Rome set me gently on my feet now, because he knew the rules. I got to walk when I was up here.
Siret laughed, giving his location away. “Fine,” I scowled. “Waddle. I get to waddle when I’m on flat ground.”
They thought it was hilarious that our babies were giving me such strife, and they weren’t even born yet.
I hurried—as fast as a pregnant woman can hurry—across to the woman nestled under a tree, a picnic blanket beneath her as she read a story to the little girl on her lap. “Pica,” I exclaimed. “You started story time without us.”
She grinned before pressing a kissing into her daughter’s head. “Jilly couldn’t wait another click, she just had to know what happened next.”
My heart still swelled every single time I saw Pica with her child. It turned out that Pica’s soul was pure, despite what she had done in her life. The motivations for her actions were based on a grief so deep that it literally rent her soul in two. Her heart in pieces. But when she found her child in the imprisonment realm, some of the damage was repaired. When her soul was mended, it was pure.
I’d cried as she passed through the mortal glass, holding the hand of the prettiest little blonde angel I had ever seen. Their joy was beyond words.
It was a happy ending I hadn’t expected, but now she was a solid part of our lives.
Within five clicks we were joined by dozens of god children, dwellers, sols, and gods. Everyone was ready to tune in to the next instalment of Pica’s story time, because the woman still had a flair for inventiveness. A tiny sliver of crazy lingered within her mind, but she put it to good use.
The Abcurses joined me, and I found myself leaning back on Rome, his huge body cradling mine, his hands pressed over the bump. He stroked the swell of our babies, soothing the tiny pains that accompanied the kicks I was regularly getting.
I should have expected that the Abcurses would have overachieving kids.
After story time was over, we stayed beneath the tree, watching the world around us. My feet were pulled into Siret’s lap, and he rubbed the slight swelling around my ankles, because I was getting puffy all over now. I was not one of those women who did attractive pregnancies. I was a swollen mess.
“You’re beautiful,” Yael said, as he leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. “Perfect in every way.”
I chuckled, my eyes fluttering closed. “I’ll be honest, I’m more than ready to meet our babies, even though I do love them being all safe and snug right now.”
But it was uncomfortable. There was no denying that truth.
Adeline popped up from somewhere, a very in love with her Abil not far behind. It turned out that Abil and Adeline had long hidden their soul-bond from the world because they feared what Staviti’s reaction and retribution would be. Their number-one priority was to protect their children, and in doing so, they sacrificed their love for each other.
Now though, they were beaming and bristling with so much love that sometimes it actually made me blush. The only couple worse were my parents.
As if I’d summoned them with that thought alone, they appeared in the distance. Dad was dragging a large table up the stairs from below, and my mother had a basket in her hands, laughing at Jakan as he struggled.
“You’re a god,” I heard her tease him when they got closer. “You’re letting your people down.”
He shook his head, the look he levelled on her nothing short of adoring. “Dwellers are all the rage now, haven’t you heard? Gods are old news.”
He was teasing because for the first time in a long time, no one was the rage. We were all equals.
“We brought lunch,” my mother said as she hurried across. “Got to feed my grandbabies.”
She dropped the basket near my feet before leaning down to kiss my cheek and rub a hand across my belly. “How are my little babies doing this sun-cycle? Is your momma being mean to you?”
I snorted. “Stop crooning to them like that, they probably like you more than me already.”
It turned out that I’d really missed out on one fantastic mother growing up. Winnifred Knight was kind and sweet and caring. She baked pies and washed clothing and read stories to children. She was one of the warmest people I’d ever known, and I counted myself blessed that Jakan had figured out a way to return her to Emmy and me.
“Hey, Dad,” I said when he dropped the small table down. “Mom putting you to work again?”
He laughed, the rich tones drifting through the air. “She definitely keeps things interesting.” His expression grew serious. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Neither would I. Everything had worked out perfectly.
* * *
Many rotations later, when night had fallen and the bustling activity of the Peak had faded away, I found myself back home. It was the first real home I’d ever had, one designed solely by me and my guys, and it was singularly my favourite place in any world. Made double incredible by the fact that Emmy and Cyrus lived in a nearby section of the Peak, Abil and Adeline as well, and my parents on the other side but still close.
