Nick took her hand, and Afton adjusted his collar. It was great to see them finally together.
My eyes toured the room. Nana, Pop, and Kayla stood by one of the long tables arguing over seating arrangements. Mrs. D’Marco poured water into empty glasses at the place settings. Mr. D’Marco set baskets of bread between the flower arrangements.
Kayla laughed at something Pop had said. He was giving her another chance, and I was happy for him. It was time he had someone special in his life.
“There you are.” Deidre rushed over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Do you love it?”
“I do.” I wrapped my arm around hers. “I can’t believe you hid this from me.”
“It was hard. Believe me. You’re so nosy.” Her eyes narrowed on Peyton, Dag, and Knox standing by the cake table. Dag glanced around before stabbing his finger into the frosting of the cake.
I laughed.
“That little brat,” she hissed. But it wasn’t an angry kind of hiss; it held amusement. “Excuse me.” She marched over to them.
Lei rushed in, her arm wrapped around a very attractive guy, just a little taller than her, with black hair. “Happy birthday, ducky. You look beautiful. You need lipstick, though.”
“Thanks. I think.” I nodded at the guy and mouthed, Who’s this?
“Oh, sorry. This is Gamon. He doesn’t talk much.”
“Nice to meet you, Gamon. I’m Gia.”
He bowed his head slightly. “The pleasure is mine.”
“We’ll talk later,” Lei said. “I want to make sure Nana doesn’t sit us by Demos. I can do without him teasing me or interrogating Gamon.” She dragged him away.
I snickered. My family and friends were the best, if not a little on the unusual side.
Jaran came in holding Cole’s hand. “Happy birthday, Gia,” Cole said. “Hey, there are appetizers. You want a plate?”
“Sure,” Jaran said. “Whatever you’re having is fine.”
“Be right back.” Cole made a beeline for the hors d’oeuvres table.
Jaran handed me a small box wrapped with pink paper. “Here. It’s from Aetnae.”
“It’s not my birthday,” I said, inspecting the box. “My birthday was months ago. It’s actually Nick’s this Wednesday, though.”
He bumped my shoulder with his. “I was told we were celebrating it anyway. Aetnae said to tell you not to stay away for too long.”
Stay away too long? I couldn’t imagine ever going back. There were too many painful memories and too many people who wouldn’t be there.
“Want a drink?” Jaran asked.
“No, thank you.”
He smiled. “I’ll get you one anyway. I’ll be back in a few.”
Emily stood close to Arik listening to Carrig tell them one of his many stories. Arik’s arm rested on Emily’s back. When Carrig said something that made Arik laugh, Emily would smile up at him. She adored Arik, and I think her charms were winning him over more and more every day.
Arik’s and my eyes met. He gave me a bright smile, and I returned a brighter one. After fighting alongside each other in the epic battle against Conemar and his followers, we’d become partners again. Though we were on hiatus from training for a while, we still sparred together to keep in shape. Most importantly, we had become close friends.
He returned his attention to whatever Carrig was saying, and I studied my hands.
Demos entered the room wearing jeans and a nice black shirt. “Hullo, Gia. Happy birthday.”
“It’s—” I gave up. “Thank you.”
“I guess I got the dress code wrong.”
“You look great,” I said. “How’s Shyna?”
“Seeing someone else.” He winked. “It was a fly-by-night kind of relationship. Pun intended.”
“I see.”
“Oh, there’s food,” he said. “Excuse me. I’ll be back.”
I smirked. Guys and food.
Watching everyone together touched my heart. I wanted to keep them there forever in that room. Safe from the outside world. From the Mystik world. Even though the havens and covens were coming together to form one nation where all the Mystiks were equal, the government was being restructured, and The Red, Sabine, Briony, and Bastien had important roles to play in its formation. Briony was training Bastien to one day take over her role as head of the new parliamentary system. Though he was busy, he made a point to meet me often at one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind. “Why is the birthday girl alone at her party?” Bastien whispered, his breath brushing against my neck. He kissed my collarbone. “You are simply beautiful in this dress.”
I spun in his arms to face him. He looked amazing in his dark blue suit, pressed white shirt, and matching tie. His sleeves stretched across his biceps as he held me.
“I didn’t think you would make it,” I said, staring up into blue eyes that matched his suit. Eyes so dazzling that they caused my breath to hold in my lungs and warmth to rush to my cheeks. I exhaled.
He kissed me. Mint hinted on his lips, as if he’d just brushed his teeth. “I will always make time for you,” he said.
“How come you always say the most perfect things?”
A smile twisted on his lips. “Because I am perfect.”
“And arrogant,” I added.
“You love that most about me.”
“You’re wrong. I love your kisses most.”
He kissed me again. “There will be more of those later.”
His smile was infectious, and I pressed my lips together trying to stifle my own.
“Come with me,” he said, grasping my hand and leading me out of the room.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he weaved around tables.
We passed the host stand. “You’ll see.”
When we walked outside, he removed his jacket and placed it over my shoulders.
“No,” I protested. “You’ll freeze out here without a jacket.”
He grabbed the lapels and pulled the jacket tighter around me. “Then I’ll hurry. Now, you have a habit of interrupting me—”
“I do not.”
His eyebrow lifted, and he placed a finger on my lips. “I love you, Gianna. You’ve been moody lately, wondering where you fit in both worlds. Pop said you missed applying for university.” He reached inside the jacket, removed an envelope from the inside pocket, and handed it to me. “We have many connections in the human world. It just so happens there is a wizard who works in admissions, and I called in a favor.”
Boston University was in the upper left-hand corner, and my name was in the middle.
“What is it?” I asked, shivering against the cold.
“Your acceptance for next fall,” he said. “You’ll be rooming with Afton.”
“Really?” I hugged him tight and shrieked. The jacket slipped from my shoulders, and he caught it. “I can’t believe it.”
“There’s more.” He returned the coat to my shoulders.
“More?”
He removed a small square box from the inside pocket of his jacket, his hand brushing my waist caused a shiver to tickle up my spine.
My eyes widened.
“Before you panic, it’s not what you think.”
“Okay,” I said.
He opened the black box. A sapphire ring sat on a tiny red pillow.