The feast continued in full swing as more dishes began to appear, each one more absurdly elegant than the last. One plate ca garnished with edible gold flakes, another had a tiny floating sphere of sauce that burst on the tongue like a mana-infused bubble.
La Rocha didn’t serve them personally after the first round. He had conjured a series of elegant, emotionless constructs in tuxedos to do that for him but every now and then, a loud clang or a frustrated mutter echoed from the kitchen, just to remind everyone he was still working.
Lola happily bounced from lap to lap, giving dramatic reviews of each dish like a tiny, overexcited food critic, most of which made everyone burst into laughter.
Eventually, the plates were all cleared out and everyone’s stomach and hearts were full. The laughter had quieted into warm smiles and soft chatter as the sky began to shift, casting the balcony in hues of pale lavender and peach.
The ocean, calm and endless, mirrored the sky like a painted dream, and the salty breeze carried the faintest scent of the feast that had just passed.
Damon leaned against the balcony rail, a wine glass dangling loosely from his fingers, though it had long since been emptied. Beside him, Kate rested her head on his shoulder, eyes half-lidded in a peaceful daze.
Mark sat with his legs stretched out, unusually relaxed, while Lola had curled up like a content kitten in their mother’s lap, finally tired out. John was scribbling sothing absentmindedly on a napkin, and even their father had kicked his shoes off, propping up his feet with a satisfied grunt.
As the first golden line of sun peeked over the horizon, Damon exhaled slowly, letting the silence stretch. "Now this," he murmured, "this is the kind of mory I want to keep." Just family. Just morning. Just peace.
Kate did not say anything. Only smiled. She didn’t need to. Her fingers gently brushed against his, their hands resting side by side on the marble railing, pinkies barely touching. Kate felt content.
Unfortunately, all good things must co to an end. An innocent little munchkin suddenly popped next to Damon. "Uncle, can we bring auntie Lirae here next ti? I want to show her this view. I think she will love it."
"Auntie Lirae? Who is that?" Kate laughed and picked up Lola, rubbing her nose with the little one’s nose.
Lola bead with happiness. "Oh! You haven’t t her Kate? Auntie Lirae is the prettiest angel in this whole world!"
Damon started sweating.
"Is that so?" Kate’s smile froze just slightly as she looked from Lola to Damon, a single brow rising with the precision of a blade being unsheathed. Her tone remained pleasant, teasing even, but her eyes, those shimring red-tinted pools, suddenly had the stillness of a frozen lake. "The prettiest angel in the whole world, hmm?"
Damon started sweating even more.
Lola, bless her oblivious heart, just nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm! She has shiny silver hair and pointy ears and looks very very pretty."
"Yes, you already ntioned that." Kate was very clearly controlling herself but the little devil was not making it easy.
By now Damon was fully drenched in sweat. He had to do sothing now. Otherwise, it would be ga over. "Kate, listen. You can play with Lola later. We should now go and check on Artimius. The old man really exerted himself to try and heal my injury."
Kate’s face imdiately beca worried. "What happened, Damon? I an, you look better now, so I decided not to bother you with silly questions, but now I am worried. Your injury was so bad?"
Damon laughed awkwardly. He really did need to check on Sylvara and the old man and everything that was going on with the black pool trial. When his hidden opponent had targeted him, that was also one of the places they had attacked.
"Let’s walk and talk." Damon started walking towards the part of the castle where the ice clan mbers were staying. Mark also joined them.
The three of them coincidentally ran into ira on the way. Damon imdiately did a double-take as he really did not have the capacity to deal with Aurora’s shenanigans at the mont. But thankfully, the crazy girl was missing at the mont. Hmmm? Where was she?
"Where is Aurora?" Damon asked curiously, but mostly to avoid so sort of unexpected sneak attack from her.
ira did not answer him imdiately. She looked at him with a strange expression for a mont and then shot back. "Why are you looking for her?"
Damon imdiately waved his hand like a madman before more misunderstandings ensued. "Nope. Not looking for her. Just wanted to know if she was fine."
"Yes, she is fine. She is in the middle of sothing and hasn’t logged out yet." ira then walked away without saying anything else. She also seed extrely exhausted.
"There is so fish if you want to eat," Kate called after her, but ira simply walked away.
"What is up with her?" Kate looked worried.
Damon shrugged. "Everybody has their own shit. Leave it."
The group arrived at the wing where the ice clan mbers were residing. Artimius had taken the master room, and Damon knew exactly where he was. They walked over and knocked gently on the door.
On the second knock, Sylvara quickly opened the door and stared dumbly at Damon for a minute before she snapped back to reality. "I... We should talk outside. Grandfather is still resting."
Damon nodded, and they moved over to another room. Sylvara sat down on the regal sofa in the room, her hand brushing the beautiful flower pattern on the cushion cover absent-mindedly. "Did Grandfather help you at all?" She quietly asked.
Damon smiled. "Of course. Without him, I honestly wouldn’t have made a full recovery." Well, almost a full recovery, but he decided to keep that part to himself.
Sylvara nodded. "I am glad. Grandfather says he just needs a few more days of rest and that he will be fine. So you don’t have to worry about him."
***
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