Page 52 of Calling of the Crown

“Bria!” the twins yelled as they ran over to hug me.

“‘Bout time you got here,” Ardley said to me with a wink.

“Wh-What are you guys doing here?” I asked incredulously.

“You had a long, rough day,” Rance started, slinging an arm around Dallas’s shoulder. “Rune figured you could use a pick-me-up.”

“It’s a night off,” Jesiah added. “No work, no talk of any duties or plans. Just a night to be with your friends.”

“And paint,” Rune quickly added. He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the easel where he waved his hand at the stool. “I thought you might enjoy a chance to do what you love.”

Emotion clogged my throat, and I had to swallow multiple times before my voice worked. Blinking the moisture away, I squeezed Rune’s hand and looked up at him to whisper, “Thank you.”

Smiling, he leaned down to kiss my temple. “You have nothing to thank me for. Now get to painting, beautiful. I’ll go grab you a cinnamon roll.”

I watched my Fox walk away, shoving his cousin in the shoulder, who, no doubt, teased him as he walked by. This man … There were certain moments in my life when I truly felt lucky. The time I entered an art contest and won $500 worth of art supplies was one. The moment when Dallas and I had learned we’d been accepted to the same university and got to room together was another. This moment trumped all of them.

I was lucky to have this room full of laughter and family.

I was lucky to have this man who watched me like I was the only person in the room, and I knew nothing would ever be more beautiful or perfect than this very moment.

Which gave me an idea for the painting.

I grabbed my brush, and feeling the wooden tool between my fingers created a sense of contentment inside me. It had been far too long since I’d gotten the chance to paint, and now that I finally had the chance, it was like my whole body came alive.

Dipping my brush into the blue paint, I mixed it with some white until I got the color I wanted. The brush glided the thick paint across the canvas, and as I watched the white slowly disappear beneath my strokes, a smile pulled my lips up.

I reached for more paint, and my hair fell into my eyes as I did. Just as I went to push it back, Akira came up next to me and said, “Here, let me get that for you.”

I met his black eyes with a smile. “Thanks.”

He got behind me and brushed his fingers through my blonde and blue hair, pulling it gently back behind me. I continued gliding the paint over the canvas as I felt the familiar tug of my hair being braided.

“What are you painting?” Akira asked.

I scooped even more paint and finished laying the base color. “Us. This room. I’m painting this moment so I’ll always have it.”

“I think that’s a great idea. Just make sure you paint my good side.”

Laughing, I nodded. “I think I can do that.”

“You and Rune seem to be doing good,” Akira noted conspiratorially as he nudged my back while continuing his work on my hair.

I glanced across the room. Rune stood by the snack table, laughing at something his brothers said. I nodded again. “We are.” I glanced over my shoulder at Akira with a teasing smirk. “You and Jesiah seem to be pretty great, too.”

Akira’s cheeks pinkened, but he didn’t hide away from my poking. He nodded and glanced over to where Jesiah still stood by the fireplace. “I’m so happy, Bria. Genuinely, absolutely happy. Finally, after all these years, I’ve found him.”

“You found your wind,” I grinned.

Akira had once said that about Jesiah. He was what gave him flight, life, and freedom. Akira had been lost without him, but now, he seemed whole again.

Akira closed his eyes, and affection bled into his features. When he opened his eyes again, he whispered, “I did. And I have you to thank for that. If it wasn’t for you bringing us all here, I’d still be wandering around, secretly lost and hurting. So thank you.”

I turned and squeezed Akira around the middle. “I’m just glad you two found each other again. Jesiah’s a really good man. You both deserve all the happiness in the world.”

Akira hugged me just as tightly before letting me go. I turned back around in my stool to keep painting, and Akira finished off my braid. He let it fall down my back, and he leaned down to prop his chin on my shoulder and watch me paint in silence for a few minutes.

Finally, he said, “I love moments like this where we’re all together. I hope it can be like this forever.”

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