Raging inferno was a good way to describe Toya Rose but it had a different meaning when spoke about Cyprus Rose. How many times had her fingers been sewn back together? How many times had her fingernails been pulled out? How many times had she been fixed just to be broken again at a later date? How many decades had it been? Where had her courage been when Cyprus threw Undine from the cliffs… Was it because she knew what would come next? Every failed attempt, every claw for power, and every stresser put on the old queen… They had been taken out on her.

There had been a point where she had screamed so much that she had lost her voice. That her vocal cords had begun to bleed. There were marks all about her skin. Some had healed smoothly while others held a more rough texture.

She had once been an esteemed member of the academy council. She had escaped but nothing was forever it seemed. There was a time when she had been happy and healthy, a bright mind even with the darkness from her lineage. Not even the academy could protect her by the end. Broken beyond repair they had said to her old partners. Was she?

The situation with Undine had left her mind in a constant state of disrepair as it was. Nearly drowned then beaten afterward for Eliagos’s apparent betrayal. She had been hiding in a crate the night her siblings met their ultimate end but she was the one who was one step ahead. If there was one thing she could do, it spat on her mother even if it killed her.

So she lurked like the shadows deep in her blood and she stole the things that Cyprus had wanted most… Then she left with nothing but those objects to hold her. She felt them close and felt the soft vibrations from within the spheres. It kept her comfort as she found a tight cavern in the desert. The bugs, the bad men, and whatever else she could get her greedy hands on were what fed her for the next two decades.

It was some of her prey lurking by that said something… unique one day. “That Kirika of the Black Court, their new queen she’s different than the bitch before.”

“Yeah, well I heard Cyprus is never coming back after what they did to her. It’s best just to leave it be.”

Her eyes stirred and her body ached as she waited. Her hair, skin, and just about everything else appeared dirty and her clothes were barely even there, tattered beyond repair. Desperate silver eyes were going everywhere. It was deep night and by the moons, she knew it was midnight. She made her way back into the city just as she had left, unnoticed.

The streets were still busy and she panicked a bit as she moved in the shadows or pushed her way into the crowds to get through. Her smell sent people away from her but once she saw the house she felt her mouth go even drier than it was.

It looked different but… How different was the inside? With a bit of magic she found her way in and she was standing in the foyer before the full brunt of her panic attack set in. “WHERE AM I?! WHERE DID IT GO?! IT WAS HERE NOT THAT LONG AGO!!” She was crying now as she cleared tables with her free hand and she clutched the orbs.

“THE SCENT IS DIFFERENT. THE ROOMS ARE DIFFERENT. THE PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT!” She was throwing things the best she could as her sobs got louder and louder. She stumbled back on her weakened legs and her shrieks and tears got louder. “I WILL PUNISH MYSELF FOR IT THEN!” She took a sharp piece of mirror and started to cut into herself. “See, see… Mina punishes herself so you don’t have to do it.”

She screamed to a being who was no longer there but she knew well. “Do you want her eyes? Her nails? WHAT ABOUT HER HEART?!” Yes, that was one of her favorite things to remove from Mina again and again. “I CAN DO IT!” She dropped the orbs and grabbed a bigger piece of broken mirror.

Steele was around and about the manor for a bit, mainly to keep an eye on his brother. Something he would regret (and knowing would even before he set foot into the house) but it had to be done. Dante was going around and proclaiming he had power over the family when in truth their father wasn’t even sure if he would be the heir of the house or not. There were too many decisions now that Colden and Sol were back into the family and even Steele himself was a contender. But his latest thoughts were to get away from his younger brother and equally perverted wife as they ran about, the former chasing the latter in some strange game that would no doubt lead for the lycan to see things he didn’t wish to envision.

Coming down the stairs, he was seeking to head for the kitchen for a bite to eat before he heard screaming of a different sort. He rushed over to the foyer and saw what he could only describe as unadulterated chaos. The room was a complete mess; vases broken, mirrors shattered and furniture tossed about and in the middle of it was a small woman, and it was clear that she was out of her mind as he approached. When he noticed what she was doing with a mirror shard, he dashed over just as she was reaching for a bigger piece.

“Stop that now!”, he spoke loudly but controlled as he snatched her hand and took the piece of mirror with the other. He felt it scratching at his skin but compared to what he went through in his life, it wasn’t at all bad for him. “Stop. You don’t need to do that here.” He didn’t know who this woman was or where she came from, but it was clear she needed help.

