Page 8 of Nanny for the Demon's Twins

I glance down at my soot-stained clothes and nod. "Give me five minutes."

"Ten," she counters, eyeing the state of my beard. "The fort will still stand."

"Promise?" I raise an eyebrow at the giggling pile of blankets and twins.

"We'll guard it!" Luna declares.

"With magic!" Nova adds.

"No magic without supervision," Mira and I say in unison. Our eyes meet, and something electric passes between us before I turn away, heading for the washroom.

I take less than ten minutes, but when I return to find the fort still standing, Luna's already showing signs of overtiredness - her bottom lip trembles as Nova clutches her favorite stuffed dragon.

"My turn with Fangy!" Luna reaches for the toy.

Nova shakes her head, curling around it protectively. "You had him all morning."

"Want him now!" Luna's eyes flash violet, magic crackling in the air. The familiar weight of an impending tantrum settles in my gut. I step forward, but Mira's already moving.

"Luna, sweetheart." She kneels beside the fort's entrance, voice steady. "I see you're feeling frustrated. Would you like to tell Fangy a story while Nova holds him? That way you both get to play together."

Luna's magic flares. A pillow lifts off the ground. "No! Want Fangy!"

I tense, preparing for the explosion of magical energy that usually follows, but Mira doesn't flinch. She opens her arms.

"I know it's hard when we want something we can't have right now. Come here, let me show you something special."

To my amazement, Luna crawls into her lap, tears still streaming but magic dimming. Shifting, Mira holds up her hands and I watch as she starts to make shadow puppets - one looking like the dragon.

"Can you help me make him dance?" Mira asks Luna, who nods. Luna puts up her little hands and Mira guides her, Nova providing sound effects.

My throat tightens. Three days. It took Mira three days to figure out how to turn Luna's magical outbursts into teaching moments. I've been struggling with this for months, usually ending up with scorch marks on the walls and both twins in tears.

"Uncle Karn!" Luna calls, her earlier distress forgotten. "Come see our dragon!"

I drop down beside them, watching as the two of them make little shadows, shifting the light for them so that the shadows can prance around the room. The peace in this moment - it's everything I've been trying to create for them.

"Thank you," I murmur to Mira, low enough that only she can hear as Luna climbs down to go play with Nova.

She meets my eyes, and that same electric connection sparks between us. "They're wonderful children. They just need a gentle hand sometimes."

I watch the girls together, both yawning and slowing. They're clearly getting tired, and soon, I scoop them up, Mira following me to their room.

After three stories, two songs, and one minor magical mishap involving floating pillows, the twins finally drift off to sleep. I pull their blanket up, tucking it around their shoulders. Nova clutches Fangy while Luna's hand reaches across the small space between their beds to hold her sister's sleeve - a habit they've had since the accident.

"Sweet dreams, little ones." Mira's whisper carries such tenderness it makes my chest ache.

We slip out, leaving their door cracked just enough for the hallway light to spill in. Back in the living room, the fort looms like a cloth mountain. Mira grabs one end of a blanket while I take the other.

"They're so connected," she says as we fold. "The way they reach for each other, even in sleep."

"Been that way since birth." I smooth the creases from the fabric. "Their father - my brother - used to joke they shared one mind in two bodies."

"Tell me about him?" Her question is gentle, careful. When I glance up, her green eyes hold no pressure, just quiet interest.

"Ash was..." I clear my throat. "Younger than me. Stubborn as shit. Fell in love with a human woman named Sarah and didn't care what anyone thought about it."

Mira stacks pillows, her movements precise. "The twins have her grace."

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