“No, it's not all right. Explain that comment.”
“Not now, Seren.” He waved at Miri. “Let's enjoy this first. Then we can discuss it.”
“As if I can enjoy anything after you say something like that.”
“It's not that terrible.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Seren, stop.” He crouched beside the rocker and stroked Miri's hair. “It's been a while since we've had a baby to adore too.”
Tiernan's hand looked huge when he cupped it around Miri's little head, but his fingers were long and elegant, gracefully curling over her dark hair. It brought back memories of feeding Falcas with Tiernan holding both of us, and an ache for him swept through me. I'd been missing him too.Thishim. The man who called me “little star” and held me while I held our baby. The Lord of the Wild Hunt who had gone through hell to be by my side, manipulated into near insanity by our Goddess and dragged through horror after horror, including the death of his father. All so he could become King of Seelie, and I could unite Fairy.
That I could want another man after Tiernan, much less give birth to that man's child, made the ache grow bitter.
“Tiernan,” I whispered.
“Don't do that, Seren,” he whispered back. “I love our life. And I love our children.” He bent to kiss Miri. “All of them.”
I shifted Miri to the other side, giving me a moment to compose myself. Once she was settled, I looked back at Tiernan. “Have we lost something along the way? I feel as if we have.”
Tiernan's stare latched on mine. “No. Never. It's not possible for us to lose anything. Not with a love like ours. We only evolve and gain.”
I cupped his cheek. “I love you more than all the worlds combined. I would kill for you. Slaughter. Drown those worlds in blood. I would deny all that I am and abandon everything for you, Tiernan Shadowcall. But instead of all that, you make me bloom.”
Thorny vines appeared, seeming to grow from my forearm. They wove back, around Tiernan and then twined around me, binding us together. Fire burst along the vines, then blossomed, taking the shape of roses.
Tiernan smiled at the display of my magic, then leaned in to kiss me again, this time more fully. Amid those burning blooms and deadly thorns, our love reignited. No, it had never gone out, but maybe it had been banked a bit. All the responsibility we'd accepted, including the role of parents. All the family we had, and the schedules we kept to make sure that everyone was happy. All the chaos on Earth, Heaven, and Hell. It had taken its toll. But that heaviness left in a second, burned away, not by my magic, but by Tiernan's love. His unending, unyielding, unconditional love.
Tiernan was right. Love like ours never diminishes. It only grows and transforms into something even better. Hewouldn't have it any other way. And the King of Seelie must be obeyed.
When our kiss ended, I was left smiling at him.
“There's my little star,” Tiernan said. “Now, don't go filling the worlds with blood for me. Shine your light upon them.”
I gasped, my eyes filling with tears. “Tiernan.”
My magic vanished, simply broke apart into glittering molecules that vibrated through the air and floated away. It left us back where we started, just a husband and wife with our baby. We didn't need magic to make that simplicity wondrous. Because Miri was that baby, I was that wife, and Tiernan—my glorious Seelie King—was that husband.
“Just keep calling me your little star, and I'll keep shining for you.” I pressed our foreheads together.
“I promise,” he said.
Miri murbled.
I chuckled and eased back to look down at my daughter. She had finished eating and was waving her arms about.
“Let me fetch a cloth.” Tiernan stood and went to the bureau. He brought back a cotton cloth but had it over his shoulder. “May I?”
I had just finished tucking myself back in my robe. “Of course.”
I handed her over, and Tiernan set Miri over his shoulder with a serene smile.
“We haven't missed much of your life yet, have we, my Mirielle?” Tiernan cooed as he gently bounced her around the nursery. “Your mommy's new magic comes in handy.” He grinned at me.
Someone cracked the door right as Mirielle burped.
Killian snorted. “I always have the best timing.”
