Summoner 16, page 21
“Decima,” Gallahar argued in a hard voice with furrowed eyebrows, “enough. Idle gossip is meaningless. I know Gryff personally, and I’ve seen from his actions that he is a good man. I’ve also met his wife, and she is a wonderful, strong woman, much like my Nia. Does my judgement mean nothing to you?”
“No, Gallahar,” the aunt replied, and she sniffed as she lifted her nose up even higher into the air. “One rumor can be ignored. This goes far beyond that. I cannot approve of this wedding. It would smudge the Kenefick name beyond repair.”
“What the fuck?” Nia exclaimed in an angry tone. “Just like that?”
“Nia Kenefick!” Aunt Nona gasped, and her eyes were wide with shock. “A young lady should never speak in such a way!”
“Nona,” Gallahar warned in a low voice. “How my daughter speaks is my concern.”
“How a Kenefick behaves reflects on all of us,” Aunt Decima informed the Grand Mage with an air of regal authority. “Maybe if you had been more successful raising a child worthy of our family name, then we wouldn’t be here questioning her choice of a husband.”
Fuck, this was bad.
My eyes flicked between my fiancée, the Aunts, and her father, but I didn’t know what to say.
It had all happened so fast, but I didn’t have time to process.
Even if their comments about Freya pissed me off, I had to do something.
All I wanted was Nia, and I wasn’t about to let some grumpy old women stand in my way.
But I didn’t know what to do.
Chapter Eleven
“Decima! Enough!” The Grand Mage raised his voice, and his commanding presence made him seem even taller.
The Aunts cowered away from Gallahar, but silence fell around the room.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” I said, and I looked the Grand Mage straight in the eyes. “This is all my fault. I let Dio get away from me for a moment… then things got out of control.”
“The cat?” Gallahar raised an eyebrow as he scoffed. “Did he wee on the carpet? Scratch the furniture? Steal a scrap of food?”
Nia giggled, and the tension fell from my shoulders.
Maker, I loved my fiancée’s father.
“Are you saying you approve of this monster’s presence in your home, Gallahar?” Decima asked in disbelief. “What will people think? The Grand Mage himself opening his door to the enemy?”
“If you seriously think a trained summoner’s personal familiar is anything close to my enemy then you know nothing about the world of magic.” Gallahar gave me a subtle wink, and then he gestured for everyone to return to their seats. “Come now, we’re all adults here. Let’s sit and talk like rational people.”
“Not until the monster is removed.” Nona gripped the back of the couch with white knuckled intensity, and her blue eyes were barely visible over the edge.
“Sorry, buddy,” I murmured to Dio, and then I recalled my familiar with a wave of my will. In my next breath, I held the yellowish fang-shaped crystal in my hand, and I could sense his frustration through our bond. I felt bad for my cat-like summons since he technically hadn’t done anything wrong, but I didn’t want to cause even more problems.
Decima waggled her chin victoriously, and she helped Nona regain her spot on the sofa beside her. Once all the old women were comfortably seated again, Gallahar took his chair and looked around with an amused twinkle in his blue eyes.
“Thank you, Gryff,” he said with a slight bow of his head. Then he leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair and casually steepled his fingers against his chin. “While recalling your summons was unnecessary, I appreciate the gesture.”
“Gallahar, you can’t seriously think a marriage with this man would benefit the Kenefick name,” Aunt Decima persisted.
“When was the last time a summoner ever made history?” the Grand Mage countered with his own question, and I marveled at his calm air. “Our family boasts some of the most powerful mages of all time, and yet, one class of magic has been all but absent.”
“Alyssa’s second born is a summoner,” Aunt Nona informed us as though this settled the matter. “Good kid. Builds vacation cabins outside Balvaan.”
“You and I both know Rorik Kenefick will never be written about in the history books,” Gallahar argued in a patient voice. “I also know you have heard of Gryff’s recent victories, and the role he has played in the success of the war.”