“Dante! Dante! Quit goofing around and come here! You too Lotus!”

His younger brother eventually came moments later, peeved that his fun had been ruined. “What is i…?” His frown changed the moment he peeked around Steele and saw her. “Who the hell is that?”

“Don’t know, but she’s an odd one. Lotus, go get Eldora. Dante, help me get her to a couch or something.” He approached with caution as he drew closer to her. “Relax now, we are here to help. I’m Steele and he is Dante.” He would then point towards Lotus, “She’s Lotus. We aren’t here to hurt you or anything. So you want to sit somewhere more comfortable?”

“NO!” She hissed towards him but he was far stronger than she was or had ever been thanks to her conditions. “I must atone!” She screeched.

Lotus came running once she heard her name. It wasn’t often that Steele would yell for them out of the joy of his heart. It was also the tone the wolf was carrying. She stopped dead as soon as she saw the small woman on the floor. “Yeah… Eldora.” Lotus turned on her heel and went after the older sister.

Mina was struggling against Steele and Dante both but again she barely had any fight to her as she continued to cry. “MINA NEEDS TO BE HURT.” She cried up at Steele as they attempted to calm her down.

Lotus brought Eldora back who was in just as much shock as the younger sister. Lotus approached carefully and parted the woman’s hair. “She yelled Mina… Do you think?” Looking back at the oracle Eldora was already in thought mode.

“Mina…” Eldora was quick to move forward and she slapped Mina hard. “CALM DOWN,” Eldora yelled back and even Lotus was jumping to stop Eldora.

“DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT’S WHAT SHE NEEDS?!” Lotus was clearly upset but Eldora was strangely calm. “Out of all of us… You know what that woma–” Lotus was cut off as Eldora shot her a look.

“It’s all she knows,” Eldora said it in a whisper. Mina was now a pile of whimpers as she tried to ball herself up. There were a few shrieks but for now, Eldora moved to help Asimina as she got the bleeding to stop. “Asimina, do you remember me? Do you know Lotus?”

“…Yes,” scared silver eyes stared at them now as Lotus parted her hair more so the woman could see. “I remember. BUT MOTHER SHE WILL BE CROSS. SHE WILL KILL US.” Mina was screaming again and Eldora steadied Mina now with a more motherly touch. It scared Mina as she fought again.

“Mina. MINA,” Eldora yelled and Mina stopped briefly. “Mother is dead Mina.”

“Where has she been, do you think? Look at her…” Lotus got down on her knees near Asimina and Mina struggled a bit.

“I’ve BEEN IN A HOLE. I kept it safe. I did. I kept it farrrr away from her. I ate bugs, people, and… and dirt! I survived. I remembered. I kept it safe. No one knew. NO ONE KNOWS. But Mina remembers. I remember what I took.”

Eldora and Lotus looked at each other and the sisters took a breath. “We’re going to need Angela to look at her. This is our sister Asimina… Don’t let Undine see her for now.”

“LET UNDINE KILL MINA. SHE DESERVES IT.” Asimina immediately began to scream.

“The hell you do,” Undine had been coming down the stairs with Sol not that far behind her. “You did nothing wrong.”

Mina began to struggle and Lotus with Eldora held her down with Steele and Dante. “I LET HER KILL YOU.”

“The fuck you did. She would have done it anyway. LOOK AT YOU. LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO YOU. I was pissed off and yeah I thought it was your fault Mina BUT ONLY ONE OF US has had to suffer this long.” It was clear that Undine knew a lot about the situation. “Mina is the one who tried to hide me a few days before Mother threw me off the cliff. She ripped her heart out and stitched it back in as punishment. I remember Mina vomiting blood for days until her body’s natural healing took over and fixed it. Out of all of us, Mina suffered more than any of our other siblings. I remember that much.”

Mina was oddly quiet before she started to scream and flail again. “Go get Angela,” Eldora shooed Lotus off.

“She’s broken… Are we sure Angela can even fix her?” Undine left the stairs to get closer.

“She can reverse it I’m sure but it’s going to take a long time to undo what’s been done to her.” Eldora looked to the boys and sighed. “Asimina used to be one of the most brilliant minds to come out of this house. She was a potions master for the academy. Angela managed to get her away and send her off to school away from Mother… but no one escapes forever. Asimina was frail thanks to the beatings early on and so she was easy to capture. Mother took everything out on her once she got her back. I would say Lotus losing her eye was a direct result of Mina being too broken to handle it at the time.”

