Page 69 of Family Found

He and Charles kissed. I wasn’t sure of how unusual it was for a human to so easily tolerate Aragis here, but Charles seemed to have no problem with it. Quite the contrary, actually.

Kinnek left, and I was about to head upstairs to the roof to see what Rory and Vergis were doing and whether they wanted a snack or something to drink when Charles spoke.

“Hey, Inki,” Charles said. “How would you guys feel about some construction work?”

“Construction?” I took the chair Kinnek had just vacated. “You mean building?”

Charles shrugged. “When I originally built this place, I thought it would be a generous home with my horned husband and kid and the odd horned houseguest, but Fellisse and Nokim are in Kinnek’s art room, and Lissir’s been bedding down with Vergis, which Vergis doesn’t like. He’s weird about his space, you know? Very human of him.”

“Not that human, Charles.”

Charles tapped his glass of iced tea with a finger. “Well, yeah. But either way, it’s getting crammed, but we have the space. We can expand. We could build an annex if you guys are up for it, and with our three mages, a lot of the things that need doing might get done faster. It would also give Aragis some space too.”

I nodded. This made sense. Vergis might at some point wish to take mates, and while Lissir was not the mating type, he liked a warm hangu-na in his bed every now and then. Tador, Zeddira’s tactician who was now also stationed in Dublin, had certainly shown interest in visiting Lissir soon.

And, of course, Aragis might wish a space where he could be alone and feel safe. He had been hiding in Charles and Kinnek’s bedroom, and I hadn’t seen him once since we’d gotten back. Charles had actually joined Nokim and Fellisse in the art room last night.

I nodded. “We’ll help. Nokim will love the opportunity to learn about construction, and in fact, I think there are several at the Dublin Raiken who will wish to help as well after Rory healed them.”

“That works for me. The more hands, the quicker this gets done, and everyone will be happier after.”

“I’ll text Hove from Rory’s phone. Or better, video chat with him.”

Hove had taken quickly to his own device after Vergis had found him one in Dublin. It was amazing that those things still worked, but humans were tenacious, like my sweet mate. Their technology reflected that.

Hove, while he’d sent a team back to check the bodies for evidence and make a count of them, knew just like we all did that some of the mages had escaped, not to mention the Koa Esher. He was glad to have a way to quickly contact us here, especially in case anything developed that needed to be shared right away.

Charles nodded. “You do that. And welcome to the family, I guess. Glad to have you guys here.”

I bowed. “We’re honored to have become a part of your House.”

Charles took Kinnek’s glass to the dishwasher, and I went upstairs.

Vergis and my mate were listening to music on the roof. Rory was lying in the shade of one of the solar panels, and Vergis was stretched out on the Astroturf.

“Oooh, Ink,” my mate said. His voice sounded funny, and I knew what they had done even before he found the strength to lift his head and look at me with blown pupils. “Ink, you’re so handsome. Look, Vergis, do you see how his horns gleam in the sunlight?”

Vergis groaned. “Honestly, you had half a fucking brownie. And I swear Nokim barely put any in.”

I nodded in understanding. “Ah. Nokim experimented with brownies and kaminni.”

“Fun brownies!” Rory crooked his finger at me. “Come here. Kiss me. Kiss me like Romeo kisses his Juliet.”

I smiled at him. “Romeo?”

Vergis groaned. “Some Shakespeare play. Balcony scene, lots of drama, lots of speeches. Some death.”

My mate giggled. “Only one of his greatest works of all time. Vergis, you’d be such a good Juliet. On a balcony! With Nokim below.”

Vergis hissed and turned the music up louder. “Go make out with your mate, Inkiri. That’ll shut him up.”

I could get them some snacks later, and my mate was holding out his arms to me, so I lay down next to him on the thin mattress he’d brought out, reveling in the sensation of him running his hands over my horns.

I kissed him too, like he had asked. I tasted the kaminni on him, but mostly he tasted sweet and perfect and like mine.

The kiss was long, and his grip on my horns made me want to do more, but this was not the place, and he’d grow tired when the kaminni wore off.

I ended the kiss when I sensed him getting tired. “Are you happy, sadir?” Rory was quite breathless and had one leg slung over me, seeking to be close. I held his leg in place and rolled us so that he could lie on top of me and cuddle all he liked.