Page 10 of Shadow Fall: Part Two

Emlyn let out a breathy growl. "And today is Christmas Day. Stop messing with me, Hales, I need this dinner to go right. You know full well it's our first Christmas with Kaida."

"Kaida," I repeated. Ka-i-da.

Emlyn's eyes softened, something so exquisitely tender in his expression that I wanted to burst into tears. Emotion clenched its cruel fist tighter around me and a teardrop escaped, tracking down my cheek.

Em sighed and crossed the room to me, throwing the tea towel over his shoulder. "Go, be with her. I'll figure out dinner. Are you sore?"

"No," I answered automatically, but—I was. My pussy hurt viciously, like the guys had run a train on me for a full twenty-four hours. The soreness went deeper, too, twinging when I shifted on my feet. "Yes," I sighed.

Em kissed me, chaste and sweet. "Go. I’ll run you a warm bath after dinner."

I stumbled away, unease wrapping around my chest. I hadn't been here; I'd just been somewhere else, but it was already too hard to remember, the memory slipping from my grasp.

Had there been grass? Wind? I shook my head, following the direction Em pointed out and finding a warm hallway painted a soft fawn that reminded me of the old house. The house Wyn burned down before he rebelled against Locke and helped us kill him.

It even smelled the same—lilacs and musk and fresh ink.

My heart thudded as I walked down the hall, instinct guiding me to the second-to-last door. I pushed it open, the hinges soundless, and I forgot every second of unease I'd felt in the last few minutes when I realised I walked into a nursery.

Kaida.

I rolled my eyes at myself for acting as if I'd never heard that name before when I was the one who found it. We'd been vigilant in naming her—no Greek mythology names, nothing connected to any god or titan. Kaida was Japanese, and its meaning was pretty, fierce, and simple: little dragon.

I smiled, watching her sleep in the wicker basket Kai and Harvey had built for her.2 Her skin was light brown, her long eyelashes sweeping her cheeks in twin shadows, hiding eyes as steely as a storm. She slept with her tiny bat-wings wrapped around her body. Not just Wane's wings, but Erebus's.

"Sleep, little dragon," I murmured, unable to draw my eyes away from her. "I'm not going anywhere."

CHAPTER FIVE

KAI

Iwasn't responsible for the quiet noise that came from my lips, or how high pitched it was. I shot Verena a warning glare when she smirked at me from the chair opposite mine by the fire in the living room, but the glare melted from my face when I looked at the baby girl sleeping on my chest. She'd just rustled her tiny black wings in her sleep, and it was the cutest fucking thing I'd seen in my entire existence.

My heart skipped when I stroked the back of a finger over her delicate cheek, and she let out a soft sound that reminded me so much of the ones Haley made in her sleep when I pulled her closer or kissed her forehead. When Kaida's tiny hand wrapped around my finger, I had to squeeze my eyes shut as emotions slammed into me like a tidal wave. Fuck.

Just … fuck.

"He's gonna cry again," Verena told someone as footsteps padded across the rug.

"No, I'm not," I muttered, but my voice was thick.

"Stop teasing him, Rena," Wane chided and sank onto the sofa with a sigh, dark shadows under his eyes.

I dragged my stare from Kaida to frown at Wane. "Again?" I mouthed.

He sighed and nodded. Ah, shit. Wane had been having nightmares for weeks, strange recurring dreams about being imprisoned and tortured. The last one was graphic and gruesome, his fingernails ripped out one by one until even my stomach curdled. I'd done the exact same thing to more than one man in my life, but Wane was mine, my family. The thought of that happening to him enraged me. Sickened me.

I looked down at Kaida, focusing on the feeling of her soft breaths puffing over my collarbone to calm myself from the murderous edge I walked.

"I'm fine," Wane muttered, giving me a tired smile until his eyes drifted to Kaida and true warmth entered his gaze. I knew he felt the same melting sensation in his chest when he watched her, because Harvey had asked all of us about it. Not a single one of us didn't turn to sappy bastards when we looked at our daughter. "When did she wake up?"

"Not long ago," I replied with a smile. "Haley passed out in Kaida's room after feeding her."

"Mm," Wane murmured, rubbing sleep from his silver eyes before he pushed off the sofa. "Hungry, Verena?"

She scowled when he bent over her chair and kissed the top of her red head. "Piss off."

He laughed softly. There was something about this early in the morning—everything was hazy and gentle and hushed. I melted further, unable to keep a smile off my face.

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