Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter 49

"Alright, so what exactly are we talking to your grandfather about?" Carter asked.

"Remember how I was low key freaking out about being the heir to a throne I don't want?"

Carter raised a brow at him. "Low key?"

Douxie rolled his eyes, steering Carter down the hallway. "He thinks he has a solution to the problem, but we both want your opinion."

Carter turned around, planting both hands against Douxie's chest to make him stop. "Why?"

Douxie gently took his hands, keeping him close. "Impatient today, aren't you?"

Carter sighed, mood clearly edging right up to "irritated". "You're being insufferable."

"It would be better for him to explain it," Douxie told him. "But he wants your input because it's going to affect us, our family... our children."

Carter's dark eyes snapped to his, something almost like alarm in his expression. "That's not doing anything to make me feel better about it."

Douxie smiled wanly. "It'll be fine, alright?"

Carter's nose wrinkled in distaste. He hated not having all the information about a situation, especially when it was clearly available—especially when Douxie was holding said information out on him. He liked being able to have time to think and come up with a plan. But right now, Douxie knew making him wait to hear the plan was the right call. Because he knew Carter so well, and Carter would try to think of a million ways to fix it on the trek down this hallway alone.

"Come on," Douxie said, taking his fiancé's hand. "The faster we get this done, the more time you can have to brood over it."

"You make me sound like Batman."

"Is that not one of your life goals?"

***

"Okay, so while the Gays are handling 'family stuff'," Jim said, trying to keep everyone from scattering into the castle. "Let's go check on Harley and the girls."

"And cheer him on." Toby said with a wry smile. "For moral support."

"Yes," Steve agreed mischievously. "Moral support."

"You guys are so annoying," Olivia said, mostly under her breath.

"Yes we are," Steve said proudly, leading the way to the courtyard—though, Jim doubted he'd actually memorized the castle layout yet.

Jim offered the demigod a smile, waiting for her as everyone else filed out of the room. "Hey, you good? I noticed you were kind of quiet during breakfast."

"I'm fine," Olivia said, a bit too sharply and quickly for her to actually be fine.

Jim frowned. "Are you super sure?"

She rolled her eyes, a signature attitude problem he was finding most Arcane demigods shared. "Why do you care?"

"Because I'm the Trollhunter," he said easily as they followed the others down the endless, winding hallways. "And much more recently elected divine king. So I care, because I'm aware you guys have so rarely had a safe place to be and grow, and I know that's not easy. So again I ask, what's wrong?"

She sighed, crossing her arms, keeping pace with him. "I got into an argument with Toril back at the village. It's still... grating on me."

"Oh," Jim nodded slowly. "What about?"

Olivia took in another deep breath, letting it out slowly. "She and Pan were basically raised by Carter and Douxie, right?"

"Yeah."