Page 133 of Drawn in Blood
Theo had never had a father—not one that was alive. The idea that he would never know their father felt like a knife to the heart every time she thought about it. But then Otto looked at him—really looked at him—like he hung the moon, and Ember thought maybe Theo would finally have a wonderful father, even if it was different than he had imagined.
Ember had been worried that she would never be close to Otto, that he could never fill the emptiness that was left when her father took his last breath. But the longer she sat at the Kitts’ dining room table, the more she watched Theo with Otto and the love he already had for a boy he had only just met, the more she realized that they weren’t meant to fill the holes or fix the brokenness. They inhabited places in her heart that she wasn’t aware were there, carving out their own spots and repairing the damage life had left her with. Eira and Otto would never replace their parents, but maybe they weren’t ever supposed to. Maybe this got to be something new—a fresh start. Maybe this was what love was—to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in another.
She always assumed that there wasn’t room in her heart to love another family, not after losing hers. She didn’t want anything to take away the love she had for her parents, so she fought against anything that might threaten that.
But this family, her family, didn’t take away any of the love she had for her parents. It didn’t replace it, it simply added to it. More love. Not different, not less, not divided, just multiplied.
“Mum, are there any peas?” Fen asked, as he finished off the last of his roast.
“Of course not,” Eira huffed, as she shook her head. “Ember hates peas.”
Ember bit the inside of her cheek as her smile grew.
Maybe to be loved was simply to be known.
Chapter 41
New Beginnings
Several weeks had passed, and Ember was sitting in the den with Eira and Otto. Theo was lying on the floor with one of his books, and Fen was teaching Maeve how to play some obscure card game he had learned on the internet. It was peaceful—a kind of peace she never imagined she would feel again. She laid down her book and sat up a little straighter.
“I’ve been doing some thinking,” Ember announced.
Eira set down her sewing project, and Otto laid down the paper he was reading, both eyes now on her.
“I was wondering if that offer was still open?” She bit her bottom lip, her stomach coiling into tight knots.
Eira’s face lit up, tears pooling on her lower lash as she grinned.
“Of course, Mo Chroí,” Otto whispered. “Of course it is.”
“Would I have to change my name?” she whispered, instinctively grabbing the pendant that hung around her neck. Her name was the last thing she had of her father, the last thing that tied her to him. It wasn’t something she thought she could ever let go of.
“Of course not, love,” Eira sniffled. “You can add our name onto yours or discard it entirely and keep your father’s name.”She stood up and walked across the room, sitting beside Ember and taking her hand in hers. “Either way, you are ours, fully and completely.”
“Would the ceremony still work if I’m not a Kitt?” she whispered.
“Mo Chroí,” Otto smiled, “you will be ours whether you take our name or not. It won’t change anything. Not the adoption or the binding ceremony, and certainly not how much we love you.” He looked down at Theo and smiled, adding, “Bothof you.”
“And if you’re worried about your familial rune,” Fen grinned, “that’s not how that works, either.”
Ember furrowed her brow. “How does it work then?”
Otto let out a gruff laugh. “When a magical adoption takes place, there is a special ritual that is done. It’s a little more than just a few signatures on a piece of paper. It's the forming of a new bond.” Otto pulled a worn out pendant from his pocket and handed it to Ember. “When a magical adoption takes places, your familial rune isn’t replaced, you simply just add a new one.”
Ember traced the runes, feeling the rough edges rub under the pads of her fingers as Otto continued.
“A new bond is created, a second familial bond. It isn’t meant to erase your family. Your family just grows.”
Ember was sure she looked insane with the way she was grinning. Tears rolled down her face, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. She looked down at Theo, a hopeful smile on his face.
“What do you think?”she signed.
Theo rolled his eyes with a grin.“What are you waiting for?”
“We would be honored,” she whispered, as she grabbed his hand and squeezed. “We would be honored to be your children.”
The room was filled with laughter and joy. Music seemed to play from every inch of the home as Eira flicked her wrist, and Otto scooped Maeve up and began dancing throughthe halls with her. Eira wrapped Ember and Theo in a hug and soaked both their shoulders with tears as she whispered promises against Ember’s tangled hair. Otto threw Theo up on his shoulders, and she listened to her brother laugh like she had never heard him do before. They joked and talked and made plans for the future, and Ember was certain nothing could ever get any better than this. She sank into her chair, watching as her family settled into their nightly routine, a new nightly routine, and an intense wave of peace settled over her like a blanket.
