Chapter 482: Full Heart
Cecilia wondered what kind of person Sebastian was in this world.
Was he also a scholar...?
"Iris, you haven’t met him so you don’t know." Isla waved a dismissive hand. "That volcanic rock’s best use is just for bed warmer. Although I know he loves me, his emotional intelligence is in the negative scale. He got foul mouth, he loves violence—even more than Damon. He’s overprotective, overly possessive, he’s arrogant, no honor, no—"
Isla went on and on, her complaints flowing like a river that had been dammed too long. But while she spoke... Ivy quietly slid her phone across the coffee table and into Cecilia’s line of sight.
On the screen was a photograph of a very handsome, very dark-skinned man, tall and broad-shouldered, with a neatly trimmed beard and eyebrows sharp as swords. His expression was severe, his jaw set, his eyes held the burning world as he looked down on it.
Cecilia turned to Ivy, who mouthed silently at her, "This is Sebastian, by the way."
Cecilia nodded in understanding. She reached across the space between them and grasped Isla’s hand, stopping the rambling mid-sentence.
"Sister, I know." She said gently. "Have you seen Eastiel? We all love darker-skinned, no-nonsense guys who would kill your enemies for you last night and maybe tell you about it next week while talking about the weather."
She squeezed Isla’s hand. "I get you, sister. Don’t worry."
"Girl, thank you—" Isla exhaled a mock sob, her shoulders dropping from her ears as though someone had finally spoken a truth she had been waiting years to hear.
Ivy sighed too, slumping back against the sofa cushions. "You know? You guys get to marry various kinds of guys, while my husband is just..." She shrugged, made peace with her choices. "...Damon."
"Your neighborhood delinquent brother." Ivy shrugged.
"Pfft—" Cecilia choked on her tea.
"I’m sorry my brother is like that, Ivy..." Angela said. "It’s his fault, but still..."
"I’m still advocating for Magnus Karas, but I guess that’s not healthy either, Sister." Isla sighed, her earlier fire dimmed to something more contemplative.
Angela nodded slowly. "Yeah, Lesser Goddess’s circumstance is super rare, so maybe having more than one man is a bit too risky for everyone else..."
"Stop side-eyeing my example like that..." Cecilia groaned, her cheeks flushing.
If they knew what had happened in the real world, maybe they’d have an easier time understanding their dynamic and how they came to be. Or maybe it would be the exact opposite. Maybe they wouldn’t understand at all. Maybe some things could only be lived, never explained.
Cecilia’s phone rang.
The sound cut through the warm, laughter-filled atmosphere of Angela’s living room. She glanced at the screen and felt her heart do a small, familiar flip.
Arkai’s name glowed back at her, accompanied by a photo she had taken of him sleeping on the sofa, his wolf ears twitching mid-dream.
She looked up at her sisters with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I need to take this."
"Ooooh, which one is it?" Isla leaned over, trying to peek at the screen.
"Arkai Dawnoro," Cecilia said, already rising from the sofa and stepping toward the window.
"Tell him we said hi!" Ivy called after her.
"Arkai fucking Dawnoro, huh?" Angela asked, laughing in exasperation and disbelief.
Cecilia stepped a bit away and faced the city light from the window. She placed her phone to her ear and listened.
"Did you have fun?" Arkai asked warmly, that low rumble she felt in her chest every time he spoke.
"I did." She leaned against the window frame, watching the rain trace silver lines down the glass. "How about the three of you?"
"Waiting for you to send us the address to pick you up." A pause. Then, softer, "But if you want to stay the night there..."
"Ehehe, can I?" Cecilia giggled, and then, because she could, because she was happy, because she had sisters now and a family now and everything felt full, she let her voice dip into a spoiled little whine. "Please...?"
"Bad girl." Arkai growled, and it sent a shiver of heat straight to her ear.
"You’re going to stay the night there? Awwwwwwwwwww..." Eastiel’s voice drifted through the speaker, further from the mic, carrying disappointment. He kinda looked forward to curling up with his girlfriend tonight, after all.
"Can I at least deliver some food and snacks for you girls?" Oathran’s deeper voice came from even further away.
Cecilia smiled, her forehead pressing against the cool glass. "No, my sisters said there’ll be deliveries. Don’t worry, I brought my supplements with me. I’ll drink them all."
"Good."
The line went quiet. Not the awkward quiet of a conversation running dry, but the comfortable quiet of people who didn’t need to fill every silence with words.
Cecilia didn’t want to hang up yet. She wanted to hold onto this moment, this feeling.
She was happy. Her husbands were a large part of it, but now she also had a family. A real, biological family. Sisters who had searched for her. Sisters who had cried when they found her. Sisters who had called her by a name she hadn’t known was hers.
They were hers. Truly hers.
She had never felt this happy before. Had she? She couldn’t remember. The feeling was so large it almost frightened her.
"Guys, I’ll call you later tonight, alright?" She kept her voice steady, but only just. "I have some others I want to call too."
"Okay, we’re hanging up." Arkai’s voice softened. "Tell us if you need anything, alright?"
"Mm-hm."
The line clicked. Cecilia pulled her phone away from her ear and stared at the screen for a long moment. Her reflection stared back, flushed cheeks, bright eyes, a smile that hadn’t faded since she’d first seen Angela’s baby bump.
She wanted to thank the gods.
She scrolled through her contacts until she found the number Momo had inserted into her phone, labelled simply, "Upstairs Neighbor." She pressed the call button and lifted the phone to her ear.
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
Huh? She didn’t pick up.
Cecilia pulled the phone away and checked the screen. The call was still connecting. The signal was fine. But after the fourth ring, it went to voicemail. A generic automated message, not even Momo’s voice.
She frowned. Were they... busy digging graves tonight?
But... it’s raining...
They were okay, right?
Of course, they were. They were gods.
Cecilia put the worry away and decided to try calling again later.