Chapter
One
“Mom. I don’t want to talk about this.” Corbin had a vicious headache. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to his mother.
He had a still mostly unconscious fae man in his bed. He had tomatoes growing outside like wild things. And he wanted a pineapple milkshake.
None of that needed to involve his mother.
“Son, you’ve got to wake him up. Either that or just let me take him back home.”
“No, that’s not possible.” Not until Evander woke up. Not until they made sure that there was no vampiric blood in him. That he wasn’t infected.
It was one thing to have it in the human world. It was another thing completely to have it in the fae world, in the Land of Summer. The enormity of such an infection could have ripples throughout all the damn dimensions.
“Son…”
“Mother, really. You know what could happen.”
“I do. But I think you do not understand who he is.”
“I don’t really care who he is.” Which was a lie. Goddess, it was a lie. Because he really cared. Evander was stunning. The palest skin. Long black hair. To be fair, Corbin had no idea what color Evander’s eyes were. But in his head, they were green. Bright, leafy, beautiful green.
That poor body slept and slept and slept, but it never lost any of its form. Evander had broad shoulders, narrow hips, and long legs, and the most beautiful long-fingered hands he’d ever seen.
“I need to get him some help.”
“Mom? Drop it. He’s here. He’s with me, and he’s not going anywhere.” And he wasn’t about to do this shit with his mom, dammit.
He was tired, and he couldn’t handle her poking.
Her lips tightened fractionally, but that was her only physical response. “Very well. I shall leave it to you.”
He met her gaze, trying to express how serious he was. “I have this. I swear to you. I have this.”
She smiled at him, her expression still worried; her eyebrows were drawn up, and the corners of her mouth were down, but she said, “All right. I trust you.”
“As you should, lady.” He softened it with a smile, but it was the truth. He’d never given her a reason not to distrust his abilities, but of all of the triplets and their lady mother, theirs was the difficult relationship.
That was what happened when two beings were so much alike—both exceptional at growing things, both of them using the same energy.
It was amazing.
It was also a little maddening because while Cullen and Cosmo both felt some independence from both of their parents, he always felt like he was in his mother’s shadow. Goddess knew he loved her, but at the same time, he wanted to be out from under the scrutiny she constantly put on him.
So he drew in a very deep breath, smiled at her, and gave her a little bit of a bow. “Thank you. I appreciate it. Was there anything else?”
Her face softened into a less haughty expression. “I wanted to see my sons. I wanted to make sure you were healthy, and I wanted to visit my grandchildren as well.”
“Have you seen how well both Tisi and Serena are flying?”
“Already? Well, I mean, Serena is too?”
He nodded. “Those two babies are totally from the Glade. Totally. So magical.” The Glade was this amazing magical space that had given them his brother Cullen’s mate. A unicorn.
Tisi was a winged horse, and Serena was half-unicorn, and somehow that showed itself in butterfly wings.
His mother laughed, the sound like bells tinkling. Maybe like bluebells in the Glade, where each flower had a sound. “Well, this I must see.”
