Epilogue: Weston
Although Nishikiand I decided to make our permanent residence outside of the grove, we spent quite a bit of time there since the pack was our extended family. It was nice for Cloud and River to play with their cousin Zakariel, as well as their cousins-in-spirit.
Besides, I had to admit that it was wonderful to have the company of friends, too.
We sat in a big comfortable circle eating dinner together. Us adults chatted while the kids were either asleep with us or off playing and causing trouble. Cloud and River were still too young to run off with the big kids, so they remained with their parents.
At a month old, Cloud's feathers were starting to grow in. They weren't adult flight feathers by any means, but the downy fluff on his chest and arms was starting to be interspersed with little pinpricks of real feathers. I held my beautiful son as he squawked at me to bounce him up and down. I obliged, of course. He must have liked the sensation of moving through the air, owing to his bird heritage.
Meanwhile, River was lounging in Nishiki's lap. His crimson-scaled tail draped over Nishiki's legs, his tail fin flicking once in a while. His scales were a gorgeous shade of red and his eyes were bright yellow, like mine. I was obviously biased, but I thought he was absolutely beautiful.
"Say," Orpheus began, tilting his head at Cloud. "Do you think he'll be able to fly when all his feathers come in?"
Cloud let out a shrill chirp and stuck his arms all the way up. His downy fuzz brushed my face and tickled me.
Nishiki chuckled. "I think he's sayingdamn right I will."
Red smiled and stroked Quinn's hair. His son--the second youngest aside from our twins--was finally asleep in his dad's lap after being mischievous for two hours straight. "I wish Quinn would've been able to fly, too. I'm worried that when he grows up and sees that his dad and Cloud can both fly, he'll feel like he's missing out."
I nodded in sympathy. As a bird shifter myself, I couldn't imagine not being able to fly. My osprey soul would've been crushed. I wondered how Orpheus felt about his only child being unable to fly? It was different for me because my other son River was a mer. He probably had an innate connection to water, like Nishiki.
But what about Quinn? Was his soul land-bound like a fox? Or did he yearn to fly like Orpheus did?
The thoughts made me pull Cloud closer to my chest and hug him. He wiggled to get free, then sighed and relaxed, snuggling against me. He was a firecracker while awake, but once he was asleep, he slept like a rock.
"What's up, Orpheus?" Nero asked. "You look like there's something on your mind."
Orpheus was quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought. He glanced between Nero and Nishiki, and Zakariel, Cloud and River, then back down at Quinn.
"You know," Orpheus murmured. "I've heard rumors..."
"What rumors?" Nishiki asked.
After a moment, Orpheus stared into the distance. "Ah, don't mind me too much. It's probably nothing more than idle talk from ravens with nothing better to do than make up stories."
By now, even his own mate seemed confused. "Just say it," Red encouraged him.
"Well, all right." Orpheus glanced at the twins again. "I wouldn't have thought anything about it if I hadn't seen Zak and the twins' abilities with my own eyes. But they definitely inheritedsomethingfrom Nautilus, the water spirit."
"Yeah," Remington agreed with a huff. "I didn't believe it either until I saw my son try to drown himself on purpose. Little brat."
Nero laughed. "Well, at least now you know hecan't."
I searched Orpheus's expression, which had turned serious beneath its usually carefree surface. "Does the rumor have something to do with Nautilus?" I asked.
Orpheus nodded and gestured with a hand as he spoke. "Yeah. What if Nautilus isn't the only spirit? What if there are more of them around?"
Nishiki sucked in a soft breath. "Wait. Didn't Father say something like that when we visited him?"
"Yes," I said, recalling the exact words with a shiver running down my spine. "He said,I am not the only one. There are others like me. Others that may influence your heirs."
A curious hush fell over the adults. In the background, the kids were still screaming with laughter and joy.
"Hold up," Nero said. "If Dad's a spirit of water, does that mean there are more spirits? Like, of other elements? Air and earth and all that stuff?"
Red's eyes went wide. The gleam of suspicion on his face wavered, giving in to a dreamy expression. "If thereisa spirit of air, would it be able to influence Quinn even though he's already born? Would he be able to fly, too?"
Orpheus gave his sleeping son a hopeful look. "Maybe..."