“He is also the youngest person on the faculty at the Academy,” Nia added in a proud tone. Her delicate chin was lifted at a stubborn angle, and her blue eyes burned with a fierceness I’d only seen on her face during battle.
The beautiful, talented mage was going to war for me, for our love, and my heart swelled at the sight of her. Her tightly controlled temper was obvious to me, and she faced off against the most influential people in Mistral with her head held high.
“My actions will speak for themselves,” I said before the Aunts could respond, and I looked Decima straight in the eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me whether or not I’m worthy. Nia’s opinion is the only one that matters to me. She’s the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, after all.”
“Nia is not just some country maid who can choose her path on a whim,” Aunt Nona pointed out as she leveled her blue eyes on me, and her kind smile had vanished. “The entire magical community is watching to see what becomes of the last Kenefick daughter. The continuation of our legacy rests on her shoulders.”
“That’s not fair.” Nia crossed her arms.
“If you’re worried about the Kenefick name,” I interjected, “then rest assured that Nia is the most talented mage of our generation. I doubt anyone in this room could go toe-to-toe with her and win.”
“And what of the man she latches her family name onto?” Decima raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “You have no surname, so I assume you will take on the Kenefick title as your own?”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t make any difference to me what my last name is. I love Nia, and she loves me. That’s seriously all I care about.”
“If you love Nia so much, then you should understand what is required of her,” Aunt Nona said. “If you love her, then you’d get out of her life before you ruin her reputation.”
Nia and her father both opened their mouths to argue, but I raised my hand to stop them.
“That’s not happening,” I stated in a calm, determined voice. “I will do whatever I have to do, but I am going to marry Nia, and no one is going to stop me.”
Nona glanced nervously at her sister, but Decima seemed to be at a loss for words.
“I think we’re done here,” Nia declared, and she stood. “I apologize for my rudeness, but I think it is best if Gryff and I leave.”
“Nia, no,” her father argued, and he stood between her and the door.
“Running away from your problems is a cowardly move,” Decima said with a judgmental sniff. “A real lady would sit and discuss the issues maturely.”
“Oh, like you’ve been mature?” Nia snorted. “No, I think the best thing to do is leave before I get angry. I’ll see you guys at the wedding. Or not. I don’t care.”
My mouth hung open. My fiancée was too fucking awesome for words.
It seemed the Aunts were in a similar state of speechlessness, and I couldn’t help the smirk spreading across my face as I took in their shocked expressions. Aunt Decima stared at Nia like the ashen-haired prodigy had grown antlers, and Aunt Nona’s fat chin jiggled as she shook her head as though she could dispel the entire evening from her memory. Aunt Morta glared around beneath her hooded wrinkled eyebrows, and her accusatory finger dipped from its aggressive position until it was aimed pointlessly at the floor.
“While I would have used a little more tact,” Gallahar said with a chuckle in his voice, “I agree with your sentiment, Nia. I’ll have Susi wrap up some servings of the duck confit. I started to marinade it yesterday, so you don’t want to miss out.”
“That sounds amazing,” I agreed with an enthusiastic nod. Then I turned to the Aunts, and despite the dislike written across their faces like a headline in a newspaper, I gave them my best smile. “It was nice to meet all you fine ladies. I look forward to seeing you at the wedding.”
I bowed deeply, with only a sliver of sarcasm in the movement, and I even caught a hint of begrudging respect in Aunt Decima’s eyes.
“Good evening, Aunties,” Nia said in a fake sweet voice. The angry crimson hue of her cheeks had softened into a pink blush, but I could tell she was still very upset by the fiery intensity in her piercing blue eyes.
The ashen-haired beauty swiveled, and her heels clicked together with a decisive sound before she marched from the room with her head held high.
I followed behind with a proud smile stretching across my face.
