Meredith had always known about magic. Her family was magic, one of the most powerful mage lines out there. Having lost her parents to all the fighting though, she stayed far away from it, focusing on school and lading a primarily normal life.
Unti...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The meeting room was a huge circular table, larger than any donut she'd ever seen. At one end in the right corner, her aunt was seated with Torin, as the Aurions were the head of this complex. There was another mage she didn't know, with slate hair that obscured one of his eyes but stopped there, and the lightest of grey eyes. Dressed in a formal tan suit, he looked so strange.
Who bought tan suits?
In the left corner, she found Paul waiting for them, and her eyes sparkled in excitement as Caelan joined him. Trying to keep it in check, she was doing such a terrible job that Paul cracked a smile, despite trying to keep a serious diplomat face. With his hair free and hanging around his shoulders and dressed in a casual, long-sleeved, collared shirt and a sweater vest, he wasn't doing so well on the formal diplomat front anyway.
Caelan, did he get you a matching sweater vest?
Caelan chuckled as Damien and Neil took their seats on the vampire side of the circle, Ruprecht taking up sentry behind them.
Bet that'd be hot, just you in a sweater vest and nothing else. Real nerd central. Get you a pair of glasses and we could sell you out as a birthday stripper.
Caelan full on laughed, and Paul was having a terribly hard time keeping his composure, clenching his fists and forcing the smile to a tight short upward line. As she took her seat next to Rush, their laughter died down, but the grey mage in the corner flared magic energy around the room, drawing attention to himself.
"Am I not privy to some joke?" The man asked in annoyance, and Cael looked to him and flipped him off. Paul touched his face like an embarrassed parent, and Mer glared in the man's direction.
"It wouldn't be funny to you," Mer commented, not at all liking the man's attitude.
"I didn't realize it was custom to bring sacrifices to peace talks," the man continued in an unfriendly manner, and she bristled.
About to scathe his ears with profanities, she was stopped only by Rush touching her shoulder, and she simmered down.
"I am free to bring whomever I deem necessary," Rush said, completely stoic. "If I want something nice to look at so that my eyes don't bleed from looking at your unfavorable countenance, I'm allowed my eye candy."
You heard the man, Caelan. I'm allowed eye candy. Strip.
Caelan actually reached for the buttons on his shirt, but Paul batted his hand away and he settled into his chair with a satisfied smirk.
"Ash, keep this civil," Lia said to him, and Mer couldn't contain her thoughts again.
Ha. Ash. Good job on that name. Bet he gave it real thought.
Caelan laughed again, and Ashe bristled in annoyance.
"Meredith, please guard your thoughts," Paul spoke for the first time, and Ash whipped his eyes to her in confusion. "Caelan does not care for being diplomatic, and if you keep stoking him, he'll never calm down."
