Page 59 of My Demon Manny

After the shower, Lux and I ate on the couch as the babies played on the mat, and Lux told me about their day, making me wish I'd been there with them. It'd been a while since I started going back to work, and yet I wished every day that I could stay home and spend more time with my family. I wondered if all new working parents felt that way, and if so, how did they deal with it?

At least I was lucky enough to have a partner who could teleport into my office with our baby whenever I missed themtoo much, but there were only so many times I could ask him to do that without raising suspicion.

It was Saturday the next day, which meant we could sleep in, and Lux was adamant that I take the opportunity, and that he'd make sure the babies didn't disturb me. While I wanted to argue, I had been getting less-than-adequate sleep this last week, what with the intruder and then the second baby. I knew I'd be useless to all three of them without proper rest, so I relented to Lux's orders.

Of course, I slept like the dead, and I was sure I could've slept a few more hours when Lux shook me awake.

The sleep clinging to me vanished instantly when I looked up into Lux's worried face, taking in the creases on his forehead and the downward tilt of his lips.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting upright at once, my eyes scanning the room as if I'd be able to spot the threat.

"Nothing's wrong," Lux hurried to assure me, his hand coming up to rest on the nape of my neck. "Artemus and King Damien are here."

Oh.

I'd been hoping for their arrival for the last few days, but now that they were here, I was afraid to hear what they had to say. Judging by Lux's expression, so was he.

Lux

We walked back into the living room with our hands tightly clasped together, and Artemus and King Damien glanced up at us from their spot on the couch as we came in.

I waved for Archer to take a seat on the armchair, then perched on its arm, both of us facing the two royals. I wantedto demand they tell us what they'd discovered right now, but I knew better than to blurt it out. Artemus and King Damien were some of the kindest people I knew, but they were still the rulers of Otherworld, and I couldn't forget that. They had the power to make me leave the human world, make me leave Archer and Gunner—not that I thought they'deverdo that—and that wasn't something I could ignore.

"Did you find his parents?" Archer asked, breaking the awkward silence, and King Damien nodded quickly.

"We did, with Tharion's help." He glanced from Archer to me, then back again, before exhaling loudly, and somehow, I knew before he'd started speaking what his answer would be. It was obvious in the way his lips turned down a little, in the way his eyes darkened with sympathy. "They knew he'd been taken, and they were frantic in their search for him."

I should've been happy. Baby Fae had a family who loved him, who was worried about him and wanted him back. That was good, wasn't it? Yet all I felt was sadness. I was sad I wouldn't get to raise him with Archer. Despite my best efforts, I'd gotten attached.

"I'm sorry, Calux, Archer," Artemus said softly, and I shook my head.

"No, no. There's no need to be sorry. This is a good thing, right? We should be happy," I said, glancing at Archer, who gave me a smile, his own eyes brimming with sadness. He'd grown attached too, hadn't he?

"Yeah, we should be. Baby—" He cut himself off, glancing at Artemus. "What's his name?"

"His fae name is a bit...lengthy, but his common name is Sabre."

I blinked, then glanced at Archer, who was already looking at me. Another weapon name. It was like he'd meant to find us from the start, as if fate—not the one we knew, since they wereresponsible for fated bonds only—had led the brownie to our door.

"Sabre," Archer murmured, glancing down at the baby in question. He was busy in his own world with Gunner, both of them already best friends. I wondered if Gunner would miss Sabre when he was gone. "I'm glad Sabre has a family that cares for him. Do we know how he ended up here?"

King Damien wrinkled his nose as he said the word, as if merely speaking it made him feel dirty somehow. "Politics."

I supposed there wasn't any other explanation needed. The fae were infamous for their politics, for all the schemes and deceptions they carried out in their race for the throne.

"The perpetrators are being dealt with, so Sabre will be safe now," Artemus assured us, and I sighed, knowing there was no way we'd be keeping Sabre.

"That's good to hear," Archer murmured, and I nodded in agreement.

Artemus told us they were meeting Sabre's parents to return him in an hour, so we spent the remaining time we had lavishing Sabre with attention. I didn't know if he'd remember us once he was all grown up, or if his parents would ever tell him about us, but I hoped they would.

Just in case they didn't, though, I used a spell I hadn't used in a long, long time and murmured a few words in Sabre's ears, putting them into his subconscious for him to recall once he was older.

It was a spell demons used in the olden days to get supes to summon us. We'd find younger supes who seemed like they'd grow up powerful, and we'd whisper a suggestion in their mind with our names, leading them to grow up interested in demons. Usually, they'd find a way to summon us, and then we could make a deal that benefitted us both.

I'd used the same concept, but instead of summoning me, I'd given him the idea that he could always call on me for help if he was ever in any danger. If he used the spell I'd given him, I'd be able to enter the faerie realm without a problem, as long as it was to help him.

I didn't know if Artemus or King Damien noticed what I'd done, but they didn't mention it, and I didn't bring it up either.

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