Logan lands a searing kiss to my lips and offers a lazy smile as he pulls away.
“Less than twenty days,” he whispers.
“Yes.” A burst of joy warms me right down to my bones. “I will be your bride and the Landon house will finally be in the rearview mirror of my life.” I wrap my arms around him tightly. “Two things I’ve looked forward to for as long as I can remember.”
A soft laugh bounces through him. “You’re going to miss this place.” He glances to the butterfly room. “So will I.”
He heads down and I pull open the curtains as far as they’ll go, letting in the natural light—or unnatural as it were. It stormed right up until midnight, and then it turned off like a faucet. Today is filled with the idea of sunshine behind a thin veil of clouds. For Paragon this is practically spring. It’s Demetri’s doing, I have no doubt. I pull the window open and let in the fresh breeze on this, my twenty-third birthday. So few years on this planet, so many of them tumultuous. So damn much riding on my shoulders.
A couple of birds fly up over head in a circle, one black, one white before they spiral down and land on the ledge before me.
“Holden, Serena, it’s my birthday and Nathan’s birthday, too.” Logan and I have already sung to him and snuggled with him and peppered all three boys with kisses.
Both birds squawk and Holden comes up higher so I can touch his back and hear him.
Happy Birthday, Skyla, and to your kid, too. We noticed Demetri has some serious activity at his place, bounce houses, petting zoos, and a surprise I don’t want to spoil.
“Great,” I mutter. “I can’t wait to see what fright he’s dreamed up now. The really frightening part about it is how easily my mother goes along with his schemes. Not that I’m surprised.”
Serena and I are taking the kids. I figure they can hang out and watch, shit on a couple of people for the hell of it.
“Fine. Just stay away from my boys and maybe Logan and me, too. Gage is fair game.”
Holden twitches.Speaking of which—Serena and I wanted to congratulate you. We side with Celestra. The Barricade truly is wicked. I think more people realize that than are letting on, but they’re too afraid to admit it. The world has all but been thrust into the dark ages once again. And even though we’re not thrilled with the scare tactics you’ve incited either, we understand the need to do it. But, man, messing with the government. My dad used to say that was like grabbing a tiger by the tail. Do us a favor and don’t get bit. Or it will be a shit ride for all of us.
“Will do. Have a great time at the party.”
We will. You want me to torment Bishop?
I think on it a moment. “No. I want to watch her eat crow today, not raven.” I give a little wink. “I want her to feel her husband’s humiliation as he stands in my presence knowing full well he’s chosen the losing team.”
Anything you want, boss. It’s your day.He hops down, and both Serena and he take off in flight, cawing and screaming into the pristine day.
Gage should be very distressed. We haven’t spoken or had any significant communication in the past year, not really. I don’t know why I thought today would be different. A part of me thought he might have wished me a happy birthday by now. He facetimed with Nathan. I was in the room, not one mention of me. I suppose that’s greedy of me, selfish to want it. We’re enemies now. I shouldn’t expect any perks with that.
My gaze darts to the woods just beyond the house as the evergreens cage in the darkness, protecting it from the light.
I had wondered if Gage had caged in the light of our love and protected it from the darkness of who he has become. He loved me once.
In the deepest chamber of my heart, I refuse to believe anything else. We had a perfect love—satiating and pristine, something worthy to die for, something that either one of us would have sacrificed the world to save.
I close the window and head downstairs to find the family room laden with helium balloons that stick to the ceiling, their long, cheery, curling ribbons dangling like happy-to-see-me streamers.
Mom and my sisters jump on me at once, and Brielle blows a party horn directly into my ear.
“Thanks, Bree,” I tease and I clamp my hand over the left side of my head. “I didn’t need to hear on that side anyway.”
Drake grunts out a happy birthday and Ethan does the same by way of lifting his bandaged arm. Ethan, Coop, and Rev all had bullet wounds from the night the Barricade burned down the Havers’ barn. Nicholas’ wife, Lucinda, is rebuilding. She’s done it before and vowed to do it again. We’re petitioning to have a protective hedge granted to it. I can’t see how they’ll deny me. Faction meetings are a necessary component of Nephilim society. To have them infiltrated the way we were is outright criminal. I’m hoping to speak with my mother at some point soon. Honestly, I’m not sure I’m up for it today. I can only take so much drama in my life, and both today and tomorrow that honor goes to Chloe and Gage. It’s outrageous that on my children’s birthdays, their sacred days, that I have to see either Chloe or Gage. It’s a cruel, cruel reality that I don’t think I will ever get used to.
Mom opens her top to display baby Jaxson nursing away on her faux nipple—my God, it had better be the fake one. Logan is right. She’s getting a little too close to home with that apparatus. But she offered to take him at about five this morning, and I had already pumped for tonight. Mom is heading back right after the boys’ celebration and watching the kids for us.
“Oh, I forgot to mention.” She leans in, excitement brewing in her eyes. “Tad and I bought something very special for the boys. It’s already waiting for them at Demetri’s. I hope you don’t mind. Of course, I have something for the two of them to open tomorrow as well.”
“Mom, you didn’t have to do that,” I say, glancing around the room at all the pricey furniture, the crystal, the gilded goblets that have slowly replaced the Mason jars we usually drink out of. “I know the two of you have had a run of good fortune. But, honestly, how do you have anything left? There were an awful lot of purchases made.”
“Tad’s got it all handled.” She’s quick to assure me. “And just between you and me, he’s feeling another big win coming on, and so far, his instincts haven’t been wrong.”
“That’s right.” Tad pops up just as Logan wraps his arms around me from behind. “I’ve got a hot tip on lotto numbers, and I’m going to use it.” I can’t help but notice how much weight Tad has put on this year alone. But then, he’s actually been treating himself and my mother to meals out, and the refrigerator is brimming with things like clotted cream, lobster bisque, and steaks of every shape and size. It’s a virtual feast for a king, and in this twisted scenario Tad wears the crown. “This is the big one. The payout is in the millions.”
