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Dayshia looked up with shock on her face. Tish seemed a little more embarrassed. He crooked his finger and led them into the living room where they sat on a couch, Henry facing the two women. “What’s up?”
“You know our discovery tonight?” Dayshia asked.
“Yes…” Henry said cautiously.
Dayshia continued. “It seems Tish already knew it worked. Go ahead. Tell him.”
Tish looked at Henry and saw he was waiting. “On the night of the Skyfall event, I was in my sister’s backyard soaking in the green light with my entire family minus one brother-in-law. We were hugging, the entire bunch of us all at once. I was feeling very vulnerable emotionally. As I held them, I wished for some way to keep them and stay connected to my family. I didn’t want to have to hide our child from them and stay away. I needed them. I wanted them so badly.”
Henry was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and he didn’t have to wait long.
“They transformed.”
Henry blinked. “How many?”
“All thirty-four of them. They’re all Fauns.”
Henry was stunned. That would be impossible to explain. Then his brain choked on something. The Skyfall Event didn’t trigger any transformations on the first night that he was aware of. “Hang on a second.” He pulled out his cell and dialed a number.
“Hi, Henry!”
“Hi, could I ask you to look at something for me?” he asked.
“Uh, sure. Are you going to send me a picture?”
“No. It has to be in person. I need you to use your special sight. Is your bedroom door closed?” he asked.
“Hang on.” There was a click in the background. “Okay. All set.”
Henry stood and guided Tish to the hall and stood her in front of the closet door. Then he touched the door, linking it to the bedroom door. He hustled back to the living room, tugging a confused Dayshia with him, and they moved as far away as they could. The twins watched them with interest.
“Okay. Open the door,” he said.
He listened carefully as Siobhan opened her door and faced Tish alone.
“Hi, Tish. What-Oh my god! How did I miss this!” the Selkie gasped.
“She has a rift, doesn’t she,” Henry asked. Dayshia gasped.
“Yes! Not a large one, but it’s definitely there,” Siobhan sighed.
“What are you guys talking about?” Tish exclaimed nervously.
“One more experiment. Dayshia, go back to stand next to Tish.” With a curious look at Henry, Dayshia rushed back to the hall to stand next to her friend. “Well?” he asked Siobhan.
“It’s closed!” she responded.
Henry walked back to join them and saw Tish’s confused expression. “This is why Siobhan couldn’t see the rift inside you. It only opens when other sources of Wild Magic are absent. I don’t know why.”
“But I was standing in a backyard filled with Wild Magic!” she asserted.
“Yes, but you pulled on the Wild Magic within you with the strength of your will. The rift answered. You saturated your family with Wild Magic due to the group hug. Your need and will shaped a spell to guide their transformation. That explains why you didn’t actually need to physically touch all of them directly. You performed magic.”
“What?” Siobhan gasped.
“Her entire family, all thirty-four of them, became Satyr’s during Skyfall,” Henry explained. He paused. “How are they not all over the news?”
Tish was reeling with the evidence that she actually was responsible. She admitted to herself she’d suspected though she couldn’t be sure, but Henry just confirmed it. The concept that she’d performed magic was both thrilling and terrifying! She pushed that from her mind as he’d asked a question.
“They… they called in sick, worked from home, took a temporary leave of absence from their jobs, and some made excuses for weeks before going back. The kids are all being homeschooled. With the loss of so many people, their jobs have been extra forgiving, and the schools welcome parents keeping the kids at home to reduce the students in the classes. They haven’t all experienced smooth sailing when they went back to work as Fauns but with Lorelei’s music easing the way, they haven’t experienced any violence or fear. None of their coworkers are aware of their family’s state, and they’ve been keeping the secret. They also work all around the Philadelphia area and don’t live in the same neighborhoods. They haven’t gotten together since that night.”
Henry saw the sad expression on Tish’s face. “So, the very thing you dreaded has come true. You’ve been forced apart.”
She nodded with tears coming to her eyes. Henry opened his arms, and she rushed into them. He rubbed her back as the tears flowed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked gently.
She sniffed. “You’ve been overwhelmed with demands since you returned. Not being able to see my family didn’t seem as important.”
“Well, it is, and we’re going to do something about it!” he said firmly.
She blinked at him.
“They’re all invited to the Christmas Party at Meixiu’s mansion. I’ll have to ask Meixiu first, of course, but I’m sure she’ll be on board for the extra guests at the party. I’ll set up doors from their places to the mansion, so we don’t have to worry about the extra sleeping requirements.”
