More and more dragons made their way out of the archway as Indigo chatted with Lord Bennit. She listened as he explained things to her in the dragon language. I could only catch a few words here and there, but concluded that he was explaining to her about how they were related. And fishing.

The elder had moved to stand near the archway, talking to other elders as they headed out. The crystal was still clutched in her hands. It glowed every now and then as certain dragons left, those related to Lord Bennit, and in turn to Indigo.

I stayed behind the counter and petted the Cat. He had nudged me twice after the fishing conversation, and I picked him up in my arms. It helped with the worry I was trying to hide. Indigo needed to know who her family was, and how to be a dragon. I couldn’t teach her that, but still, I didn’t want to lose her. I loved her so much.

“She isn’t going anywhere,” whispered the Cat. “She loves you too.” The words were soft, whispered under his purring.

I smiled softly at him, looking around at what was left in the room. Almost all of the food on the grazing table was gone, but there were a few cookies and brownies left. It shouldn’t take long to clean everything up. “Hey Betty, do you think you can put the leftover deserts on a plate in the main shop?” I asked softly.

The grazing table sunk down into the floor slowly. Then, the dessert table did the same thing. The farthest parts of the room near the stage went dark, like the lights had dimmed.

The group of dragons near the elder shrunk again as a group exited the archway. Then it was down to three dragons, including Indigo.

Lord Bennit chuckled, then turned toward me. “It is time for me to go, but I will stop by with news as I have it.”

“Good luck,” I answered with a smile.

Indigo chirped at him, then flew off his shoulder and landed on the counter. Lord Bennit headed toward the archway, taking the elder’s arm as he exited. As soon as he passed through the archway, it changed. The opening now showed the inside of the shop, as it had before the dragons had begun to arrive. An immense weight lifted off my shoulders, and the Cat jumped out of my arms.

“Alright, I need some food,” I said, taking two steps forward. “What are you guys’ thoughts on food?” Somehow I had skipped lunch during this whole thing. It was early afternoon, and now my stomach was definitely demanding food.

“I ordered Chinese,” said the Cat.

I almost stumbled as I stepped through the archway. He jumped up on the counter across the room, into his usual spot. “How?”

“An app thing,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know if it will be correct, but they should be here soon.”

I nodded in appreciation. I usually called in our order, or ordered pizza via the app on the register. Not having to think about what to make was such a relief. The Cat sat down next to a plate with some cookies and brownies on it. While I had baked a ton, there were only a few left for us to eat over the next couple of days. It seemed all the preparation had been worth it, and our guests had enjoyed what we’d been able to offer. That felt good.

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Indigo flew across the room and landed on the counter next to the Cat. She almost hit the plate, and I swear her head hit a brownie.

“Actual food before a brownie,” I called out.

Someone knocked on the door before I could add anything else, and I twisted toward it. The delivery man held up a bag, and I moved in that direction, quickly unlocking the door. “Sorry about that,” I said.

“No worries, have a good afternoon.” He handed over the big plastic bag then took off. “Thanks for the tip!”

I blinked a few times, then closed the door and locked it before heading toward the counter. “Alright, let’s regroup in the kitchen so we can eat off real plates.” I moved around the counter and both Indigo and the Cat beat me to the island in the kitchen. From there, it didn’t take long to dish out noodles, some hot soup and lots of various dumplings. It wasn’t our normal order, but I didn’t care. Then I found the sesame chicken and could help but giggle. The Cat had ordered way too much food for the three of us, but I appreciated it.

Indigo loved slurping on noodles, while the cat and I tackled the chicken and dumplings. Once we’d all eaten our fill, and Indigo took off flying toward her little hideaway, I put the leftovers away.

“Thank you for ordering the food,” I said to the Cat.

He nodded, then hopped down from the island and vanished out of sight.

With the last of the food in the fridge, I headed upstairs. I was tired, but not in the normal way. Dealing with all of those people, well, dragons, had taken a lot out of me. Usually social events weren’t particularly stressful, but playing host to dozens of powerful magical beings must be something different. I flung myself on my bed and grabbed my phone. I opened my chat with my mom and sent her a quick message asking how she was doing.

The reply was quick. “Good, but busy. How about a call tomorrow night?”

I sent a thumbs up then stared at the ceiling a bit, letting out a sigh and shifting on my bed. A crunch came from my back pocket and I pulled out the paper with the crest on it.

They had said it was a Fey Lord’s Crest. Maybe it was time to find out what a Fey Lord was. My first stop was the Beings of the Tree book. It might have something in it, and if not I would ask Betty for any books we had about them.

My phone buzzed again. This time a message came from Cyan asking if now was a good time for a call. I quickly hit the call now button.

“Hey, what’re you up to?” I asked with a smile, not noticing the book that appeared on my nightstand.

***

I sat on the wooden table in my great room, staring at the Book of Fate. Warmth and light floated out of it, which could be pleasant. Right now, though, I would burn the damn thing if I could. It was infuriating. All these centuries, and it would be hoped that I’d be used to the capricious nature of the Fates. After all, it wasn’t like frustration at the Book was a new thing. Despite that, I couldn’t help myself. I was angry. We had hosted the dragons, and found Indigo’s family, yet the book didn’t have anything else to say about it. Nothing. Not a clue about what I should expect next. Not even any real acknowledgement that this had been important or necessary, though if it was in the Book, it must be.

Instead of anything useful, it only said that tomorrow would be a normal day in the shop with a customer stopping by.

I jumped down off the table in frustration, twitching my tail as I headed for the cat tree Sable had made for me. Perhaps a nap in the sun would help me calm my mind. After all, I didn’t want Sable to notice. I’d just gotten her calmed down.