Mina was back to whimpering as she tried to fight a bit more. “Easy…” Eldora took her hand and looked at all the scars. “Just breathe…” She locked eyes with Asimina and Eldora took breaths making Asimina take them with her.

Lotus came back once she had Angela and the goddess was kneeling at the edge of the couch with Eldora. “I always wondered what happened to her but I was so caught up in everything I didn’t actually think she made it.” Angela’s voice was a whisper.

“What can you do for her?” Undine asked with her arms crossed as she stayed near Sol.

“I can begin to unravel it but it will take a long time. If I do it all at once she’ll go into shock and die. Your mother has her conditioned to the point of… Well, torture is her life. The best thing you can do now is bathe her, feed her, and I’ll start the treatments.” Angela looked up at the small family and back over to Asimina. “They told me you said you took something… Mina, what did you take that you were so scared of?”

Mina whimpered a bit more and pointed to two little orbs with swirling magic within. “I took it. I TOOK IT SO SHE WOULD FAIL. I took it… I couldn’t save Undine but them… I save them.” For once she was speaking softly as if scared Cyprus would hear her.

“You took Colden and Kirika’s magic pool?” Angela looked over at them and back at Mina. “So that even if she was successful in getting Kirika there’s no way it would have worked?” Angela stood up and went over to the orbs. “We can give these back to those two… For the time beginning, she was good friends with Bakura and Emmanuel at one point at the academy. Maybe they could be of assistance. You did a good thing, Mina, trying to save your siblings like that.”

Mina began to have a meltdown again but Angela figured it was out of love instead of fear. The goddess came over and put the broken woman to sleep. “Get her bathed and I’ll ask Bakura and Emmanuel to come over… I’ll start the treatments after that.” The goddess gave the orbs to Undine. “Give these to Kirika and Colden. They should know which is which. If Mina is alive… There’s a chance there are others but if her state is anything to go by… We won’t be able to save them all.” Angela went and got Bakura and Emmanuel telling them where to go but not exactly why. After that, she buckled down for the long battle of brewing something that would help.

“Now, now. You don’t need to be hurt, girl”, Dante sighed as he went to one side of her to help get her to her feet while Steele was at the other side. She was plenty light enough but the frailing about wasn’t helping the matter as they sought to grip her. It was sometime before Lotus returned with Eldora and soon enough it became clear that they might know who she was. Steele glanced over to Eldora while Dante looked on in horror after she slapped the deranged woman. They both released her while she coped with the punishment and the half-elf felt sorry for her. “Who is she…?” Steele’s suspicions grew stronger the more that the sisters spoke to this one and a quick cue from Lotus confirmed it.

“What did that bitch to do her?”, he wondered out loud. When she spoke of ‘Mother”, Dante placed his hand onto his face and groaned. “Is she one of you guys too?” Yet another broken person by the hands of Cyprus. He had thought Eldora had been bad when they first met her, but it was clear as rain that this Mina made her look like she had been normal all of her life. Gods, she could screech and Dante covered his ears as she continuously did so. “Settle down or she will get you”, he could barely say before Undine arrived in time to see the wonderful sight.

The brothers helped Eldora get a grip at her before she went even further off the line. Sol gave her a strange look, not having known what the fuck was going on and waited for her to get kicked out or something. But as luck would have it, she was one of the Black Roses and it made him grimace as he realized that she would be around here more often. “Peachy”, he huffed.

Angela would soon make an appearance and after everything was settled down and the plan made, they moved her onto a couch and let her take comfort there. Dante still couldn’t believe that Mina was a genus; Steele couldn’t believe that even in her mad state, she was able to foil Cyprus grand plans. Sol couldn’t believe that she would be staying here and he’d have to put up with it.

——–

Bakura and Emmanuel had been at the academy, finishing off some of their work when the Goddess came to retrieve them. It seemed dire enough, but she was tight-lipped about the ordeal until they arrived at the manor. Although he wasn’t a fan of visiting- thanks to Dante, Bakura knew that they weren’t summoned here for something small. He went over to the couch and looked at the strange woman. “Who, who is this?”

Emmanuel came around and spotted her without a doubt in his mind. “Asimina.” That single word came out swiftly and softly. “Are you serious? I thought she was dead…”

“Her body was never recovered from that incident though, plus I recognize her eyes anywhere. She was my former assistant, remember?”

