“This one should be made into a sorbet with chunks of the fruit,” I said, but then groaned. “With chocolate chunks too.”
Nora took my glass and tried it, her eyes flashing surprise before she nodded. “Yes, this is rather lovely.”
And she kept the glass. Brat. It was fine, someone got me another, and I could see how taxing dealing with all the crazy was, so she could swipe my juice.
What she couldn’t swipe was my present. I gasped when I saw it, glancing at Thomas. “You found this?”
“No, my niece and her mate are both sculptors; they met in a college program abroad,” he explained. “One of the coven hopefuls heard this and has the gift of manipulating minerals and stone. They reformed marble energy beads into new blocks of marble based on what they asked for. They have been working tirelessly on it since it was announced you would expand your court.”
“It’s breathtaking,” I whispered as I moved closer to the flatbed trailer it was on.
And it was. It was the bright white sort of marble with the gray veins that caught the light in a pretty way. So, that alone was pretty, but the sculpture itself was magnificent, even if it had come from a block of concrete. It was a large leopard lounging lazily with several barn owls doing the same on it. The leopard wasn’t trying to eat them and even nuzzling a baby owl on its paw.
“I don’t think it’s because of the present, but I feel a draw to it like I did the artifacts I had to collect,” I muttered. I moved closer and touched it, flinching at what I felt. “It’s been blessed. I feel it like I did the other items.” I glanced at Kristof who was sensitive to it as well with his age. “Feel it.”
He nodded and moved closer, not hiding his shock well when he touched. “She’s right, it’s been blessed and not with an energy I’ve felt in her other items from gods and goddesses.”
“I bet just about anything it gives off light at night,” I said as I stepped back and moved around the flatbed. “This is wonderful, Thomas, really, thank you.”
“I’m glad it pleases you, My Princess. Our clan is so grateful to you and your coven for accepting us, letting us be your family, and rebuilding a home together with your support.”
I knew he said it formally because of all the ears, but I could also feel how much he meant it, my eyes tearing up at how much it touched me. I went over to him and hugged him before his mate.
“We will plant the seed immediately,” his mate told me firmly. “If Aether wishes us blessed with another child when we thought we were done, we will gladly accept it. If she wishes to bless our daughter, that is more than we deserve. I would ask we borrow Darius and Moon, and maybe if Jacob is willing to help us scout the right spot to designate the center of the outpost.”
I agreed, feeling it was the right thing to do and not just because they had the construction experience and more.
Darius came over and handed me a large bunch of multicolored chrysanthemums. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Congratulations, My Princess. May you have all the happiness you deserve and a long life.”
Which I guessed was what the flowers meant. “Thank you, they are gorgeous.” They were and even if we were having trouble, I couldn’t stop myself from smelling them. They were huge blossoms and lush, like they wanted to give me the message from him that he was sorry too.
Darius, Moon, and Jacob agreed to check things out after they ate some wild hog before the next wave of food. I hadn’t realized at first, but Kristof had wrapped my hand so the dripping blood caught on the cotton bandage. Right, time to get back to the main event.
I stopped by Thomas before I did, moving my arm to his hand. “If your niece and her mate are so inclined, I would love nothing more than a set of shifter pairing statues to go all around the coven. Over time, no more working tirelessly or killing themselves for a deadline. We’re going to appreciate life after the apocalypse, not fall right back into all the bad habits people talk about from before.”
“I agree, yes, they would love that as they are artists down to their souls.”
Good. I wanted people happy. We all had to make sacrifices and work hard doing things that weren’t all that fun sometimes, but surviving wouldn’t be worth it unless the life we had now was.
The first of the gelato flavors were going around, and I opted for a plain scoop since there were toppings in it. I could flare up all the sundaes later, but right now, I wanted to enjoy just having it as the recipe Nick had come up with as everyone was so excited. Cerdic and Kristof did the same, and after we were done, I felt my eyes start to close again.
“Sleep, we’re going to give you a nice massage as you do,” Cerdic murmured as he took my dish from me. It wasn’t hard to convince me then, and I was out moments after he poured oil on my legs.
It wasn’t a long nap from the position of the sun when I opened my eyes, and I was pretty sure the smell of dumplings
