Deception of the Magician (Waldgrave Book 2) Read Free Page B

because I have no freaking clue how to raise a child, and I’m not going to ditch my political career to learn how. Griffin can get in touch with  his  maternal instinct.”
    Hesper took her meatloaf and they sat down at the table. “You’re a little stressed out today. What’s really up?”
    Lena sighed as she fell into a chair. She’d been a little vicious with the meatloaf, and it wasn’t really a loaf anymore. She stared at the meat crumbs on her plate. “I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to get out of here before I’m responsible for a child and I can’t leave. And I can’t leave because they don’t trust me not to bring about the apocalypse.”
    They ate silently for a while. Lena could sense Hesper’s sympathy, and wanted to feel better for it, but her life was just too dark. She couldn’t shake the cloud that had been hanging over her since she had been disallowed from the rafting trip, no matter how hard she tried.
    “I’m sorry Lena. I really am. If the portal hadn’t been stolen so many years ago, this wouldn’t be happening, but it is, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Whoever had it probably got rid of it, but for a lot of people here there’s a fear and a hope that it’s out there waiting to be found. A lot of them are scared or wishful that it’s a lot closer than we all think.” She smiled and reached out to touch Lena’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go play with a baby—I promise it will make you feel better.”
    Lena smiled. Playing with a baby could make anyone feel better—just as long as it wasn’t  her  baby.
     
    Dinner that evening was a quiet affair. Howard had greatly hoped that Master Daray would have taken to eating upstairs while Hesper and Eric were visiting, but he hadn’t. Everyone sat at the table staring at each other uncomfortably, except for Maren, who was cooing contentedly in a carrier in the chair next to Eric. Her intelligent little eyes kept darting to Master Daray’s face, and she would smile at his almost comical level of displeasure. She was definitely taking after Hesper.
    The next day Lena hid upstairs with her guests as Griffin settled his mother and brother into a room, and then they found themselves at yet another awkward dinner. Unfortunately, Hesper wasn’t going to be nearly as shy with Griffin as she was with Master Daray.
    “So, Lena says you’ve been a real jerk lately.” She said, serenely lifting her fork. You really know what women want, don’t you?”
    Lena flinched and gazed into her broccoli trying to think of something to say. When she looked up, she saw Griffin staring at her. He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes were very amused. He smirked and confidently looked back at Hesper. “Lena’s a Council member now, not a woman.”
    “Uh huh. Sure. So why are you being a jerk lately?” It was evident that Hesper was trying to help, but Lena wished she would just stop. Fighting with Griffin never worked out well for either of them, because the stalemate enforced by the Council often resulted in drawn-out conflicts where they both tried to subtly sabotage the other without getting caught. And, much to Lena’s chagrin, when the adults in the household finally did realize that something was happening, they were much more apt to try and stop Lena. Griffin didn’t take orders from anyone but Master Daray.
    Griffin kept cutting up his steak. When he had a bite ready on his fork, he looked back at Lena. “Lena? I’ll defer this question to you.”
    Lena looked over at Howard, who was trying very hard to ignore the situation in hopes that it would go away, but Lena wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip since no one had yet told her to behave herself. She looked back at Griffin. “Maybe it’s because your lips are perpetually attached to someone’s ass, Griffin. I’d imagine that kind of behavior would make anyone a little cranky.”
    Ava gasped and Howard almost choked on a mouthful of greens. Hesper tried not to