The Arena novel Chapter 60

After Avani left, we settled, Palila putting a pot of tea on for all of us.

“What do you mean we need to talk about where we’re going to live?” Ishir starts as Palila comes back into the room.

“Well, I need to speak to Edur, but Cedric obviously wants me to live with him.” Tana turns to look at me, and I take her hand. “And I won’t be able to be away from him for longer than a few days at a time now, so we need to figure out living arrangements.”

I turn back to the room. “Tana and I have already talked about keeping this apartment. If she’s able to work contract or remote, she’ll still need to come to the city on occasion, and I’d rather have a place that’s comfortable for everyone.”

“You can continue living here, Ishir, just as you have been,” Tana tells him.

“What about me? I won’t have a job any longer, not without anyone here to look after,” Palila says, and I can tell she’s nervous about the prospect of having to start over all alone.

“Actually,” I say, looking at Palila. “I have a proposition for you. Tana has agreed to take over as my new accountant. It’s a full-time job, especially if she’s going to continue to work for Edur, and that doesn’t even take the pregnancy into account. Your sister has hopefully already settled in with our pack. But I’d like to invite you to come live with us as well. You and Jena have done a lot of the work that a Luna would do here for Tana, but in the packhouse, it would be on a much larger scale. You would have a job, you would be close to your sister, Tana, and Kenna, and you’d have a safe place to live.”

“Really?”

“You’re family, Palila. I’m not leaving you just because Cedric and I need to make some adjustments in our life,” Tana says to her, reaching out and taking her hands.

I see her eyes fill with tears before she quickly wipes them away. “Is it possible to see where I’d be living before I decide?”

“Of course! I’ll be heading back tomorrow. I’d be happy to take you with me, show you around, or let Jena show you around.”

“I would love that.”

“What about me?” Kenna asks quietly from where she’s sitting beside her mother.

“You, my beautiful daughter, belong with your mother, your baby brother, and me. I want you to move to my pack lands as well. If you want to come to the city with your mother when she comes, your room will be here. But I intend to set up a place for you in the packhouse next to our rooms.”

Her eyes have gone wide. “You want me to come live with you?”

“Of course. You are my daughter. I’ve already missed so many years of your life. I want you with me as long as you’re willing to be there,” I say, looking between her and Tana. I have no idea when dragons leave their families, but Kenna is welcome for the rest of her life if she wants to live with us.

“And you’re fine with me continuing to live here?” Ishir asks me.

“Yes. I won’t say there haven’t been times when I wanted to kill you because I thought you were with my mate. But you’ve been a good friend to Tana. You’ve kept her and Kenna safe. I have no problems with you staying on.”

“Tomorrow, I must get back to my pack. Tana will be meeting with Edur to see if she can stay on contractually. If so, I think humans want some sort of notice that you’re leaving or changing your position. So, you’ll probably have to be here for a few weeks. We’ll figure out how we can be together frequently during that time,” I say to Tana. I have no intention of leaving my pregnant mate alone for more than a couple of days at a time.

I turn to Kenna. “I’d like for you to come with me tomorrow, see the pack lands, see if you would like it to be your new home. Your mom obviously can’t shift right now, but you could look over the lands and see if you like them.”

“I saw part of them already when we dropped you off before.”

She turns to Tana. “Can I Momma?”