The house is cozy, filled with the kind of warmth that comes from a family’s presence. Morgan leads me down a corridor and into a sitting room where three children, impossibly adorable, are sprawled out watching cartoons.
They turn their heads in unison, their wide-eyed curiosity fixed on me.
I force a big, cheerful smile. “Who wants to play dress-up?”
Their reaction is immediate. They leap to their feet with shrieks of delight, bouncing and shouting, “Me! Me! Me!”
Morgan’s sad expression softens. He glances at me, a small, grateful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. That single nod he gives me feels like a benediction, a passing of trust.
As he hurries back to Lello, I watch him go, a flicker of hope stirring in my chest. Morgan is going to help Ned. He’s willingto put aside whatever’s broken between them, and if anyone can get through to Ned, it’s him.
Turning back to the kids, I rub my hands together with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Okay, let’s find some costumes! Princesses, pirates, superheroes, you name it!”
Their laughter rings out, filling the house with a joyful chaos that lifts my spirits.
For the first time in days, a sense of optimism takes root. Today might not be so bad after all.
Chapter seventeen
Monty
Measuring out these shards of lead is painstaking work. The goggles help magnify the delicate details, but my hands are trembling just enough to make precision a challenge. I frown, steadying myself. There has to be a better way to do this, some clever invention waiting to be discovered. But I can’t afford to get sidetracked. Not now. This method is fiddly, but for the moment, it will do.
The campervan door bursts open with a jarring bang, and I instinctively jerk upright. My carefully arranged pile of shards topples, a few spilling off the scales onto the worktable.
“Pink!” I exclaim, but there’s no frustration in my voice. Quite the opposite. Seeing him standing there, beaming with excitement, instantly chases away the irritation. I push my goggles up into my hair and offer him a wide smile. It’s always wonderful when he visits, especially when it’s by choice and not necessity.
“It worked! Ned is okay!” Pink’s face is alight with joy, his voice carrying an energy that’s infectious.
“Oh, how marvelous! What happened?” I ask, leaning forward, eager to soak up the good news.
Pink grabs a stool, dragging it noisily to the end of my worktable. He perches on it, his enthusiasm bubbling over as he explains.
“Lello had this idea to get Morgan to tell Ned to feed. So we went to Morgan’s house, and I stayed with the kids while Morgan came here. By the time they got back, Ned had already slipped into a Little Death.” Pink’s voice falters slightly, but then he brightens again. “Morgan gave him his own blood. It brought him back!”
I can’t help but grin. Seeing Pink so exuberant, and hearing him talk this much, is nothing short of delightful. I think this might be the most he’s ever said to me in one sitting.
“That really is marvelous news,” I reply warmly. Then, unable to resist, I tease, “You babysat?”
Pink’s warm smile deepens, his expression softening in a way that makes my heart flutter. “Yeah, it was great. Noah, Oscar, and Lottie are wonderful.”
His brown eyes sparkle, his whole face is lit with a happiness so genuine it’s captivating.
“You like children?” I ask, my voice quieter now, almost hesitant.
Pink sighs, the sound heavy with longing and contentment all at once. “Yeah, very much. It was one of the few things I was actually looking forward to about being married.”
“Me too,” I admit before I can second-guess myself.
The admission feels raw, but Pink’s openness is disarming. The one and only good thing about Old Blood society, as far as I am concerned, is that surrogates are so common. I was planning on giving into the pressure to get married. I was going to choose a male vessel, because that is my preference, and have heirs via a surrogate. All very normal and expected.
But that plan has turned to dust. If I can’t have Pink, I don’t want anyone.
I’m no longer bracing myself for an arranged marriage. I’m hoping for a future with Pink.
There are obstacles, oh heavens are there obstacles. As well as a thousand reasons not to entangle Pink in my life. But there is no point to any of it if Pink is not by my side. I’m going to find a way to make it work. I have to. But first, and most importantly, I need to win Pink’s heart.
Pink tilts his head, his expression curious. “You like kids?”