“Wait, you worked with her?”, Dante asked with a cocked brow. “Yes, she had a beautiful mind, and yet her mother turned it into an insoluble puzzle. Gods knew what she did to her to turn her into this.”

“Asimina, how do you make the all-cure potion?”, Emmanuel asked, knowing that somewhere in the chaotic mind, a part of her still resided.”

“What are you doing?”, Bakura asked but Emmanuel ignored him. “Asimina…the Panacea Elixir. Tell me how you’d make it…”

“What didn’t she do?” Eldora said as she looked up at Steele. “The level of torture Mina went through would make even people like Sol throw up. No offense Sol,” Eldora put her hand up at her brother in law. “Whenever Mother had a bad day she took it out on Mina. Whenever the babies would cry she took it out on Mina. Whenever something didn’t go according to plan she took it out on Mina. Mina heals a lot faster than the rest of us thanks to her demon blood.”


–

Mina was barely awake by the time that Emmanuel had come. She knew him right off the bat and it seemed like he knew her as well. “So did we,” Lotus spoke quietly as not to disturb her sister. “She just showed up out of nowhere and started to destroy the place… Not to mention commit suicide on the floor.”

Mina’s silver eyes were looking directly into Emmanuel’s before looking at Bakura. Her lips quivered a bit like she was going to shriek but she swallowed her scream into a small audible whisper. “Panacea Elixir. Cure-All. Hardest potion to brew. Takes months. Base is made from standard antidote and a higher ranking healing potion. You boil it with mandrake and moss at the bottom for a few days before tossing in the aloe vera and the methi.”

She looked at her fingers like she was counting. “Halfway through the boil you add in a golem and celestial elixir set and leave it to simmer before adding in the dust of a skull. The last is the essence of an angel feather. You put it in as the potion is cooling and leave the potion to sit for the rest of the time before draining out the hard bits. If you cool it too fast it blows up in your face like it did the greenhorn Bakura but we fixed it.”

Suddenly, she stopped and looked up again at Emmanuel and began to claw her off the couch. “MINA DIDN’T SHOW UP FOR WORK.” Eldora sighed a bit and let the girl go. Asimina went and climbed her way up Emmanuel and clung to him. "Mina didn't finish her notes. Mina didn't finish the potion for that one family who was sick." At least she wasn't screaming as more as she just whispered what she had done wrong.

“So… She is in there somewhere.” Eldora crossed her arms. “Looks like Angela was right to get a hold of you both. “We’re going to need to get her into a bath without her freaking out… Do you think you could make her something to relax? We can’t just leave her looking like this.”

Emmanuel seemed impressed with how Asimina was able to go through the whole process in her head, but also looked over to Bakura to see if there were any flaws. Sure enough, he sighed and nodded just as she broke off and leaped at Emmanuel. “That’s everything, all right. She’s one of the few people in this city that knows the cure by heart.”, he spoke as she clung to him.

“I was sure of it. She’s buried beneath all that insanity and paranoia”, he spoke as he rubbed the top of her head. It took him some time to figure out what family she had to cure back then but eventually remembered. “Ah yes. Don’t worry Mina, that family has recovered. You didn’t finish the notes completely but Bakura was able to use them and help out. In a way, you saved their lives. You were good.”

“Hey wait a minute”, Dante spoke up, “Are we going to forget that she took the magic out of both Colden and Kirika? How the hell did she manage to do that?”

Bakura shrugged, not knowing that was possible but Emmanuel just sighed heavily. “A very powerful machine can do it if built right. I suspect it might have something to do with Marin and why she makes it so that no one can steal her creations…”

“Marin?!” Bakura wasn’t pleased to hear this but his mentor glanced his way. “Yes, I think I remember her gloating about building a machine that could do it, though the committee never saw it themselves so they figured she was puffing up smoke.” But he wasn’t concerned about this at the moment. What was dire was her current situation. “Mina, you are going to have a bath and Bakura is going to fix you something nice.”

Bakura looked to Eldora, “I might have just the thing for her. Luckily I carry an emergency case with me for things like this.” He headed off the kitchen and pulled out his supply. Combined with what they had, he was able to start brewing a tea that would calm her down like a kitten. Meanwhile, the boys went to take Mina but Emmanuel stopped them with a hand. “Don’t worry, I can walk her to the bath and the others can handle the rest. Come on now, Mina.”

