from hers in the mirror. “About that… There’s something I need to tell you.”
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