Everyone was in here for the celebration feast.

Cheers went up as we stepped through the long rows, and even though Shadow didn’t do much more than nod and walk along looking broody, I found myself thanking them all and smiling a lot, even after my cheeks started to hurt.

Thankfully, we reached our section before I whipped out the queen wave, our pack having commandeered three tables. Angel was in her usual spot, and I fell in beside her, able to land easily since my wings and hers were both tucked away. “Is that really weird for you?” I asked before wondering if it was rude to be so blasé in mentioning her lost appendages.

Thankfully, she was used to me and didn’t miss a beat. “I fall over more than I stay straight at the moment,” she told me. “My wings were always there, and I feel both cold and naked without them, but I’m testing not having them out all the time. I blend better in this form.”

“You’re never going to blend, my friend,” I said, resisting the urge to hug her again because she was probably over that by now. “But I do understand. How was Honor Meadows anyway?”

She smiled. “Peaceful. We have a few layers remaining in our land, and so far, no one has tried to declare war on us and steal it. I’d call it a win.”

“We’ll destroy any who try,” Shadow said, and he meant every word.

“They will learn to respect us as a pack,” Lucien added, leaning forward, “wine” in his hand as he took a sip. “The entire Solaris System will learn.”

I didn’t argue because there had to be a hierarchy in these worlds, a pecking order, so to speak, to keep everyone in line. I preferred us at the top because I trusted every being in our pack.

Len leaned forward as well, and I was so happy to see him, that one would think it had been weeks rather than hours since he’d left us to go to Faerie.

“Did you get you know what hidden away?” I asked him. “Safely. With, like, seventy layers of protection?”

His smile was sad, and I hated to see him sad. “It was destroyed. We have the means to do that, and once the power was drained and released back into the universe, we made the difficult decision to let that stone go. It was just too powerful.”

Did you keep the grains of stone? Galleli shifted in his chair, his huge wings tucked neatly behind him.

Some of Len’s melancholy lifted. “Of course I did. If we ever need a really awesome boost in our spells, that shit is Grade A. But it can never be used in the same weapon-like manner again. And that’s the most important part.”

Galleli placed his hand on Len’s shoulder, and whatever he said was meant for the fae alone. By the time he was done, they both looked much happier. Spirits lifted. The loss of the family stone would take Len some time to get over, but the fae appeared to be dealing with it as best he could. Unlike Reece, who wasn’t even here.

“Where’s our favorite desert deity?” I asked the group.

Angel shifted in her seat behind me; I felt the movement, but when I looked her way, she was unmoving, her expression blank.

Shadow answered me. “He said there was some unrest back home that he needed to deal with. He’s not sure he’ll be back for a while.”

I narrowed my eyes on Shadow and he leaned in. “He needs some time,” he murmured. “Your death and Angel’s death didn’t sit well with him. He’ll be back when he sorts himself out.”

Reluctantly, I let it go because Reece needed to do what he needed to do. That was true of all of us. He was allowed to deal in his own way, but I would be getting the full story about him and Angel out of somebody very, very soon.

The food arrived then, and that allowed a sense of celebration to creep back into the atmosphere of the room. Drinks were brought out as well, and just like the first time I’d ever seen this group of friends together, Shadow and the other four enjoyed a dark amber liquid in crystal glasses. He offered me a sip of his, and I almost died at the first blast of liquid death in the glass before politely declining another taste.

The food was much better than the drinks, and when the table was literally groaning under all of the dishes, I started eating and didn’t stop.

“Everything tastes the same since your rebirth?” Angel asked, shaking her head at my skill level of shoveling food into my mouth.

I had to swallow before I could speak. “Yep, if anything, it all tastes better than ever. My senses are strong, but they regulate themselves, so I don’t have a freakout overload. It’s nice.”

“You know you probably don’t have to eat now, right?” Shadow said from my side, only shutting up when I tried to murder him with my eyes, mouth full as I slowly chewed and swallowed. “Never mind,” he added, lips twitching.

They’d pry food from my cold dead hands, and even then, I’d demand a last meal.

“I wonder how it will taste for me now?” Angel said, looking down at the food in front of her, which consisted of a creamy chicken pasta, with spices and dried tomato and lots of vegetables. In my opinion, it was one of the best dishes that had come out so far. Others might have disagreed, especially those around the table filled by a huge fish carcass, which smelled a tiny bit rotten. They clearly did not eat in the same food pyramid as I did, but that was cool. As long as they stayed downwind, no one needed to judge.

“Here we go,” Angel said, a pasta curl sitting on her utensil.

I found myself holding my breath, hoping that someday soon, she would need to eat in the same manner as myself. She popped it into her mouth and started to chew. Over and over, her brow furrowed, and I was about to hand her a napkin to spit it out when she swallowed.

No one spoke as we stared.

“It’s good,” she said suddenly. “It tasted good.”

She smiled broadly at me before near bouncing in her chair, acting nothing like my centuries-old friend. This new joy had come with her rebirth, and in a way, she felt younger and more vulnerable. No less badass, of course, but more emotional.

“Do you require food for energy now?” Shadow asked her as she ate another forkful of pasta.

“Both,” she told him, her eyes locked on the food. “I found I could meditate in Honor Meadows for energy, but an empty feeling persisted that’s only easing now as I eat.”

“Just like me,” I said happily. I’d never had admitted it to anyone, but I had been mildly concerned that food would no longer taste good to me after my own rebirth. Thankfully, I’d worried for nothing. “Twinning at its finest.”