I pushed my macaroni and cheese around my plate, trying to work up the desire to eat. I wasn’t hungry. Nausea had a firm grip on me. But Constance had cooked for everyone. Her daughters, whom apparently she’d adopted from the former Sun Card before she died, had requested this special macaroni from the blue box for lunch—the kind with the pouch of powdered cheese. I hadn’t had this kind since middle school, and judging by the smiles on Mei-Ling’s and Tai’s faces, I knew they were at least enjoying the nostalgia of the meal. You need to eat, Frankie. You need to have strength to fight. I scooped a spoonful and shoved it into my mouth. I didn’t taste it. That was fine, better than being disgusted or nauseated by it. When I reached up to grab the pepper shaker, I saw Constance smiling at me. Great, she was upset I wasn’t eating. Good job, Frankie.

“Tennessee Wildes, you have to eat. I don’t care who is in charge or how strong you are.” Mona literally dragged Tenn up the stairs from the infirmary, then shoved him toward the table. Granted, I was positive he was letting her, which said a lot about his affection for his father’s soulmate and fiancé. “You will not insult your father by not eating just because he’s injured. Sit. Eat.”

“Ma—”

“This is not up for discussion.” She followed him until he sat in his seat at the end of the table. Then she grabbed a bowl and scooped him a hefty serving. “I want this licked clean.”

Tegan snort-laughed from the kitchen. “That’s my line,” she whispered between laughs.

Royce spit his drink onto the table, his face already red from laughing despite the fact we couldn’t hear it. The rest of the table chuckled. Mona rolled her eyes.

“Ma, this is a lot of food⁠—”

“For a child. You’re six-foot-five.” She scooped another spoonful from the serving bowl and held it over his already full bowl. “Start eating or this macaroni becomes a hydra.”

He shoved a spoonful into his mouth, then swallowed dramatically. His mismatched eyes locked on her. “You have to eat too.”

“I’m not Michael’s grandson with a destiny to fulfill. We are not the same.” She dropped the serving spoon into the big bowl, then sighed. “And Katherine made us breakfast a couple hours ago, so I did eat.”

Tegan strolled over and climbed into his lap with her own bowl of macaroni. She took a bite, then let out a happy little dance with a moan. “Bettina and I used to crush this mac back home. Remember, Benny?”

“It was the only food you two were allowed to cook without supervision.” He giggled between bites. “There’s a certain nostalgia to it.”