My eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment as a huge sigh escaped me. The relief I felt was palpable. I did not want to be the reason Zurie and her mates fought about how to proceed. They were a family, just like we were, and I knew how disheartening it was when you weren’t all on the same page.
Raph’s next words pulled my eyes back open.
“I found a teacher for you. She happened to be my own mentor many, many years ago.”
Hearing the news shifted the energy from me and my mates in an instant. I couldn’t help but bounce on my toes a little bit as Kylo squeezed my arms. A large smile swept my face into what I’m sure looked like a kid on Christmas morning who got the exact present they’d wanted.
Based on what Zurie said yesterday, I had convinced myself we were going to face a long road trying to find someone to assist me. The possibility had weighed heavily on my heart. We didn’t have endless amounts of time to wait around and see, but the entire situation was something entirely out of my control. I had to be patient.
“Who is she?” I rushed to ask, desperately wanting to know everything about the person who would be teaching me.
Zurie’s voice floated through the air at the same time I heard the padding of tiny feet quickly running across the nearby floor. “So I take it you told them the good news, Raph?”
Raph dropped my hand as his mate and daughter came into the room, crossing to give Zurie a kiss on the forehead after she greeted the other four.
While they exchanged good mornings, Ris hesitantly crossed over to us, large blue eyes sparkling as she stared up at me. I dropped onto my knees, to come level with her and hopefully ease her hesitancy.
She was absolutely adorable, almost cherubic with large cheeks that were currently stained pink. Equal amounts of white and black hair fell from her roots, contrasting her lightly shimmering and tanned skin in a beautiful way. It warmed my heart the way she seemed to equally represent both light and darkness physically. However, it was the smile that took over her face that showed me there was only light within her soul.
I offered her a warm smile. “Hi, Ris. My name is Alexandra. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
If I had to guess, she was probably around five or six years old, but I was uncertain if beings in Divinus aged differently. No matter her age, it was safe to say I was absolutely wrapped around her finger as soon as she launched herself at me, wrapping her small arms around my neck while burrowing her head into my chest.
“I like you,” she chirped, making my heart feel like it was melting into a puddle in my chest.
I didn’t have the best experiences with children growing up, so I wouldn’t say that I was good with them. Her immediate acceptance left me reeling. There was still a large part of my heart that expected every new person I met to dislike me and ignore me after all.
I wrapped my arms around her and gently squeezed her back. My voice came out a bit choked as I responded, “I like you too, Ris.”
To have this pure little soul expressing that she liked me and accepted me off the bat, without even knowing me…It just felt like it healed a small piece of the part of me that felt like I would always be rejected by new people.
My throat clogged with the heaviness of emotions I definitely wasn’t expecting to feel this morning. I tried to discreetly wipe away the wetness gathering in the corners of my eyes, but as I looked up and found her parents smiling down at us with a knowing look, I knew I was caught.
It was probably ridiculous that the approval of a small child meant so much to me, and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment at being caught.
“Don’t worry about it,” Zer grumbled from where he leaned against the counter with Zurie pulled against his front. “She pulls that out in all of us too.”
Considering the not-so-warm welcome he gave us, I was genuinely shocked that he was the one to tell me it was okay to feel these emotions right now.
The little bundle of love tapped my shoulder. “Up!”
I looked to Zurie to make sure it was okay to lift and hold her, and with her nod of permission, I lifted the child up, letting her settle on my hip as she let go of my neck.
“Hi,” she said, and I turned to see who she was talking to.
I found her looking at Kylo, and her eyes tracked all over his face as he said hello back. I wasn’t sure, but I got a feeling she was evaluating him in a deep, searching way. There was no magical surge around her like what happened with my monsters when they inspected souls, but there was still something about her intense scrutiny that reminded me of it.
“You’re good,” she said rather nonchalantly, making me choke on the laugh I attempted to swallow.
Poor Kylo actually looked offended as she moved on from him to Elwin at his left. After a few moments, she gave him a little nod. “You’re good too.”
I spun us a little bit so she could see Lucien easier now. He actually looked nervous, his brow pinched and his eyes searching Ris’ face to see what she thought of him. It was downright adorable that he cared what a small child thought. After all, this was the same man who regularly threatened to peel the skin off of people.
Her face instantly lit up when she saw him, and her feet kicked around as she wiggled in my hold. His face lit up at her excitement, and as she lifted her arms for him, he gingerly took her from my hold and settled her against his chest, having to hold her relatively high to be eye level with him.
Her hands came up to rest on his cheeks as she giggled, making my heart do a little somersault at the cute noise. “I like you the most.”
The whole room erupted in laughs, and I held a hand to my heart. Jokingly, I said, “I’m wounded, Ris.”
