Dreams Made Flesh

I look hurt?"
    Watching his eyes glaze, she'd realized she'd made a serious tactical error. Which was why she'd caught the Gray Wind and headed for the Hall as fast as she could, hoping Jaenelle would have some advice about dealing with the rest of the family.
    Jaenelle sighed. "All right. We'll deal with this."
    Surreal watched Jaenelle's arm tremble as she lifted the coffeepot and poured two cups. When she reached for the cream and sugar, Surreal stepped forward.
    "Want some help?"
    "No."
    Wondering about the whiplash of anger under the word, Surreal hesitated.
    "Take your coffee and a sandwich," Jaenelle said, grabbing a sandwich off the plate and taking a bite.
    "What's going on?" Surreal asked cautiously.
    "You want Falonar to walk away from this intact?"Jaenelle countered. "Then take a sandwich. And hold on to that wall of sass and indifference you've erected in front of what you're really feeling."
    Before Surreal could ask what coffee and sandwiches had to do with what she was, or wasn't, feeling, she felt the wash of dark power roll through the Hall. Ebon-gray and Black…immediately answered by another Black.
    Hell's fire, Mother Night, and may the Darkness be merciful. All three of them…and all of them pissed off.
    Grabbing a sandwich, Surreal took a bite and hoped she wouldn't choke.
    "Come over here and sit down," Jaenelle said.
    Feeling the three-pronged storm moving through the Hall toward them, Surreal sat on the end of the couch farthest away from the door. She gulped coffee to wash down the sandwich, then refilled both their cups after Jaenelle drained hers.
    "Ready?" Jaenelle asked.
    Shit shit shit. "Can I go back to being an orphan?"
    Amusement lit Jaenelle's eyes. "Not a chance."
    The sitting room door swung open. Saetan walked in, flanked by Daemon and Lucivar. Lucivar's gold eyes were lit with hot temper. Daemon's and Saetan s eyes had that chilling glaze. But the three of them stopped abruptly when Jaenelle smiled at them as if there was nothing in the world they could possibly be upset about.
    "If you want coffee, you'll have to ask Beale to send up another pot," Jaenelle said, "but there are plenty of sandwiches left."
    "No, thank you, witch-child," Saetan said, taking another step forward. He studied the woman who had been his Queen…and was still, and always, the daughter of his soul…before those glazed eyes focused on Surreal.
    Looking past Saetan, Jaenelle focused her smile on Daemon. "Surreal's going to stay with us a few days."
    "She's always welcome," Daemon replied. "This is her home, too."
    Lucivar stepped away from the other men, his dark wings flaring, making him look bigger…and more formidable. "You left Ebon Rih in a hurry."
    Surreal shrugged. "Just wanted to get away for a while. And frankly, sugar, your mornings start with a lot more noise than I want to deal with."
    "Noise?" Jaenelle asked.
    Surreal rolled her eyes. "The last time I was at Lucivar's eyrie around breakfast time, Daemonar was screaming because a wolf pup had chewed on his foot. Of course, the reason the pup had chewed on his foot was because he had been chewing on the puppy's tail."
    "In other words, it was a typical morning."
    "Precisely."
    They both looked at Lucivar, who swore under his breath. "All right. Fine. Anything you want to tell me about Falonar?"
    "No," Surreal replied.
    Before Lucivar could argue, Saetan said,"Our apologies for intruding, Ladies. We'll let you get back to your own discussion."
    Surreal held her breath as she watched Saetan and Lucivar leave the room…and noticed how Daemon lingered a moment, his eyes on Jaenelle, before he followed his father and brother. When the door closed behind him, she sighed with relief.
    "Think they bought it?" she asked.
    "No." Jaenelle set her cup on the table. "But it's understood that they have no justification for going after Falonar, so they'll leave him alone."
    She set her own cup aside. "I owe you for this."
    "Yes, you do." Jaenelle stared at the table. "Do you want to tell me why you really left Falonar and Ebon Rih?"
    "Not really."
    Jaenelle nodded. "Sometimes there's no specific reason," she said softly. "Sometimes things just don't work out between two people."
    Are we still talking about me and Falonar? Surreal wondered. Remembering the way Daemon had lingered for a moment, she had an uneasy feeling Jaenelle was thinking of two other people.
    2
    She waited until Saetan and Lucivar had left the Hall before tracking Daemon to his study.