Page 26 of The Witching Hour
“Oh! Wait here, Celeste, you have to meet Delwyn!”
Once she’d hurried off, I raised my brow at my scowling cousin. “Problem?”
Cian grunted and folded his arms over his chest, glaring in the same direction his sister had gone.
Before I could pry it out of him, Aura was back, practically dragging a tall, willowy blonde behind her. There was something about her that…I double-blinked when she met my gaze, and I saw her silver eyes…the color almost seemed like it was swirling around. Despite being tugged along, she had an ethereal grace, and I realized the girl was a fae.
Despite her natural allure—similar to a vampire’s—I didn’t feel even a single spark at the sight of her. No one could come close to the perfection of my consort.
Cian’s scowl was aimed at her, and while I understood his reticence to having a fairy in our midst, it felt like quite the overreaction. Especially considering that this girl probably hadn’t even been alive when the incident happened.
“What’s with Cian?” Celeste whispered.
“She’s fae,” I murmured back.
“Do they hate vampires, too?”
“Not particularly. But Cian had a bad run-in with a group of fae a couple of hundred years ago. Apparently, he hasn’t gotten over it.”
Celeste frowned but smoothed her expression into a welcoming one when Aura brought Delwyn to stand in front of her. The fairy tossed a dark glare back at Cian, but then she greeted us with a warm smile.
“Della, this is my cousin Ren and his consort, Celeste. She is a complete badass.”
Celeste blushed and rolled her eyes. “Aura is exaggerating, but I’m very happy to meet you, Delwyn.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” she replied with a tinkling laugh. “She’s told me a lot about you, all of which was pretty impressive. And please call me Della.”
The bell announcing that our meal was ready rang through the large hall. “Let’s go to breakfast, love. You girls can talk more in the dining room.”
My mother must have noticed the instant camaraderie between the three girls because she sat Aura and Della directly across from us. Cian was seated on Della’s other side, still brooding silently. She shot him a deep frown, then turned away and ignored him.
“Well, isn’t this an interesting sight,” Abel interrupted as he strolled up to the group and the empty seat beside me. “I feel like this should be the start of a joke.” He tapped his lips as he looked around thoughtfully, then a grin split his face. “A vampire, a witch, and a fae walk into Santa’s winter wonderland?—”
He was cut off when Aura tossed a piece of bacon at him. “Shut your gob, you half-wit,” she scolded through her laughter.
Della giggled and reached for one of the platters of food in front of her, just as Cian extended his hand to grab his goblet of blood.
Their hands bumped, and Della immediately apologized while Cian hissed and went as stiff as a board.
“What the fuck?” he snarled as he twisted at the waist to face Della. She reared back, but she wasn’t able to get far because Cian grabbed her arm and forced her to come closer. Then he shoved some of her thick, blond hair over her shoulder, exposing her neck.
He yanked at the high neck of her top, and it ripped slightly, prompting her to shriek, “What are you doing, you lunatic?”
Rather than answer, he tugged the fabric down, and there were several audible gasps when we saw the birthmark just below the base of her throat.
“It can’t be,” he growled.
“Of course not,” I agreed. I was one of the few people who knew that Cian had already met his consort. It was a most unusual circumstance because she’d only been a child. Obviously, his feelings toward her weren’t romantic at that point, but he still felt the pull to be near her. She was barely ten years old when he went for a visit, only to find that the family had been killed by a group of nightwalkers. Two of the bitten vamps had been fae.
Aura and Abel were staring, open-mouthed at the couple, clearly as dumbstruck as I was. But they quickly shook out of their stupor when Cian jumped to his feet and stalked off.
“I’ll go,” Abel muttered to his sister before he popped out of the room.
Della’s face was a mask of confusion, and she pivoted to look at Aura. “What…what just happened?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But…I think…somehow, you’re my brother’s fated mate.”
“His what?” Della shouted. “Destined to be with that…that…jerk!”