Page 47 of Demon Daddy's Secret Twins

"We didn't mean to." Kaelar's voice wavers, his copper-gold eyes wide. "It just happened. We were just playing-"

"Then everything went all sparkly," Sorien finishes, his fingers curling into my shirt.

I run my hands over their wild auburn-black hair, checking for injuries. Relief floods through me when I find none. "It's alright. Your power is still developing. These things happen."

Lamain keeps watch, his massive form blocking the path we came from. The boys' combined magic crackles in the air, raw and unstable. I press my forehead to theirs, letting my own power wrap around them like a shield.

"Were you scared?" Kaelar asks, his usual boldness creeping back into his voice.

"Terrified." I tighten my hold. "I can't lose you. Either of you."

Sorien looks up, one eye golden-brown like Loxley's, the other red like mine. "Promise you won't?"

My heart clenches. I cup his small face in my palm. "Never. I swear on every god in existence, I will always find you."

Kaelar squirms closer, protective even now as he keeps his body between his brother and the jungle. Just like their mother - fierce, loyal, unbreakable.

I spread my wings, creating a dark canopy above us. The golden lines across my skin pulse with magic, syncing with their erratic energy. They're safe. They're here. And nothing in all the realms will tear them from me again.

I carry both boys in my arms as we approach the village, their small forms nestled against my chest. Sorien's fingers twist in my shirt while Kaelar keeps scanning the treeline, already protective despite his exhaustion. Their combined magic pulses against mine, steadier now but still raw.

A flash of auburn catches my eye. Loxley bursts from between the elevated houses, her golden-brown eyes wide and wild. She sprints across the wooden bridges connecting the treehouses, her braids coming loose, her feet barely touching the planks.

She slams into us with enough force to make me step back. Her arms wrap around all three of us, her face pressed into the space between the boys' shoulders. The scent of jungle flowers and salt air clings to her skin.

"Mama!" Sorien reaches for her while keeping his grip on my shirt.

"You scared me to death." Her voice cracks. She pulls back just enough to check them over, her hands trembling as they brush over horns and hair. Tears streak down her face, but she's smiling, relief breaking through her usual guarded expression.

I shift the boys so she can hold them properly, but she surprises me by keeping one arm locked around my waist. Her fingers dig into my side as if afraid I'll disappear. The golden lines across my skin pulse brighter at her touch.

"We're okay, Mama." Kaelar pats her cheek.

Her eyes meet mine over their heads. All the pain, the fear, the loneliness of the past two years reflects in that gaze. I wrap my wing around her shoulders, pulling her closer until our foreheads touch.

"I'm here," I whisper against her skin. "I'm not going anywhere."

She nods, unable to speak. Her tears fall faster as she presses herself against us, holding on like we're the only solid thing in her world. The boys wiggle between us, safe in the cocoon of our embrace.

I hold them tighter, my wings creating a shield from the world around us. Loxley's tears soak into my chest as the boys nestle between us. Their combined warmth seeps into my obsidian skin, making the golden lines pulse brighter.

Kaelar squirms, his copper-gold eyes darting between our faces with that sharp curiosity he inherited from both of us. Sorien stays quiet, but his mismatched eyes miss nothing.

"Your magic is growing stronger." I brush my thumb over Kaelar's small horns, then Sorien's. "We'll need to start training you both."

"Really?" Kaelar perks up, while Sorien presses closer to Loxley.

"Together." I meet Loxley's gaze again. "All of us. No more separation. No more secrets."

Her fingers dig into my side, but the tension in her shoulders eases. The wall she built around herself - the one I glimpsed in those brief moments before the xaphan took me - begins to crack.

My wings tighten around them instinctively. The memory of chains biting into my flesh, of magic suppressed until I thought I'd go mad, threatens to surface. But here, with my sons' wild energy mixing with mine, with Loxley's fierce heart beating against my chest, those memories lose their power.

33

LOXLEY

The familiar scent of rain-soaked earth and something deeper, darker fills my lungs. I soak it in, holding onto Mazan and Loxley until I can finally calm down enough to ask the questions that have been racing through my mind.

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