He walked with her still on him as they made their way to the bathing room and he stopped at the door. “I’ll be outside if you guys need me.”

Mina froze as soon as she heard Marin’s name and she let out a scream. “SHE’S GOING TO KILL MINA NEXT. MINA STOLE FROM MARIN.”

It was all she was saying on the manner as Emmanuel worked on calming her down. “Bath?” It looked like she had completely ignored it every other time it had been said but Emmanuel she knew well and he didn’t look like he had changed much since the last time she had seen him.

Mina looked up at Emmanuel before slowly touching her feet to the ground. It was the first time she noticed how cold the marble was as she immediately retracted her foot back up in hesitation. Eldora and Lotus weren’t too far behind and even Undine was doing her part.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t somehow drown herself,” Undine had her arms crossed and it appeared like she was trying not to care but even she felt guilt for what Cyprus had done.

The sisters managed to get her in a bath and through a bit of screaming, mostly from hair pulling, it went smooth. “She looks like your size Undine… Do you have any spare clothes? We can get her more later…” Eldora put her finger to her chin as they dried Asimina off after the bath.

“…Something that covers her, yes.” It was odd to make sure that was the qualification for Mina but Undine came back with a nightdress. “Here.” It was far better than anything Lotus would have that was for sure.

They brought her out and for the first time, it showed they were all related. Mina’s hair had to be cut to get all the knots out but it still left a good bit past her shoulders. They opened the door and Mina climbed back up on Emmanuel. “Looks like she’s refusing to walk for now… Not that I blame her she’s probably tired from coming this whole way.” They brought her back down to the group where Kirika and Colden were now.

Kirika looked up and smiled a bit. “Maybe, the kids will make Mina feel better from the sounds of it…” She knew that Colden had Angelette with him.

Once Angelette was held up to Mina there was a brief moment where Mina appeared happy… but in true Angelette fashion, the little half Rosenite opened her mouth, “BOO!” Mina screamed and clung to Emmanuel. “Boy, Daddy you were right she is scared of everything.”

It was a process getting her to take a bath, at least from the earful that he was hearing from the other side of the door, but the sisters managed to tend to Asimina well. He was worried about how long it would take before the woman could cope with her familiar but new surroundings. He had confidence that Angela could fix this but until then, it would be up to the rest of them to tend to her and take this step by step. When they were through and the door opened, he saw Mina really for the first time in ages. All that dirt and grime hid away her family beauty, which was evident when compared to the other women around her. He smiled and let her climb onto his back before he picked her up and helped her get back to the rest of them. “It’s not a problem at all.”

They all came back downstairs in time to see the remaining sister and the only brother in the family. Colden, yet again, was surprised to learn that he had another surviving sister. He was still coming to terms with Undine, who had just given him a strange thing indeed. He hadn’t even felt as though his magic was missing but when he had taken the sphere, it felt right to him as it absorbed back into his body. “Hm…hello? I’m Colden and she’s Kirika. You are Mina, right?”

He looked to his sister before he brought up Angelette to see her new aunt. Things went well, for a little bit, until she spooked her. “There, there. Your niece is a little gremlin is all.”, he soothed, while Colden looked crossly at his daughter. “That’s why I told you not to do scare her, Angel,”

“Angel? She’s anything but that”, Dante chimed in while pinching her cheek.

Colden put her down and tried Triss instead. Compared to her older sister, she was still a sweet little lamb. “Without your help, they wouldn’t be here. Hell, I don’t think any of us would be. Thank you…sister.”

Emmanuel nodded and placed her down. “Steele, Dante. You two are coming with me. I think that we should celebrate having Mina back home. We are going to get some things for a lovely dinner.” Dante went to argue but Steele just punched him in the arm and dragged him by the collar outside. Emmanuel followed closely before looking to Bakura. “Go ahead and give her the tea. We should be back shortly from the market.”

The trio left and within the hour, returned with various ingredients and signaled for Bakura to follow. “Dante, go send word to Taimi. Heaven knows she would be crossed if she missed out. Oh, and Crystaline too.”

The two would then get to work in the kitchen, filling the rest of the house with wonderful smells of cooking. Occasionally Dante would try to see what was happening but would have the door slammed in his face. It was hours before they were through and what a feast they had made: cooked fresh fish with lemon, steamed potatoes, cooked asparagus with butter, a large green salad, steamed crabs and shrimp and a lovely three-layer chocolate cake to be served later. Water, wine and juice (for the children) were at the table arranged for the family. Emmanuel helped Mina over to her seat before he helped to bring out the courses and set them down.

