Resonant

Chapter 23

Zale

Fen pointed at the group of people containing Kyra's soul mate and I couldn't help the burst of laughter. "Well, fuck me," I said.

"What?" Fen asked while I laughed some more, because what were the odds?

"That's the royal family of Huron. The eldest, Castiel, is set to inherit the throne in a few years. Kyra was supposed to marry the younger son, Benny."

Fen spluttered a laugh. "Benny? You mer favor names like Adras and Euripides and Castiel, and that one's name is Benny?"

I had to smile with him, since it was a little funny when you put it like that. "It's a nickname. I haven't had dealings with their family, but it's common knowledge he doesn't like being called his full name, Benicio."

Fen licked his lips and I couldn't resist stealing a kiss. He swatted at my shoulder. "Zale! Focus! What are we going to do?"

Euripides was still just a few steps away, chatting jovially with a duke of someplace or other. I really should have been paying better attention, since these were good contacts to make no matter how they I was making them, but I had been too angry over Euripides acting like he had any kind of claim over me to absorb any names or faces. Gah, he had called me part of his family, I recalled with a barely-repressed shudder. What an ass.

"Zale?" Fen asked, lacing his fingers through mine and squeezing gently. "You probably shouldn't be glaring at your father like that."

He said the words apologetically, but he shouldn't feel bad about keeping me grounded. "You're right. Sorry."

"So, what are we going to do?"

Well, the first step was getting out of the seemingly endless parade of greetings Euripides was leading. I pulled Fen into a nearby alcove and watched as Euripides turned to look at Kyra and at the space I had just occupied. He frowned and looked around, so I ducked further into the alcove. He was obviously upset, but he smoothed his expression and carried on like nothing had happened. As I expected, this man wasn't about to cause a scene looking for the wayward son he'd never bothered to meet before tonight.

Euripides and Kyra moved on and I sagged with relief. "We should have ditched them ages ago," I said.

"Yeah, but now Kyra's alone with him," Fen said, looking guilty.

I shrugged that off, ignoring my own echoing guilt. Kyra had spent decades dealing with her father without any help from me. She didn't need us for this. "Do you know which one's her soul mate?" I asked, turning us back to the only subject that mattered right now.

"No. I need Kyra to get closer to be able to tell."

This party was massive, and if we were going to maneuver so that Kyra and her soul mate could start getting to know each other and maybe spark something, then it was best to start sooner rather than later. Maybe this would be simpler if we came forward and told Kyra what we were doing. We could explain that her soul mate was here and was someone her father would approve of, and take a load of stress off her shoulders. I was sure that's how Fen would handle this, if he weren't leaving the decisions to me.

But.

But, that wasn't what I thought would be best for my sister. I knew from experience how hard it could be to assimilate the idea that someone you just met is your soul mate. I wasted so much time with Fen feeling like he was just another obligation, and feeling like I could arrange our lives however I liked and have him just fall into line. She was probably not as much of an idiot in this regard as I was, but why make things complicated for her?