Any doubt I had about spending the rest of my life with this powerful, intelligent, stubborn, amazing woman was burned to ash as I watched her defy the most influential people in all of Mistral.
Nia Kenefick would be my wife, and she would give me children with the same proud fire and unstoppable determination that made me love her so much.
With my heart full of pride, and my arms full of food containers, I grinned the entire drive back to the Retching Goblin tavern. The smells emanating from the boxes in my lap were more than tempting, but I resisted the urge to dig into them while we were still in the carriage. I hadn’t eaten since lunch, but I would just appreciate the meal even more once we got back to my room.
Nia glanced over at my expression of frozen joy, and she giggled uncontrollably. I couldn’t help but mimic her sound of mirth, but my laughter only seemed to make her chuckles stronger.
“I love you, Gryff,” she breathed once she’d finally regained control of herself. “Thanks for putting up with my crazy aunts.”
“I’d go through hell and back for you,” I declared easily. My cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much, but I didn’t care. “The Aunts don’t scare me. The way you stood up to them was sexy as fuck, though. I’m beyond ready to marry you.”
“I’m excited.” She grinned, and her blue eyes were bright with emotion. “I’ve always bowed before my family name, performed above expectations, tried to be the best, but I don’t care about any of that anymore, and it’s the most amazing feeling ever. All I care about is our life, our family, and our future children.”
“I feel the same way.” I couldn’t stand the distance between us anymore, and I moved to her side of the carriage to wrap her in my arms.
Her slender arms twirled behind my head, and her soft, delicate fingers caressed the nape of my neck as she leaned back to stare lovingly up at me.
Her blue eyes drew me in like a bottomless pool, and as our lips met, I eagerly dove into Nia’s essence.
I lost all sense of time and space as we pressed ourselves together as closely as we physically could, and as our tongues became one, it seemed as though our very beings combined.
When we finally pulled away from each other to take a deep gasping breath, reality came crashing back in, and I suddenly realized the carriage had come to a halt.
Nia blushed and smiled self-consciously. “Looks like we’re here.”
I peered out the carriage window and saw the crooked, swinging sign announcing the dilapidated tavern.
“Yep.” Then I shot my fiancée a devilish grin. “Want to stay the night?”
“I can’t,” Nia said in a reluctant tone. “I told Layla we could have a sleepover tonight.”
“She can come, too.” My mind began to race with the possibilities, and my blood began to warm.
“I’ve been promising everyone another girl’s night before the wedding,” she explained, and I could tell she wasn’t going to change her mind. “Once we’re living together it won’t be the same as living in the girls’ dorms. I’ll be a wife, and soon, a mother… Besides, you need to stay focused on school until after you pass the midterms.”
“Will you stay the night after I pass the test?” I asked in a hopeful tone.
“Absolutely,” Nia laughed. “But you have to get all A’s.”
“Done.” I nodded confidently, and then I planted a kiss on her forehead. “Sleep tight, beautiful.”
“Goodnight, Gryff,” she replied with a soft smile, and she squeezed my hand affectionately before I stepped out of the carriage.
Nia’s words were just the added motivation I needed to switch the way I thought about my studies into a whole new level. Over the next week and a half, I channeled all of my energy and stamina into my studies. I showed up early, took detailed notes in class, asked questions even when I already knew the answers, and studied until the moon was high in the sky each night.
My friends helped me and encouraged me constantly, and I returned the energy back at Varleth and the others who were working to catch up. The surly banisher seemed to have very little issues adapting, and after only a few tutoring sessions with Arwyn and me, he declared himself completely prepared for the midterm tests.
His attitude had changed since we’d returned to Mistral, not in super obvious ways, but there were signs if you knew what to look for. The gypsy’s brown eyes were more likely to twinkle, and one side of his mouth seemed forever locked in a sideways smirk, but he held his head higher. The banisher was more confident and light hearted, and I couldn’t be happier for him.
