Crown of Cinders (Imdalind #7)(133)

“Yeah,” she answered, greeting me with her trademark hug and dual kisses, something I had never gotten used to, even after living in Prague for over ten years before we had found Ilyan’s house. “Something came up, and he needed Rinax’s opinion.”

“Oh?” I asked, surprised. “Is that the best excuse he could come up with for a visit? No one really needs Rinax’s opinion, you know.”

That man was far too grumpy for his own good, something Míra understood. She chuckled in agreement before looking sharply toward the inland, her eyes narrowing.

“It’s probably just a gull, Míra,” I said, knowing her protective tendencies, not just for Ryland, but for all of us. She had burned down one of the outhouses before, and I really didn’t need to repair anything else. It always got the villagers talking.

She didn’t seem to hear. She had already gone into full guard mode.

With a shrug, I left her, something she didn’t seem to even notice, and started up the stairs, following the clear pull of Ryland’s magic inside the house.

I had only made it halfway up the stairs before Wyn and Thom appeared at the door. Thom looked thoroughly entertained as he and Wyn laughed over something. I was already sure what it was.

“You need to stop pestering him, Thomas,” Wyn said with a barely concealed laugh, putting her hands on her hips and making her already protruding belly that much more noticeable. “If you teach him to be scared of every—”

“I’m not teaching him to be scared, Wynifred,” Thom retorted, shoving his hands in his leather jacket. “I’m teaching him to be a man.” He pounded his chest.

The whole thing was so ape-like that Wyn broke out into laughter, something that only seemed to upset her more.

Her laughter turned into quite a few spluttering sounds, her hands flailing like crazy before she half-screamed and stomped away, right down the stairs toward me.

I looked up at her then at Thom behind her. He was now making wild gestures of pregnant bellies and crazy ears. I would like to say his charades were a warning, but he looked so ridiculous I laughed, which Wyn did not miss.

She looked between Thom and me in increased anger before turning on me, wagging a finger in the air like an old man. “Don’t you dare tell me you had some part in this,” she scolded.

“No,” I said, not even trying to restrain the laugh anymore. “I told Cail his dad was full of it. That being said, you’ve gotta let those two figure stuff out. You keep shielding him, and they are gonna have issues. He’s got to figure out his dad is a loon.”

Wyn stopped two steps above me, her hands still on her hips, belly sticking out toward me. She stared at me, the angry pregnant woman slowly fading until a smile started to peek out.

“His dad is a loon,” she said, the smile taking full control now.

“Biggest one I know.” I took the last two steps as one, letting my arm drape over Wyn’s shoulders as I turned her back toward the house. “And you love him for it.”

“I do,” she sighed, love dripping from her voice as it usually did when she talked about Thom.

“Good,” I sighed, too, my stomach tensing from what I was about to say. “So, now let’s calm down, shall we? Let those pregnancy hormones take a break.”

“Joclyn,” she snapped.

I ignored her, plowing ahead as we moved through the large wooden double doors and into the grand tiled entry hall where Thom, who stood with a very dapper Ryland at the back of the room, looked up at the sound of our approach. Ryland smiled before going back to whatever conversation the two brothers were wrapped up in.

“If you don’t, I’m going to make you watch Firefly again,” I continued, keeping my voice down, although not by much. “I’ll even watch it with you.”

Now she laughed loudly and obnoxiously, her own arm winding around my waist. “Wait. Are you meaning to say that you are going to stop sleeping on the beach all day and living in the past?”

I probably deserved that dig after bringing up pregnancy hormones.

“I’m not living in the past,” I groaned, still foolishly trying to stay quiet. It was foolish, especially considering Wyn wasn’t even trying. She was going to drive this home. I wasn’t going to get away from this conversation that easily. “I’m following my soul.”

“Uh-huh,” Wyn said with a laugh. “You keep telling yourself that, and I’ll keep pretending that Styx isn’t considered classical music now.”

“Speaking of that …” I began.

“Of Styx?”

Ignoring her, I asked, “Why did you tell Cail I was being a ‘mopey loner’?”

“Because you are being a mopey loner!”

I opened my mouth to retort, but between Wyn’s wide smile and the deep burly laughs that echoed over the tiles, I was silenced. Ryland and Thom had left their conversation to join us. Thom smiled smugly, walking next to his much taller and much burlier little brother. The muscular man was dressed in a grey pinstriped suit, something that had become more common on him in the last few years. Always dapper. It would be a good look if he didn’t have that mischievous “kid in a candy store” look.

“On, no,” I groaned, the words clearly heard by Ryland, who only laughed more loudly.

“Hey, mopey loner,” he said with a smile, his curls bouncing as he stepped up to us.