“Oh, my baby. I promised you I would.”
I stop swinging her and hold her in my arms, just looking at my baby girl. She looks older in the few months we’ve been separated, and I feel a violent need to kill Relgrael again. Thankfully, Aaz’axian children age at a normal rate and she’s not suddenly a teenager. I’m not sure I would be able to handle that.
She puts her palms on my cheeks. “What took you so long?”
“See the pretty lady over there?” I nod at Lila. Chloe’s eyes shift to her, and she smiles.
“She has pretty hair,” she whispers.
“That’s Lila, and she’s going to be your mom. Her grandpas own a circus, and we are all going to go live with them, but they needed help first, so that’s why I took so long,” I tell her solemnly.
“Did you say circus?” the man from Chloe’s room snaps, and I turn my attention to him.
“Yes, the Galaxy Circus,” I tell him. He’s obviously heard of it.
“Oh my god.” The woman next to him sways, and he wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer as she mutters something.
I study her, and my eyes widen in shock. “Holy shit,” I mutter, and Chloe slaps a hand over my mouth.
“You need to put a dollar in the swear jar, Daddy,” she says.
I’m not paying attention to her though. Instead, I’m watching her foster parents who are staring at Lila like she hung the sun.
“Liliana?” the man says, and Lila turns to him
“I go by Lila. Liliana is my grandma,” she says, but her words trail off and her golden skin pales like she’s seen a ghost.
“Dad? Mom?” she asks hesitantly. “You aren’t dead.”
Lila’s mom, Alina, gasps as tears stream down her face. “Oh my god, you’re alive.”
“Look at our baby, all grown up,” Lila’s dad, Marcus, mutters, sounding just as shocked as both females.
The three of them move toward one another almost in unison. They collide in a clash of limbs, and I hear a wail as the baby in the woman’s arms starts to cry. They all freeze and look down at the infant.
“You have a baby?” Lila murmurs and runs a finger over the small being’s cheek. It’s maybe four months old, slightly bigger and chubbier than a newborn.
“This is your brother, Bastien,” Alina tells her.
Lila sobs, and tears stream down her face as she stares down at the little boy in awe.
“Why are they crying?” Chloe asks me, dragging my attention back to her.
“That’s Lila’s mommy and daddy, and they have been apart way longer than you and I were,” I tell her, and she frowns.
“That’s so sad, but they should be happy, not crying,” she says, watching them.
“When your emotions are too big for your own body, sometimes crying is the only way to let them out,” I remind her, and she nods.
“I was so sad when I first came here, and I couldn’t stop crying. That’s why they let me live with Marcus and Alina. They would give me cuddles and make me feel so much better,” she explains, and even if these two weren’t my wife’s parents, I would never be able to thank them enough for what they did for my girl.
“What’s going on?” Xavier approaches from behind. “Lila’s emotions are all over the place.” I step to the side so he can see what’s going on.
“Fuck me,” he mutters, his eyes going wide. “Is that Alina and Marcus?”
“You need to put a dollar in the swear jar,” Chloe says pertly, and he turns his attention to her and grins. It’s that grin that noone can resist. I see her disapproval soften, and she smiles back at him.
“I will make sure we have one at home. God knows your new mommy is going to fill it in no time,” he tells her, giving her a pinch on the cheek. “And aren’t you a beauty. I’m Xavier, and you’re going to come and live at our house. We have five more kiddos at home, but you’re going to be the best big sister. Does that sound okay?”
