Chapter 173: Chapter 172: Breathing Room
The celebratory lunch Damon had mentioned turned into a rather elaborate affair.
The dining room table was laden with food that the kitchen staff had clearly prepared with considerable enthusiasm....celebrating, Eve suspected, not just the successful diplomatic meeting but the completed bond that the entire estate had felt the previous night. There was roasted chicken, fresh bread, three different salads, roasted vegetables still steaming, and a chocolate cake that looked almost too beautiful to eat.
Almost.
Eve ate with the focused attention of someone whose body was still recovering from significant magical expenditure and thorough physical claiming. The food was extraordinary, and she said as much to Lora when she came to check if anything else was needed.
"The kitchen wanted to make something special, Luna," Lora said, her eyes briefly touching on the glowing mark visible at Eve’s collar before looking away. "Everyone’s very happy about...." She paused, clearly uncertain how to phrase it. ".....about recent developments."
"Thank you," Eve said warmly. "Please tell them the food is perfect."
After Lora left, Damon leaned back in his chair and studied Eve with an expression that was part satisfaction, part mischief. "So. First diplomatic meeting successfully navigated. How does it feel to be a natural at Court politics?"
"Terrifying," Eve said honestly. "I kept waiting for her to ask a question I didn’t have a good answer for."
"But she didn’t," Raphael pointed out. "Because you’d prepared thoroughly and thought strategically rather than just reactively." He took a sip of his wine. "Isadora is a seasoned diplomat. She’s been navigating Court politics for three centuries. The fact that you held your own with her....more than held your own, actually impressed her, speaks to how far you’ve come."
"It also," Damian added more pragmatically, "bought us breathing room. The Traditional faction’s support, even conditional support, means the other factions will be more cautious about how they approach you. No one wants to move against someone who has Seraphine’s backing."
"How long before the other factions arrive?" Eve asked.
"Days, probably," Damian said. "Maybe a week if we’re lucky. The power surge was felt widely, but coordinating official envoys takes time. They’ll want to assess the situation, strategize their approach, send the right representatives."
He met Eve’s eyes. "Which means you have time. Time to rest, to recover fully from the claiming, to continue training with Raphael, to prepare for whatever comes next."
"Time," Eve repeated, and the word felt almost foreign. So much had happened so fast....her awakening, the mate bonds, the assassination attempt, the training, Cain’s claiming, Isadora’s arrival. She’d been operating in crisis mode for so long that the concept of actual breathing room felt strange.
"Time," Silas confirmed, his hand finding hers on the table. "Which you’re going to use to actually rest. Not train. Not strategize. Rest."
"I should...." Eve started.
"Rest," all three brothers said simultaneously.
Eve looked at them....at Damian’s implacable alpha expression, at Damon’s grin that suggested he had several ideas about what ’rest’ could involve, at Silas’s quiet certainty that brooked no argument.
"Fine," she conceded. "I’ll rest. But...." She looked at Raphael. "Can we do one session tomorrow? Just to keep the momentum going? Nothing intensive, just...."
"Maintenance training," Raphael agreed. "One hour, light work, focusing on refining what you already know rather than learning new techniques."
"Deal."
After lunch, Eve retreated to the master bedroom with the intention of actually sleeping for a few hours. Her body was insisting that despite the food and the bath and the rest she’d gotten, she needed more recovery time. The claiming had taken more from her than she’d initially realized.
She was just settling into the bed when her phone buzzed with a text.
Maya: Are you okay? Elena said you were in an important meeting all afternoon but I haven’t seen you since yesterday and I felt something weird last night and I’m worried.
Eve stared at the message and felt guilt settle in her chest. Maya. Her best friend. Who had come to visit and support her and had been systematically kept at arm’s length while Eve dealt with increasingly complicated supernatural situations.
She typed back quickly.
Eve: I’m fine. Better than fine, actually. Are you free? I’d love to see you. Maybe we could spend some time together this afternoon?
The response came within seconds.
Maya: YES. Where should I meet you?
Eve: The gardens? There’s a bench near the fountain. Twenty minutes?
Maya: I’ll be there.
Eve set down the phone and looked at the bed longingly. Sleep could wait. Maya had been patient and understanding and had asked for almost nothing despite being thrown into the completely bizarre environment of the Blackwood estate. The least Eve could do was actually spend time with her.
She changed into more comfortable clothes....soft jeans and a sweater that still showed the mark but felt less formal than the meeting outfit.....and made her way down to the gardens.
The gardens were beautiful in the afternoon light....spring flowers in full bloom, the fountain sending up arcs of water that caught the sun and made rainbows. It was peaceful in a way that the rest of the estate rarely managed, a pocket of tranquility in otherwise heightened circumstances.
Maya was already at the bench when Eve arrived, bouncing slightly with nervous energy that Eve recognized as her friend’s standard state when worried about something.
The moment Maya saw her, she stood and crossed the distance between them in quick steps, her arms coming around Eve in a tight hug that spoke of genuine relief.
"You’re okay," Maya said against Eve’s shoulder. "Elena kept saying you were fine but I couldn’t stop worrying after last night."
"What happened last night?" Eve asked carefully, pulling back to look at Maya’s face.
Maya looked at her with an expression that was equal parts exasperated and concerned. "Eve. Whatever that was.....that wave of....something...it woke up the entire estate. I felt it in my bones. Like every cell in my body suddenly knew something huge had happened." She paused. "Elena said it was an advanced training exercise but that’s....that’s bullshit, right? That wasn’t training."
Eve looked at her best friend....her human best friend who had no context for supernatural politics, for claiming ceremonies, for any of what she’d witnessed over the past week, and made a decision.
Not full truth. Not yet. But more honesty than she’d been giving.
"It wasn’t training," Eve confirmed. "It was...." She searched for words that would be true without being complete. "....it was something personal. Something significant. But nothing dangerous. Nothing you need to worry about."