Tish’s eyes lit up excitedly, then she was clinging to him again with more tears in her eyes. Henry looked to Dayshia. “Your family is invited as well!”
Dayshia joined Tish for a group hug. Henry peeked through the closet door and saw Siobhan was grinning happily. “Of course, you’re invited, too.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” the gorgeous brunette said.
“Thank you for assisting us with this,” Henry said sincerely.
“My pleasure. Lunch on Monday?” she asked.
“Sounds good. Good night,” Henry said, and they hung up their phones. Tish released Henry and rushed through the door to give Siobhan a hug. When Tish rejoined Henry, Siobhan was all smiles as he closed the door, dropping the link.
Henry caught Dayshia trying to hide a yawn, so he pulled her into a hug. “I think it’s time I walked you home.”
“All that way? Such a gentleman,” she teased.
“I know. Try to keep the fact under your hat. I don’t want everyone expecting such over the top gestures,” he nodded thoughtfully.
Dayshia untangled herself from Henry and gave Tish a hug goodnight. They left the condo, and he hooked his arm through hers as he leisurely walked her down the hall to her door. He smiled as he faced her. “As Emily clarified, I’m your boyfriend, yes?”
She chuckled as her eyes twinkled happily. “Yes. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take it slow as I’ve messed up previous relationships in a wide variety of ways.”
“I’m okay with that as long as I’m not forbidden the pleasure of your kiss,” he teased.
“Oh, kisses are mandatory. That’s non-negotiable,” she said seriously.
He smiled and leaned forward and captured her mouth with his. She made a little involuntary sound of hunger as he caressed her lips with his and tasted her mouth.
By the end of the kiss, she was clinging to him, almost grinding against him as his hands slid down her back. Destination: Heavenly Ass.
She suddenly pushed back, but her hands seemed to be fighting her intent as they clung to him.
“Okay! Okay, okay. That’s good for tonight. We should stop before I forget my rule about taking it slow,” Dayshia gasped as her body trembled.
“Do-do you think your sister will ask us to return tomorrow?” he asked as he caught his breath.
Her eyes were watching his mouth, then flicked up to his eyes. “Yes.” She chuckled. “Of course, she’ll go to church first, showing them her new eyes, just to see what the congregation makes of that. She always was one to push the faith of her community.”
“Chris must love that,” he said.
Dayshia smiled at his observation. “So, you picked up that dynamic from dinner? Good for you. Yes, they have their disagreements, but they are solid.”
“They’re a wonderful family,” Henry agreed.
“Okay, you’d better head home as I’m in danger of jumping your bones right here in the hallway,” Dayshia said.
Henry took two steps back and blew her a kiss. Chuckling, Dayshia’s smile suddenly dipped as she realized she’d forgotten something. “I don’t have my keys.”
The door opened, and a blushing Michelle smiled timidly at them.
“Listening in?” Dayshia squeaked.
“Someone thumped against the door, so I looked through the peephole and saw you two. It was very hot!” Michelle explained as her face grew redder.
Dayshia cast a look back at Henry and licked her lips as her memories were very fresh. “Good night, Henry.”
“Good night, Dayshia. Until tomorrow. Oh! I’ll be on Eden for a few hours in the morning as the twins need to exercise their wings. I’ll be back by noon at the latest.”
She smiled at him, then squeezed by Michelle to head to her bedroom.
Michelle remained in the doorway, looking at Henry. He smiled at her in question.NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.
“Could-could I get a good night kiss?” she asked quietly.
“Oh! Yes-”
Michelle’s lips were on Henry’s in a flash as she rushed out into the hall to press herself against him. She gripped his wrists and pulled his hands to press against her breasts, so he gave them a gentle squeeze. She moaned loudly, and her kiss became more aggressive.
“Michelle, it was my date night, you know,” Dayshia’s voice said, cutting through their haze of lust. “Just ask him for your own date.”
The woman pulled back and saw the heat in Henry’s eyes as he focused on her mouth. When his hands squeezed her breasts once more, she gasped as lightning raced through her body. She pushed off and rushed back inside.
“Good night, Henry,” Dayshia said with a grin as she could see he was still dazed.
“Night,” he managed. Then he was alone in the hall. He took some deep breaths to settle himself and pulled out his cell. He sent a quick note to Meixiu asking if it would be possible to include Tish’s extended family and Dayshia’s family at the Christmas Party at her mansion. She immediately sent him a SQUEE emoji and a message stating she would love to include them.