I hadn’t been the only one to leave Mistral and return a changed man. Varleth Prost had stayed with me in the Southern continent without pause up until we’d been separated in the Shadowscape. He’d endured imprisonment, mind games, and isolation, but in the end my friend had emerged a stronger person.
Freya showed the same level of adaptation, but in her case it was an increasing mastery of the Mistral language. Her chicken scratch attempts at words were illegible at first, but over a period of days it improved visibly until I could read the letters of her name clearly.
All my friends were focused on their personal goals and preparing for the midterm tests. The closer we came to the date of the exam, the more fevered the studying became. Even though I wasn’t hauling logs or summoning out under the heat of the sun, I worked harder than I ever had before. It was a grind, the repetition, the memorization of useless facts, the lists of meaningless dates, but I trudged on with grim determination.
The only time my friends and I paused our studies was to search the streets of Varle for a house all of my women deemed acceptable. It seemed to be an impossible task, and we were often left more frustrated at the end of the night.
There was one place everyone was happy with, but when Nia showed me the numbers and I did the math, I realized I came just shy of being able to afford it, even with the addition of my teaching salary. My time on the Monster Response Squad had earned me a sizable bank account, and for a single student it was more than enough to cover all my needs and expenditures, but I wasn’t a bachelor anymore.
Nia assured me she would find an identical place within our budget, and her smile was so full of hope, I couldn’t help but believe her. She was one of the smartest people I knew, so I had total faith in her ability to find the perfect house.
We just needed time.
Between the endless tutoring sessions and house hunting expeditions, I almost wept with relief the day I woke up and realized it was the beginning of the exams.
I made sure to eat a hearty breakfast in the dining hall that morning, but my heart rate stayed at a high pace the entire time. I was eager to get the tests done and over with so I could move on to more important things.
The midterms were the final barrier standing between Nia and me becoming husband and wife.
There wasn’t much conversation at the table that morning, though, as everyone quietly ate and stared thoughtfully down at the wooden surface. Even Cyra and Layla seemed tranquil, and Nia was damn near hypnotized by her notecards. Erin slurped her oatmeal absentmindedly while keeping her nose firmly tucked into a manual on propulsion systems, oblivious to the world around her. Braden’s eyebrows were creased with a worried frown as he skimmed through his notebook, and Mati pointed out where he’d already answered his own questions in the margins.
Varleth and Gawain nonchalantly shared a newspaper while they sipped coffee in silent bliss. When they had finished a section, they swapped, and the whole scene reminded me of two old men sitting on a porch.
Ashla had been missing from our last several meals, but I’d seen her in the hallways occasionally. She always looked like she was running late to something, and while a part of me noticed her hesitancy to look me in the eyes, I rationalized how she probably felt guilty for being so busy.
Arwyn also stayed busy, but she always managed to give me an hour or two of her time when I was having a hard time understanding my lessons. The red-haired professor and my wife spent a lot of time together, and soon my professor’s desk was littered in charcoal sketches of the warrior princess in various stages of shifting into her hawk form.
The midterms were a grueling two-day process. On the first day was the written exams from Arwyn’s class, Biology, Monster Identification, and Summoning 2. The second day consisted of physical trials for my weapons and combat training, a test of my camp making ability for Survival Skills class, and a simple concrete bird bath assignment for my summoning class.
The written parts were easy, since I’d spent so much time memorizing the information it seemed to pour out of me the instant I read the instructions. I even added some additional content on the monster identification test, complete with a labeled diagram of an imacaw, the red and green feathered tropical bird monster I’d fought against in the Southern continent, and it was about the size of a cow with a jagged toothed maw like a shark’s.
I considered the impulse a good sign of my teaching ability.
For the physical tests, I incorporated the requirements to pass the Summoning 2 portion into the design of my campsite for Survival Skills. With the help of my summons, I made a smaller version of the house I’d made on Last Island the day I’d met Freya, and I could tell she recognized the design when she looked it over.
