I feel something move against me as I'm drifting in and out of my sleep. I force my eyes open and see Keefe's bare back as he sits on the bed. 

"Keefe?" I rub my eyes, trying to adjust to the light of daybreak seeping through the window. 

He turns and looks down at me smiling. "Hey, Foster."

Even though I'm half asleep, seeing his bare muscled torso still makes my face heat up. 

"Why are you up?" I pull up the sheet with me to keep me warm as I sit up. "It's so early."

"I can't stay in here, Foster," he says, patting down my unruly hair. "Grady will put me six feet under, as the humans say it."

I groan. "Keefe, he's not going to kill you."

"If he walked in here right now and saw us, you really don't think he will kill me?" he says with a knowing look. 

I sigh, knowing he's right. Grady would totally freak out. I lay back down in defeat and he chuckles lightly, putting the blanket over me. I watch as he slips on his tunic and his shoes. My eyes start to slowly drift back towards sleep, but I feel him place his lips softly on my forehead, causing a smile to arise on my face before I knock out. 

"Good morningg," Edaline walks in the room as I brush out my hair. 

"Good morning," I give her a hug and relax at the smell of treats on her. 

"I hope you're hungry, I made plenty of food. It is a full house," she grins. 

"Oh, is Keefe awake?" I ask her, trying to be as lowkey as possible. 

She smirks at me. "Yeah he is, but he was awake pretty early today. I was tending to the animals when I saw him trying to sneak into the room we prepared for him."

The embarrassment creeps up onto my face. "Oh wow, that's weird."

She laughs and shakes her head. "No matter how many years its been, you two are the same."

I smile at that nostalgically. Although we might've gone through too much, we are pretty similar to the teenagers we were all those years ago. 

"By the way, Sophie," Edaline starts, "we have to talk about the wedding."

"I know this is going to sound stupid," i say, rubbing the back of my neck nervously, "but I have no idea how Elvin weddings go. I mean I've been to the ones with my friends, but I don't know if I want something like that."

"What were you thinking?" she asks gently. 

"I wanted... maybe something more intimate. Something with just my family and friends. And maybe we could hold it here!" I suggest. "But I think this is also something I have to ask Keefe about. I'm not even sure what he would want."

I start feeling stressed. Would Keefe want something big and elaborate? Would i disappoint him with my ideas? 

"Woah, woah, Sophie calm down," she says, noticing me unravel. "Don't stress about these things, this should be an event you enjoy. We will all talk about it together, and just know Grady and I would love to have it here if that's what you guys decide to do. You guys decide and leave the details to us, okay?"

She envelops me in another hug, calming me down again. I've fought villains, defended myself and my family, and gone through so many life threatening events it's not even funny. This is nothing. 

"Okay, let's go downstairs, they're waiting for us."

As we make our way down the stairs, I hear chattering. And it sounds like more than just Grady and Keefe. I walk into the kitchen and I see Biana, Dex, Tam, Linh, Grady, and Keefe sitting at the table. As we approach the table, everyone starts to notice us. 

"Hey sleepyhead," Tam is the first one to give me a hug. 

"Good morning guys," I grin as I earn tackle hugs from everyone. 

"How was your sleep?" Grady asks. 

I subconsciously look at Keefe but force my eyes away. "It was good," I can feel his smirk burning into me. 

I sit down and dig into my food as they continue their conversation with Keefe, mostly about human stuff he saw when he was in the Forbidden cities. 

"So guys," Dex clears his throat, "we need to clear the elephant in the room."

Oh no. I look over at Keefe worriedly. Did he tell them? There's no way. Please no, not while Grady and Edaline are in the room next door. 

"Sophie," Dex looks at me, sternly. 

Shoot, it's definitely what happened. Keefe, what the hell?!

"Okay, I can explain myself-"

"CONGRATS!!" he yells. "Our little Sophie is finally getting married!"

Oh. Yeah, that would make more sense. I look over at Keefe and see him trying not to laugh at me. Damn empaths. He always knows exactly what I'm thinking. 

"Have you guys decided how the wedding is going to be like?" Linh asks, raising my stress again. 

I open my mouth to answer, but Keefe steps in. "We just got back, so we will take our time in deciding it."

He looks over at me and I know he can feel my stress diminishing. I feel my heart warm up as he answered in the exact way I needed. I look at everyone else and I nod. 

"But when we decide, you guys will be the first invitations sent," I smile at them. 

"Promise?" Biana says. 

"Promise." 

Keefe's imparter starts ringing. I look over and see the smile wiped from his face. He answers it unwillingly. 

"What do you want?" he asks. 

"Son," Lord Cassius's slick voice says from the imparter. "Come over, and bring Miss Foster as well."