"What are you doing here?" Alaya was puzzled when she saw the god before her who long ago, she had addressed as her father.
"I came to see you." Dylan responded, welcoming himself to sit on the couch without being invited.
Alaya frowned in confusion. How did he know where she lived. She had moved to Cannon Island just recently after learning how beautiful it was and no one knew her new residence. Not even Dairon knew where to find her.
"I'm flattered you took your time to pay me a visit, Lord Dylan, but I think you should leave." She dismissed him.
"Why? Did you fall in love with another human?"
There was something wrong with the way he said the last word. He spat it out with a hint of sarcasm and she was not going to let him trample over the only thing that had caused her joy for some time in her life.
"We are not close enough to discuss my love life. Can you please leave?"
"Of course. After delivering this." He handed over a blue envelope and she had a bad feeling about it.
"Don't give me that look. It's from Jasmine." He explained, making her want to laugh out loud. Even if Jasmine were to send her a letter, why would he deliver it through Dylan?
As if he was reading her mind, he cleared her throat and explained, "It's not easy to send letters to a place outside the realm of immortals. Jasmine found out that you were no longer living in the realm of immortals but she couldn't come to the human realm without permission. When she heard that I had business here, she sent me to bring you this letter."
Alaya pressed her lips together. The explanation made sense but she would rather die than believe a word coming out of Dylan's mouth. Nonetheless, she opened the envelope. "Thank her for me."
"Of course I will." He stood to leave but when he reached the door, he turned back. "Alaya,"
"What now?"
"I just wanted to let you know that we miss you. Your mother and I."
"Of course you do." She rolled her eyes. If they missed her in the slightest, they would not have ignored her for centuries after she left the Enchanted Circle. Besides, they would not treat her son the way they did.
"I know you are mad at me but I'm telling you the truth. Back then, we couldn't stand the thought of our daughter…"
She didn't want to hear any more of it, and her face scrunched up. "I don't need an explanation. I just want you to leave."
He continued explaining anyway.
"We were heartbroken, learning that you had fallen in love with a human. We knew how heartbroken you would be once he died, since humans' lifespans are too short. You would lose him one day. We didn't want you to fall for that kind of fate, not to mention it was against the rules. But we truly miss you, Alaya. The only thing that could make us happy now is to have you and our grandson back."
She remained silent until he left, then she let out a sigh. If he said such words before she had Dairon, she might have believed him. But how could she erase the number of times she was on the run just to make sure they didn't forcefully murder her baby? If they really wanted her back, she would not have been forced to give her son away just to protect him. Her relationship with her son had only turned this distant because of them. Because she had to stay away from him for years to protect him and it had reached a point of no return.
"Why would Jasmine send the letter through him?" She wondered, finding it odd. Dairon must have told her about his past and from that she might not stand the sight of Dylan and Nila. Maybe the demigoddess wasn't one to hold grudges just because someone else did, she concluded.
She opened the envelope and just as she expected, it was a letter from Jasmine, letting her know of the banquet she and Dairon were attending, and informing her that she was invited too. She had also slotted an invitation letter into the envelope but Alaya looked at it skeptically.
Terra was Jasmine's friend so it made sense for her and Dairon to go. But why would she invite her, Jasmine's mother, who was not close to Terra or Madlen? Maybe she had an extra invitation? Maybe Terra intended to invite all the deities? Something weird was going on.
She saw from the invitation letter that the banquet was going to be held the next day, so she thought it best to ask Jasmine.
When she teleported to Dairon's island late in the afternoon, she looked everywhere for Jasmine before creeping into her room to check if she was there. She didn't find Jasmine but a maidservant who looked familiar.
"Goddess Alaya? Are you looking for Lady Jasmine?" The maid smiled.
She finally remembered her. This was Rosetta, the human maid who had been working here for years.
"I am." She answered.
"Lady Jasmine left for the Proconian Isles with Lord Dairon. However, she thought you might look for her and left behind a dress for you to wear to the banquet."
"Okay." She waited for Rosetta to bring her a dress. She took one glance and realized that it was in the human realm style, which put a smile on her face.
"You don't need to thank me. I'm just following instructions." Rosetta excused herself and continued cleaning Jasmine's room.
Alaya left the island with the dress in hand and kept thinking back to the maid. Jasmine would not leave behind a dress for her to wear to the banquet if she had not sent the letter and invite. So why did it still feel strange?
___
The following evening, Jasmine helped Terra dress up.
"You look so beautiful!" Terra gushed at Jasmine's dress, which she saw through the latter's reflection in the mirror.
"You flatter me." Laughed Jasmine. She was wearing an emerald dress and had especially chosen a simple one. On the other hand, Terra's was intricate with fine details that made it stand out. "Wait till you see how you look."
The goddess was already blushing at the thought of Madlen's expression when he saw her later. When she stood up, she couldn't help looking at her own reflection in admiration.
"Thank you so much, Jasmine. I can't believe you rejected my payment for such a beautiful gown."
"It's okay. We are friends."
"Yes we are. Friends." Terra muttered our the last word as if she was sad about it.
Jasmine didn't think much of it, she placed the jewelry box on the vanity. "I'll let you finish up. I need to find Dairon."
"Go ahead." Said Terra sweetly, and she left the dressing chamber.
The Proconian Isles was not as empty as she thought. There were mansions in the distance which she had not seen before, one of which was going to be used as the venue for the wedding banquet. It had been decorated in lavender and gold and the gorgeously dressed guests had already started to walk in.
"This is ridiculous." Someone spoke beside her. She turned to see that it was Harlyn, the demigod of war who was Scarlet's apprentice.
"What's ridiculous?" She asked.
"The rules of the banquet. Supposedly goddess Terra's parents cannot fly, so lord Madlen decided that no one should fly at the banquet."
"It's just for a night." Remarked Jasmine before walking away to find Dairon. When she finally did, the banquet had begun.
"Where have you been? I was looking for you."
"Bardumond needed help so I had to rush to the Norlan Islands." He hooked her arm around his.
"Okay." Her voice trembled. She had tried to ignore it but she couldn't anymore. "I have a bad feeling about this banquet."
"So do I. Especially since my mother is here."
"Goddess Alaya is here?" She was puzzled. If her memory was correct, Terra and Alaya didn't even have anything in common and neither did Madlen. Who invited her? She was yet to ask this when she realized that many of the guests were neither Terra's nor Madlen's acquaintances.
"Maybe she wanted a wedding for the realm of immortals." She shrugged. Everyone had their own wedding choices.
"Maybe." His eyes locked with Dylan across the room and the god smirked. He was holding Nila's waist while Marina held his arm on the other side. "Or maybe, things are not so simple." the last mumble was to himself as he didn't want his mate to be worried. He wanted her to enjoy her friend's banquet.
The door of the banquet hall opened and a path was created by all the guests for Terra to walk through to the centre. She was holding up the skirt of her gown with one hand while the other held onto a small bouquet. Her smile was full of love as she gazed at Madlen who was just a few steps away.
Jasmine wondered if that was how it would feel with her walking towards Dairon on their banquet day. When she tilted her head to look at him, he was thinking of the same thing.
"They look beautiful together." She gushed, only for the demigod to grunt.
"We look more perfect together." He lowered his voice so others would not hear him.
"You can't be so childish." She jabbed his side. He leaned in to say something in her ear. She listened for a while and when she realized that he was not talking, she probed, "Why aren't you…"
Her words were swallowed when a something whooshed past her ear and when she turned to look, Dairon was holding an arrow he had grabbed mid-air.