I gasp, suddenly afraid, but Roger brings a quick hand to my waist, steadying me. “Don’t pull the baby back,” he says, peering into the white light of the moon, likewise trying to make it out. “If you do, we won’t be able to see…” So I keep holding the baby out, my arms trembling a little, and wat
Ella It feels like my sister has been gone with my baby for…hours. But in reality I know that it has been, at best, maybe half an hour. Still, while the rest of us mill around the dark forest, drinking champagne and waiting, I can’t keep myself from continuing to glance anxiously into the darkness
“I swear, Roger,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at him, “if you keep this from me, I will torture you for the rest of your life –“ My brother-in-law bares his teeth at me playfully, leaning forward. “Ah, Ella, but don’t you see? Now I have the power to torture you, as I have information you want, and I
Ella Two hours later, Sinclair and I welcome our friends back to our house for a casual breakfast and coffee – or mimosas, according to preference – to celebrate Rafe’s moonlight baptism. I can tell our guests are dragging – they’ve been up all night, after all – but spirits are high. “Wow,” I say
“Please, Ella,” she says softly, anxiously looking to where Sinclair is standing. “I’m sorry – maybe I shouldn’t have told you –“ “No,” I say, shaking my head and looking at her with a new determination on my face. “I need to know, Isabel – I’m getting strong, I need to do this sort of work. If Sin
Ella My guests surprise me by staying almost until noon. Well, at least, some of them – mostly those who started hitting the mimosas hard when we got back to the house and then moved to whiskey. After the baby wakes up and has a little lunch, I come yawning back into the front of the house, where
“Ella,” Cora says, taking me by the shoulders and giving me a little shake, though I can see a blush on her cheeks. “Let it go.” “Fine,” I lie, still frowning at her. Cora sighs and shakes her head. “I’m tired, Ella,” she says, looking towards the door and then back at me. “I’m going home, but I d
Sinclair I know it’s a little perverse, but, as I look down at my furious little spitfire mate, glaring angrily between my brother and I who outweigh her by three or four times… God damn it, but I get a little hard. She’s just so passionate, and when she’s all worked up like this all I want to do
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