Chapter 143: No Family to Invite
{Elira}
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By the time we made our way to the cafeteria, my brain still felt like it was buzzing with numbers.
Tamryn hadn’t gone easy on me during our math session, though she insisted she was going easy. At least I didn’t leave in tears this time, which I considered a small victory.
"Dinner," Nari announced dramatically as the smell of sizzling spices and baked bread wafted over us. "The reward for surviving Tamryn’s genius."
Tamryn smirked faintly but didn’t comment. She was already grabbing a tray.
Tonight’s spread looked richer than usual. There were trays of grilled chicken skewers brushed with honey glaze, bowls of buttered corn, roasted sweet potatoes, and steaming platters of rice pilaf studded with herbs.
On another table, fruit tarts glistened under the light, the golden pastry shells filled with custard and crowned with berries.
A tall dispenser of mango smoothies hummed softly, frosty against the glass.
We filled our trays and made our way to our usual corner table. The second we sat down, Nari pointed a skewer at Juniper.
"Alright, prediction game. Founder’s Day edition. Who is going to trip on stage in front of the King?"
Juniper raised an unimpressed brow. "That’s childish." Then, without missing a beat, she said dryly, "But if anyone does, it will probably be Caleb Fenmore. His shoes are always too shiny, like he’s expecting a spotlight to follow him."
Laughter burst around the table. Nari nearly spilled her smoothie.
"Fine, fine," Cambria cut in, giggling. "My prediction is... Kaelis will cry during her speech. Like, fake delicate tears to make the crowd adore her."
"Too accurate," Tamryn muttered through a mouthful of corn.
Nari clapped. "Okay, my turn. I predict that Soraya will glare so hard at someone that they will faint on the spot."
Juniper snorted, and even I couldn’t help laughing. The absurdity of it, paired with the truth hidden in their jabs, sent warmth bubbling through me.
For a few minutes, the weight of everything felt far away.
When the laughter quieted, Cambria leaned back, her eyes soft. "I can’t wait for the official invitations to come out. Imagine inviting our families, our friends and sharing this day with them."
Nari sighed dreamily, tapping her fork against her plate. "I can imagine how proud they would be."
Juniper only shrugged, though her gaze flickered briefly, betraying thought.
Tamryn said nothing, but there was a spark in her eyes that told me she was already picturing her older brother in the crowd.
I poked absently at the sweet potato on my plate as their laughter faded into quieter chatter about who they would invite.
Cambria mentioned her younger sister first, then Nari rattled on about cousins who would "lose their minds" at the grandeur of ESA.
I smiled faintly with them, but deep down, something heavy coiled inside me.
If Uncle Marc came, it wouldn’t be for me. He would come as Regina’s father, proud and polished, clapping for the daughter he let everyone believe deserved the spotlight.
He wouldn’t sit with me. However, he would probably stand up for me since he might want to play two roles on that day.
And Aunt Becca... my father’s only sister. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d heard her voice. She hadn’t even attended my parents’ funeral. Perhaps the distance between packs was her excuse, but even as a child, I recognized absence when I felt it.
I pressed the edge of my fork into the rice, drawing tiny lines.
As for my mother’s side... There was nothing. No grandparents. No aunts. No uncles. She had been an orphan, and while she lived, she never once spoke of family.
If they existed, they had stayed so far away that even memory had erased them.
A sharp breath escaped me, soft enough that no one noticed.
It wasn’t fair. My friends could talk about invitations and reunions, while all I had were graves and ghosts.
I clenched my hand beneath the table, trying to keep the ache from spilling onto my face. Because no matter how much I longed for it, there was no one left to send an invitation to.
No one but shadows of what once was.
The ache sat heavy in my chest until Selene’s voice curled through me, low and steady.
"Don’t let grief steal tonight from you, Elira. You are not as alone as you think."
I blinked down at my plate. "It feels like I am. Everyone has someone. But me? I have no one left to even invite."
Her tone softened, like a hand brushing through my hair. "Look around. You have four who would stand at your side without question. Blood makes family, yes. But bonds... bonds can make family too."
My throat tightened, and I pressed my lips together, holding back the sting in my eyes.
It was then I noticed the table had gone quieter. Cambria’s fork rested in her hand, her gaze on me. Juniper, usually sharp-tongued, looked... guilty.
Even Tamryn’s guarded expression had shifted, and Nari was fidgeting with her juice straw as if she couldn’t sit still.
"Elira," Nari blurted softly, her usual playful tone gone. "We’re idiots."
I looked up at her. "What?"
"We were sitting here bragging about our families and invites like—" she groaned and dropped her head dramatically onto the table, "—like total jerks, when you..."
Cambria reached across, her hand brushing mine gently. "We forgot. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have gone on like that."
Juniper added in a quieter voice, "We know you don’t have... anyone to invite. We should have thought."
For once, even Tamryn gave a small nod, her eyes steady but softer than usual.
I let out a shaky laugh before the tears could gather. "It’s okay. Really. You don’t have to apologize."
For a moment, the silence clung to us, heavy with guilt and my own unspoken ache.
Then Nari suddenly lifted her head from the table, her eyes darting left and right before she let out a dramatic gasp.
"Well," she said, puffing up her cheeks, "if Elira can’t invite anyone, then we will just invite ourselves twice. Once for us, once for her. That way, she has more guests than anyone else!"