“But I’m hungrynow,”he whined.
Istral’s forehead puckered. I had to stifle the urge to step in. My sister was a very good mother—far more patient than me, though less confident—and she refused to allow any servants beside Harris to watch Naran alone.
I wasn’t surprised. Here we were, almost five years later, and she still occasionally had dreams that Lucifer came to steal him in the night while she slept.
A shout rose in the trees, and we all looked quickly—I wondered if Istral’s heart pounded like mine did—but it was just Melek, calling to the kids for climbing too high.
I sighed in relief, as Istral kissed her son’s head and sent him back to the shrieking Adiya, and Mael’s bossy instructions, in the nearby trees, then took a sip from her tea before meeting my eyes. I was reminded that hers were shadowed by dark smudges, like bruises.
She’d had a rough night.
“You look tired,” I said kindly, once Naran had run off, and we could tell by their yells and the low rumbles of Melek and Gall that the kids were distracted again.
“I had a dream,” Istral said, then looked back towards the children, though they were obscured by the trees now.
Harris and I met each other’s eyes. “Izzy,” I said softly. “You know that we love you, and we’re here for you. If Lucifer ever—”
“Never,” she breathed without looking at me. “I didn’t lie to you. The Fallenf-fuckwas usually gentle with me. But I think it was only because Gall resisted him when he frightened me,” she said, stumbling over the swear she’d picked up from Melek and Jann—which in any other circumstance would have made me laugh uproariously. Yet, here and now, when her gaze was so haunted, it seemed like a child’s desperate attempt to make the monster of their dreams seem smaller.
Her cheeks were pink—she still felt bad if she cursed. But she was fiercely protective of her son, and her mate. I’d seen her grow in a way I never thought possible. Though she and Gall leaned heavily on one another for comfort and reassurance, my sister hadgrown upa great deal since the time she’d been taken.
She no longer shrank from what frightened her. She would fight, even when she was afraid. She was learning to understand her gift, and with Hever’s help, even helping others discover theirs.
It turned out, the Shadekin had stifled gifts we didn’t know our bloodlines possessed. Jann liked to annoy me by saying we’d all shoved our gifts up our asses along with our principles. Melek told me to ignore him. But in the quiet of my heart, I could admit there was probably some truth in it.
Still, with Hever’s help and the new peace, our people were growing. It was a joy to me that my sister had led the way. And a petty delight that we knew it would piss Lucifer off that he’d unintentionally opened that powerful door for us.
Harris, who sat next to Istral at the table, reached for her hand and squeezed it. “The apothecary has those herbs for a dreamless sleep. We could still—”
Izzy shook her head. “They make me… slow,” she said quietly, turning to look towards the trees where the men and children were again, her lips curling up when Naran shrieked, and Adiya laughed.
“I need to fight. To resist the fear,” my sister said darkly.
“Not alone, though,” I reminded her. “We’re all in this—”
“Hever helps me,” she replied with a glance at me. But she squirmed in her seat.
“The dreams,” I said carefully. “It’s been a while—was this one still about when Lucifer would take you away? Or—”
“No. It’s always… it’s always stealing Naran, and… and that feeling I had when he was growing. The… the cold inside that made him afraid. Hever says not to worry. But I do.”
I sat up straighter. This part of her story had never been resolved to my peace. She still couldn’t explain that feeling, and none of us had ever—
“I assure you, Lady Istral, that the feeling wasn’t apresence, but your child’s insight. An insight which I believe will grow as he grows.”
I startled when Hever appeared just behind my shoulder. I’d jokingly referred to him as the spider more than once, but it was because he had the same habit of dropping into line of sight from nowhere, right where he’d make me scream. After years, knowing the man was truly loyal to Melek and had been an invaluable resource to all of us, that meant he had to be doing it just to irritate me.
It worked.
“Ah, Hever. So kind of you to join us,” I said, perhaps a little sharper than he deserved, but Istral smiled when she saw him and her gaze cleared.
“Can you explain it again?” she asked him as he bowed to me, then to her. “Yilan will understand.”
I was flattered by my sister’s confidence, but also very curious.
Hever nodded once, then turned to me and Harris. “I’ve been explaining to Lady Istral that the bloodline mingling of Shadekin and Nephilim is… rich with opportunities. I believe that Lady Istral’s healing ability was always present, but dormant because she tended to fear her own power, so stifled it. In any case, as we discover more of your Shadekin powers—my theory is that she… removesdarkness,”he added, frowning slightly. “I don’t know if Naran has inherited a portion of that power, or if his gifting is different. But while he hasn’t yet shadow walked, the boy clearly has a gift for… seeing to the heart of things. Perhaps, seeingthroughdarkness? He is young, and lacks the language to inform me yet. But with time and maturity, we will be able to define it distinctly, I’m sure.”
“Is that part of why he’s… careful?” I asked uncertainly. Naran was an extremely sensitive child, and though he didn’t seem topossess any of the mental acuity or developmental challenges his parents had faced, he remained… different. Adverse to risk, always watching for danger—and sometimes eerily insightful with his questions.
