Page 77 of Cathmoir's Sons

Charlie colors even more furiously. “Uh, names, I guess.”

“Names?”

The sniggers turn into chortles.

“Twins run in my family!” Charlie protests.

“Kill. You. Dead,” Teddy grumbles. “Five kids in three years. Bloody men!”

Behind me, Law is laughing silently. Silently but so hard he nearly bounces me off his lap. “Twins run in my family, too,” he whispers to me.

I’d actually love to have twins. I know it’s more work for the parents, but I adore the bonds I see between the twins I know, Law and Luca among them.

“I’m up for twins,” I whisper back. “Five kids in three years is a lot, but I have a feeling your parents will be the most dotinggrandparents ever, and between the four of us, your parents, and Aine-the-best-aunt-in-Faery, we wouldn’t be outnumbered.”

Law’s arms tighten around me. “They will and we won’t be.”

“All good then.” I raise my voice above a whisper and say, “Professor Nowak, are you feeling up to office hours? I could use your help thinking something through.”

Teddy opens her eyes and props herself up against Charlie’s chest. “Lay it on me. Anythin’s better’n lying here feelin’ sorry for meself.”

“I’m going to have to make a choice between continuing on tenure track and ... other things. Chiefly going after Ulune’s Daughter but also going public with my relationships.”

Law grunts. I told him about Rowan’s threats while we waited for Rachel. His solution, of course, involved burying Rowan’s body where it would never be found. I firmly rejected his suggestion and pointed out that the murder of a fellow academic, no matter how much of an asshole, was as likely to derail my tenure application as the picture of us. He was still muttering something about no one ever finding anything in the Quaking Bogs when Rachel finally appeared.

Teddy crosses her arms over her chest. “Your tenure application’s due at the end of the spring semester, innit?”

I nod.

She shifts her eyes to glare over my shoulder. “Can’t wait until the semester’s over?”

I click my claws at her. “It’s not fair to lay this at the boys’ door. I made the decision to stop hiding.”

Law’s purr nearly bounces me off his lap. The twins climb up off the floor and toddle over, looking up at Law with wide eyes.

“Kitty?” Nor asks.

“Good job, Whitey,” I say, shooting a grin over my shoulder. “Are you going to let the Twin Terrors pet the kitty?”

Law gulps. “I didn’t think that through, did I?”

“No, especially not if you’re going to turn into the seven-foot-long, saber-toothed panther version of kitty. Most of the house is in Faery.”

Teddy laughs. “They’ll probably want to ride you. Gal, Nor, would you get your kitties and show them to Lawson, please, ta?”

Gal throws her arms over her head and runs out of the room, shrieking “kitty!” Her twin follows her more sedately, looking back over his shoulder at Law, clearly trying to figure out where the kitty is.

“Do they pull fur?” Law asks Teddy.

“Uh-huh, and ears, and tails, and whiskers. We’re still teaching them the concept of ‘gentle.’ You’ll note they don’t have any pets of their own yet.”

Another gulp from the mighty Cait warrior-prince at my back.

“They’re gettin’ better about tails,” Jou offers from where he’s still sprawled on the floor beside their blocks. I notice he’s not manifesting his tail right now, despite what he says. “Might try grabbin’ for your crown, though.”

“I don’t have a crown,” Law says.

“You do in your cat form,” Jou says. “I saw it at Jedburgh Abbey. It’s how I knew who you were. Only three crowned, giant black cats roamin’ your world right now.”

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