Ella I’d known it wasn’t going to be easy. I was prepared to hear from grieving widows, wounded warriors, and heartbroken families. I was prepared to see their gruesome injuries and desolate faces, to hold their hands while they wept. I was not prepared for the orphans… or for the parents who lost
“Well that’s okay.” I reason. “We can make up our own story. Sometimes that’s the best thing to do when things don’t go as planned.” She still looks hesitant, so I bounce one of the dolls in my hand over to her, pointing it in the direction of the offered doll. “Hmm, are you a good witch or a bad w
Ella When we return to the palace I go straight upstairs to the office Sinclair has been using as his war room. Of course, there was a war room in his mansion back home too, but that one had been for the campaign, this one is only too literal. When I walk into the tense space, I find my mate stand
Hmm, just think about how furious he’d be if you went gallivanting around Vanara and left me here all by my lonesome. I reply saucily, nipping his lower lip with my fangs. Sinclair growls and delves his tongue between my parted lips, gripping my hips and pressing me into his hardness, letting me fe
Ella “Dominic, what are you talking about?” I ask, shocked beyond belief by his last statement. Any tiredness I’d been feeling after my long, emotionally draining, day dissipated the moment Sinclair claimed responsibility for the war. Just in case, I push myself up into a sitting position so that I
“Including me!” Sinclair explodes. “I went along with the campaign when I should have just taken him out!” He clenches his jaw as if trying to hold back, then adds. “And the worst part of all is that I left my people! I abandoned them as soon as things turned for the worse. I could have stayed and f
Sinclair When we arrive at the air field, I do my best to keep Ella from feeling my nerves. As loathe as I am to admit it, part of me is still terribly afraid that my people will blame me for everything that’s happened. My angel of a mate did wonders assuaging my own guilt, but I know how grieving
As I finish my impromptu speech, I task Hugo with taking notes and Ella and I move throughout the tent, meeting with each refugee and family individually. Some are angry, as one might expect, others have problems or grievances to air about the camp or people they left behind. However the vast majori
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an