Henry nods and looks consideringly at the kids. “Will you let me do a bit of research, son?” he asks, smiling at them, “and get back to you on it? I hate to be cryptic, but I want very much to make sure that I’m right before I send you on a wild goose chase.” “I think that’s just fine,” I sigh, re
“Actually,” Henry says, his voice considering. “Before you take your rest, Ella…” “Hmm?” I ask, turning towards him, curious. “Well,” he says, hesitating, looking me up and down and clearly assessing how presentable I am, “they have been waiting out there for hours.” “Oh,” I say, my eyebrows g
Ella The crowds go absolutely wild as we walk into the sunlight and a huge smile bursts onto my face. Honestly, it was a little touch-and-go for a few months there, with the media continually debating if I was a good or a bad Queen after the murder on the front steps. But I laid low, and continue
“Happy?” Sinclair asks, smiling at me as he presses the door shut. “Ecstatic,” I sigh, grinning at him before looking to the kids. “But also exhausted. And busy. Do you think you can get Rafe down, or at least distracted, while I get ready to feed Ariel?” My mate smiles at me, taking a step clos
My mate listens carefully as I tell him, in full detail, everything that happened when the Dark God took me outside of time and gave our little daughter our gift. I mostly look down at her while I tell the story, wondering how this perfect, tiny little angel being could have an ounce of darkness in
And then I yawn, and settle down, and finally completely pass out. Of course, I barely sleep, because the baby gets me up every couple of hours needing to be fed again. The next day passes pretty much in a blur, with me catching sleep when I can and attending to Ariel when she needs it. I’m not in
Ella I give Ariel one last kiss for luck and exhale a deep breath, focusing my eyes on Henry as I lean back against my mate, who wraps a supportive arm around me. “Actually, Ella,” Cora says, and my eyes dart to her. She smiles and me from across the couch, her arms wrapped around her baby on h
“What the hell, Ariel,” he breathes, leaning forward to stare at his niece. A ridiculous little laugh bursts at me from this, and I shake my head as Cora and Sinclair and then Henry start to laugh as well. I shake my head at my brother-in-law, so grateful for him and his strange sense of humor, wh
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