Page 68 of War Of Fire and Fortune
Ace's laughter boomed over the edge, carried on the same winds that had snatched her away. "That's my girl!" he hollered, his voice full of pride.
As she landed, safe and grinning, I caught Ace's eye before I grabbed his forearm. He expected a hug, but instead my knee drove into his gut. A sharp exhale burst from him, his frame bowing into mine as he coughed and sputtered.
"You are a jackass," I spat at my brother, my hands shaking from the thought of Callie falling to her death. "How dare you scare me like that!"
He winced and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he began, his voice raspy, as if he were still trying to catch his breath. "But we were practicing all morning, and I told her one more time before we stopped for the day."
I exhaled the last of my anger as Ace slowly rose to his full height, his eyes still cautious. But I leapt toward him then, my arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. "Gods, I've missed you," I murmured against his shoulder, the familiar scent of fern and citrus clinging to him. I hadn’t seen him since the last blooms.
His laughter rumbled through us both. Pulling away, I scooped Callie into my embrace. "I am so proud of you! You're flying!" I exclaimed, my voice bright as I set her down.
Ace's hand came to rest atop his daughter’s head, fingers gently tousling her ebony curls. "Alright, go get cleaned up," he instructed with an affectionate nudge.
She darted toward their home nestled in the mountainside, her laughter trailing behind her.
"Where's Lu?" I asked, peering in Callie's direction.
"She's inside. She said when I practice with Cal, she can’t watch, makes her sick.”
"Watching your child be swept off of a mountain to their possible death would make any parent sick," I murmured,glancing back toward the edge where Callie had vanished only moments before, saved by her fledgling wings.
Ace's hand found my shoulder, squeezing gently. "But Luana knows I'd never let anything happen to Callie. Besides, knowing she can fly makes us both feel better. We’ve been practicing almost every day. She’ll be seven come her next birthday, and it was around the same time I learned.”
Kade stepped up from behind me. “I’m going to help Lu with dinner. You two catch up.” He stepped around me, giving me a quick kiss on my temple and Ace a hug before I watched him stride toward the house, where Callie had vanished just moments before.
Ace's gaze followed Kade briefly before turning outward, peering into the distance where the sun had began its descent behind the mountain peaks. The dying light painted the sky in strokes of fiery orange and crimson. I knew the view would be amazing, just as it always was.
"It looks to be a perfect evening for some tea," Ace murmured more to himself than to me. “Would you like some?”
"I'd love some—" Before I could finish the sentence, Ace was scooping me up. The rush of wind was exhilarating, but I had to focus on not becoming nauseous. We spiraled upwards, the world below becoming a blur of dusky shapes and twinkling lights.
Then, as suddenly as we had taken off, we touched down on the familiar outcropping, the ledge we’d sat on as kids.
Looking out, I allowed the view to consume me—lovely pinks and purples cascaded through the clouds that hovered below the mountaintop, like a sea of color spilling from the palette of gods. It took my breath away every time.
"Mind giving me a hand?" Ace asked, drawing my gaze to the small fire pit nestled behind us. With a casual flick of my wrist, I bent a fire, and he quickly started boiling tea over it.
He busied himself with his simple task while I admired the views before the light of the day was gone completely. The aroma of pojo wafted around me, a spicy scent that beckoned all the memories of the time we had spent on this very ledge over the years. Effortlessly, he poured the steaming liquid in two cups and settled next to me, our feet swinging over the edge as he handed me mine.
"So, how have your travels been?" he asked as he took a cautions sip of the tea, his gaze not leaving the horizon where day bled into night. "You guys are here early. You normally don't get here before the blooms."
"Everything's been perfect," I began. "And I know we're a little early, but that's okay. Kade and I plan on staying for a while."
His head turned toward me, his eyes reflecting the firelight. He always seemed to see right through me. He arched a brow.
"Really?" The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile as I readied to take a sip of my tea.
The pungent smell of the steeped leaves assaulted my senses first, and it made me sad that I couldn’t even handle the smell anymore because I really did want some pojo. I brought the cup to my lips, the liquid barely grazing them before the surge of nausea stormed through my body. My mouth watered, my stomach flopped, the world spun, and I found myself pitching forward.
"Eme, you okay?" Ace's voice was alarmed as I expelled the contents of my stomach onto the rocks beneath us.
"Shit," he cursed under his breath, springing into action as he gathered my hair away from my face and held onto it until I was done. "My tea tasted alright, but maybe it was a bad batch. I've had those leaves for a while." He offered me his water skin, brows furrowing with concern as I rinsed the bitter taste from my mouth and returned it to him with a shaky hand.
I met his gaze. "It isn’t the tea," I uttered. His eyes bored into mine, searching, questioning, until understanding crept over his features, his eyes widening.
"Are you— Am I— Am I going to be an uncle?!" A smile cracked across his face.
I nodded. "I'm pregnant."
In a swift motion, Ace grabbed me and hoisted me to my feet in a bear hug. We spun, our laughter entwining with the crisp mountain air. When he set me down, his roar of joy boomed across the clouds, echoing off the peaks.
"I'm gonna be an uncle!"
The cheer that erupted from the townspeople of Heavensreach in the distance made me chuckle. He turned to me again. “You’re going to have to visit more often because I’m going to be that little one’s favorite uncle. You can tell Rhet and Cyran to kiss my ass.”
I laughed louder then. "Kade and I aren't just staying for a little while. We decided this is where we want to be, where we want to raise our kids, where we want to lay our roots."
His eyes went glassy then, and he pulled me into another hug.
I had finally made it home.
