Page 175 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
I loved having two of my favorite people on either side of me. It felt good, like the boys and I were safe and protected.
“Where are the girls?” Brenton asked, peering at the hallway.
“Alastor picked them up early this morning so Javier could spend time with them,” I said, pushing that lingering sadness away.
But dammit, I missed him. While I loved having Kieren over, I also wanted to see Javier, but I knew that if I had any hope of being a part of his life, we had to go at his pace.
“Alastor told me he was on his way back with the girls,” Elias said.
“I was hoping Javier would come see you after what you went through with Pietro,” Brenton admitted with a sheepish smile.
“That wouldn’t be fair to expect that of him,” I said. “I mean, Delaney came by and he told George it was okay for him to come by and check on us even though the girls would be here. I think that has to mean something.” I trailed a finger over the smooth scar on my hand, where the fire had licked when I offered it my blood. “Maybe it doesn’t. But it wouldn’t be right to even attempt to use the attack or the boys as a way to get him here.”
“You’re far better than I am because I’d use either or both,” Brenton said.
I huffed out a disbelieving sound. “No, you wouldn’t.”
He flinched but then snapped his fingers. “Donnie. I saw him on my way to the library. Leah didn’t tell me anything about one of your boys, so I was going to see if I found something about seizures in our library.”
Of course, he was. I wasn’t sure a better male than him existed. Which was saying a lot, considering I thought the world of Elias and Donnie. Alastor, too.
“Plans changed when I ran into Ry and Donnie, and hetold me about the babe’s heart.” He pulled out a book from his inner pocket of magic. “Ryenne wanted me to give this to you.”
He screwed up his nose when he handed me the book. I laughed when I read the title.The Fae and her Bookkeeper.The cover was even better with an illustration of a human man with short hair, glasses, a button-up shirt, and formfitting pants. A gorgeous fae female, who stood at least a foot taller than him with long, flowing hair and pristine, almost luminescent skin, held him with his back pressed to her voluptuous chest.
Once I stopped laughing, I held the book to my chest and, with a shake of my head, said, “This is what’s in your fantasy romance section. I mean, a bookkeeper, not even a billionaire accountant.”
All of us moved our attention to our front door when it swung open. Alastor bent down to cross the threshold so Jasmine, who sat on his shoulders, wouldn’t hit her head. Juanita bounced behind him while Victoria rushed in and jumped on Elias’s lap. I stood slowly when Aidas walked in behind them, and that little, tiny flare of hope died when he closed the door behind him.
“I told him he should come?—”
“No,”I told Alastor, rubbing at the pain in my chest.“Don’t tell him to come. Let him come when or if he’s ready.”
With Victoria in his arms, Elias stood, putting his arm over my shoulders while he looked at Aidas through narrowed eyes. After I greeted the girls and Alastor, I turned my attention to Aidas.
“Can I give you a hug?” I asked him.
He nodded, his eyes dulling in color.
When I hugged him, he dug his head against my shoulder although he kept his hold on me loose.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Alastor told us everything, and . . . I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I patted his cheek before he could stand back up to his full height.
“I’m okay,” I said, trying to keep my smile from trembling. “Kieren told me all sorts of stories. Specifically one about you and Guenthrie.” I raised both my brows.
His cheeks reddened. On a chuckle, he dropped his head and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t think I’m his favorite warrior-in-training.”
Elias pulled me toward the couch, gesturing for me to sit. Although I shot him an annoyed look, I did as he said and nestled in close to Elias who wrapped me in his arms while on my other side Brenton watched Aidas warily.
It was as if Elias and Brenton expected Aidas to say or do something that would hurt me when I’d done the job well enough on my own.
“Once he gets to know you, he won’t have any other choice but to love you,” I said.
Aidas waved an awkward hand over himself. “It’s all this charm.”
“Mama Teddy asked Elias to talk to Guenthrie about your medical condition with the sun.”Kieren smirked from the corner of the hallway while he made his way to us.
