Page 67 of Family Found

Kinnek clapped. “I believe we’re celebrating.”

Vergis groaned. “Some of us are.”

“All of us,” I said.

Vergis tried to give me a murderous look, but he failed so very, very much, and anyway, across the table, Fellisse and Hove were licking each other’s throats, and Inkiri was pulling my scarf aside to do the same, and I just knew that this was good. This was the start of our future together, for all of us.

Only that wasn’t quite right. My future had started a while ago, when this weirdo guy with three swords had strolled into the women’s clothing section to drop a monster head at my feet and get me my cat socks.

I’d found more than a mate that day. I looked around at all the smiling faces. That day, I’d found a family.

Epilogue

Rory

Nokim had taught the cooks how to make simple raspberry ice cream with berries he had collected in Canada and brought to Dublin using Vergis’s magic. I was both relieved and disappointed that it wasn’t potato ice cream. I’d ask him to give that a try when we got back to Canada. Back home.

“Rory, what is your verdict?” Nokim asked anxiously as we walked down the stairs of the Buttery—all of us except for Hove.

“You want me to tell you how good the ice cream was? Because the answer is, very.”

Inkiri clicked. “We’ll try to get you more of that, sweet thing.”

Fellisse made a thoughtful noise. “But he looked very in pain with that brain freeze sickness. Maybe Rory shouldn’t have ice cream at all.”

Vergis broke into villainous giggles. “Thwarted by your frail human body yet again, Princess.”

“Muffin, you were scared of ice cream when you were a baby. You hid for a whole year when we said ‘ice cream’ at the table.” Kinnek cocked his head. “It’s so nice not to see you hiding under the table at the mere mention.”

“That’s not—I wasn’t afraid of ice cream! I thought you were saying ‘isekim’ and you know it.”

I leaned over to Inkiri. “What’s ise…”

“Isekim. It means monster.”

I elbowed Vergis in the side. “Aww, Vergis, you were scared of something when you were a kid.”

“So many things,” Kinnek said.

“I was not afraid of monsters.” Vergis crossed his arms.

“Logically, that means you were afraid of ice cream, then,” Lissir said. “It has to be one or the other, Vergis.”

I hummed. “Well, technically, it could be both.”

Lissir and Kinnek exchanged a look. Lissir nodded. “Yes. Could have been both.”

Fellisse pretend-whispered in Nokim’s ear. “They’re being very humorous again.”

“No other sentenmen has as many humorous hangua as ours.” Inkiri put his arm around my middle and clicked approvingly.

“You’re all weird, and it was bad enough to have those two dads at home I couldn’t introduce to anyone.”

Kinnek sighed. “But, Muffin, Daddy got that flamethrower hoping you’d finally introduce some suitors to him.”

Lissir leaned forward. “I can find you some of those.”

Vergis rolled his eyes. “Fuck my life.”