The laughter echoes through Scott's kitchen as Joel continues to look wounded by my earlier assessment of his attractiveness. Scott can barely contain himself, his shoulders still shaking with amusement as he tries to regain composure. Jimmy has collapsed onto the table, his own laughter muffled against the wood surface.

Lizzie meets my eyes across the chaos, a conspiratorial smile playing on her lips. "Solid three," she mouths silently, and I have to bite back another laugh.

Joel finally manages to look indignant rather than wounded. "You lot are cruel, all of you," he declares, crossing his arms like a petulant child. "And you—" he points accusingly at me "—are supposed to be on my side!"

Before I can respond, Scott places a hand on my shoulder, his laughter finally subsiding. "He's got you there, Tommy. You are the newest member of the family, after all."

"I'm not—"

"Family," Jimmy interrupts, finally lifting his head from the table, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Whether you like it or not."

Lizzie moves to stand behind me, her hands hovering uncertainly for a moment before she gently adjusts one of my wings. The touch is surprisingly gentle, not at all what I expected from the woman who supposedly beat Jimmy in a fight.

"Welcome to the chaos, kid," she says softly. "You're gonna fit right in."

Joel opens his mouth to protest, but the sound of hoofbeats outside cuts him off. Scott exchanges a knowing look with Jimmy.

"Saved by the horses," he says, grinning. "Looks like we've got company."

Jimmy groans, burying his face in his hands. "Don't tell me they brought more people."

"Relax," Scott says, "It's probably just Gem stopping by to see how the new addition is settling in."

My wings twitch involuntarily at the thought of meeting even more people. This house was already packed with enough strange characters—adding another ruler to the mix might just push me over the edge.

Lizzie squeezes my shoulder gently before stepping back. "Well? What do we do? Hide you under the table?"

Everyone turns to look at me, awaiting my response.