Page 48 of My Eternal Light

“What about me, baby?” Aiden asked.

“You are absolutely ‘A’ team. I’m not living in a wasteland dystopia celibate.”

Aiden looked upset for a second, then grinned. “You know what? I’ll take it.”

Kincaid was about to crack a joke when he saw Zadie yawn. He stood. “Forgive us, but I think the day is catching up.”

Cord stepped away from the sideboard. “If you don’t mind old furniture and dated decor, House Eirson is yours to use as you see fit. I’ll be over in a little bit with dinner.”

Kincaid felt his mouth drop open. He turned to Oron who simply nodded. “The squires were able to do all the major structural repairs and cleaning today, but painting is scheduled for tomorrow.”

“That’s not what I mean. Is it okay for us to sleep there?” he asked.

Cord pointed to the room where the children slept. “It’s not quite fit for them yet. We did not want anything to remind them of where they came from, so it was decided that the house would be fully updated before we moved them in.”

Zadie stood and took his hand. “I think what he means is, why us?”

The queen smiled, looking a bit coy. “Running our new educational center should come with some perks, should it not? Think of it as a peek into what is being offered.”

“A freaking house?” Zadie asked, looking as shocked as he felt.

Oron held up his hand. “The west wing master suite to be exact. The east wing suite is being reserved for whom ever will take-over looking after the children.”

Zadie looked from the queen to Oron and back. “But I thought…”

The queen folded her hands in her lap. “Yes, you will be on site, but I am not expecting you to work twenty-four hours a day. You would not be a parent, but a teacher. I fully support a separation of those two roles. The children will need that too, no, they deserve it. Parents who love and support them and a teacher that will help them grow.”

Zadie’s inhaled breath was shaky. “Your Majesty, if you get Izzy to support my caffeine habit, you have yourself a deal.”

The queen clapped her hands together. “Excellent. Peruse the estate tonight and tomorrow leave a list of changes with Cord. We can run out for anything you want that we do not currently have.”

Kincaid chuckled. “Yeah, it’s not that hard…” He felt around his waist and detached Meryn’s Bag of Wishes. “Here’s the kid stuff I grabbed.” He handed the bag to Meryn.

She whispered the command word and looked inside. “You remembered!”

“Your toasties? Yes, I grabbed all I saw and even had them bring out a few boxes from the back for you.”

“Which flavors?”

“All of them. You did say all of them.”

“Kincaid just earned himself a new color,” Meryn purred at her laptop.

Ryuu stepped forward and held out his hand and she placed the bag in it. He gave a half bow. “I will see to it that the children’s things are forwarded to the estate tomorrow.”

Zadie pulled on his hand. “Where is it? How far is it?” she asked, excitedly.

He laughed, her excitement contagious. “You act as if you never saw a house before.”

“Not like this. Not a place of my own, one that I earned,” she answered.

“Then by all means, let us go check out our ancient abode.”

“I’ll help you set up a split schedule, like Brie and I use,”Ari offered.

“If you need anything, remember we’re practically next door,” Cas reminded him.

Kendrick coughed into his hand. “Your magic should be stabilizing tonight, but… exertion may spin it out of control. If you feel your powers building again, let us know and evacuate the area. The sacred trees are nearby.”

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