“Oooooh, lovely spread”, Dante said, still holding onto the makeshift ice against his face from the recent incident.

Emmanuel sat down beside her, “Well, as I said, it’s a joyous occasion.”

“I’m Mina. Mina is me… Yes.” Silver eyes looked over her siblings she had given up lots for and seemed pleased until Angelette happened that was.

Angelette looked sad for a moment as she got scolded and stuck her tongue out at Dante as he pulled on her cheeks.

Triss was still very quiet with hair like Colden’s and familiar blue eyes. She was trying to hide herself but still, she looked Mina over and gave a very shy wave. “They are very small,” Mina reached out with hesitation before patting Triss on the head. “You are welcome,” Mina got out as she and Triss had a sort of stare down at each other.

Mina was once against hesitant as she got on the floor. Her feel felt cold against the marble but now that she wasn’t entirely panicking she could tell how much the place had been changed. Eldora helped Mina drink the tea and it was so much to her liking she about yanked it from Eldora’s hands. “How long has it been since you had something good to drink?”

“Long time,” Mina mused but didn’t go into the disturbing facts of how she had survived. There were little ones about after all and she knew better.

Taimi and Crystaline showed up before the food even got a chance to start. Triss was content in her father’s arms but Angelette snuggled up to Crys looking at everyone. Taimi was busy looking over Mina’s wounds and applying what she could to the scarring. “Been there long time. Don’t think they go away,” Mina was finally talking without screaming thanks to the tea.

Taimi offered a smile, “All scars can be healed to some degree, Mina. I have a few balms for it.” Once the food was ready they all gathered together, including the children who hadn’t been present before.

The boys were staring at all the food with their father and Shiroi was sitting by her uncle Steele. Mina could smell the food as she was being brought in and she climbed up into the chair so her feet weren’t touching the cold floor. “Food…” Mina’s eyes looked larger than her stomach.

“Cake,” Triss cooed into her father’s chest as she eyed the layers.

Mina needed a bit of help as she tried to literally shove things down her throat. She choked a few times but luckily everyone was there to help as they all sighed in relief. “The tea worked rather well Bakura. She’s just hungry now but it does make me wonder what Mother is going to do for her. It certainly doesn’t sound pleasant.” Taimi frowned a bit and looked at Emmanuel. “Does this mean you’ll be helping with Mina until she is well?”

Fortunately, the crisis was solved momentarily and Mina calmed down enough to see the fruits of her labor. Despite her strange antics, it wasn’t hard to see that she had been brave to pull the stunt she had against her mother. “Yes, Angelette is only four and her sister is a little younger than she is. They are like day and night though.” Obviously one had to guess that their “grandfather” was the reason that Angelette turned out the way she did, not that her father loved her any less for it. He just wanted to keep her out of trouble that was usually produced by her own hands.

Once everything settled down and dinner was ready, the inhabitants slowly gathered around the table to enjoy the men’s hard work from the kitchen. Emmanuel was especially paying attention to Mina since she hadn’t gotten a good meal in such a long time. Heaven nor hell could stop her as she went through her plate like there was no tomorrow. They would all pitch in and help her when she choked down her food and remind her of how to use her utensils again They also made sure to keep her from having too much wine and get plenty of water and juice.

“Probably not”, Bakura spoke to Taimi as he managed to down his own mouthful. “It’s a very delicate matter on which specific methods she uses, thus the prepping time. But if anyone can do it, it would Angela.” Though he wasn’t sure if Mina was strong enough mentally to survive getting mended. There were hardly any sounds other than the feedings, drinkings and the plates passed about as feast continued. Colden tried to warn Triss many times not to “flop” onto the cake as she had done previously and make a mess of both it and herself.

When it came time for dessert, he brought out the cake and sliced it into pieces and passed it down, making sure it got to Triss first so that she could do as she will with it, much to Colden’s dismay. Eventually, he handed Mina and piece and helped her cut into it with her fork before being seated. “I suppose I should. I was responsible for her back in the academy and I do think I failed to help her when she needed me the most.” He looked to Asimina with sincerity in his eyes, “I will be there for you this time, my friend.”

“Yeah, and be here for me too”, Dante said as he tasted his piece of cake, “And keep this food coming.”

Steele answered for him with a punch on the arm and smiled his brother howled in pain.