His voice was low and quiet against the back of her neck. “Mean what?”
“When you said you wanted more children?”
He nodded against her skin. “There is no fire in the world strong enough to burn that wish from me.”
Her breath hitched softly. She turned in his arms to face him, one leg sliding between his, her fingers ghosting over the ridge of his jaw. “I want to carry your children again, Midas. Even knowing what the world is.”
His golden eyes met hers, wide and searching.
“I want it not in spite of the danger,” she said, “but because of the love. Because we made somethingbeautiful, even when the world tried to break it.”
He ran his fingers along her stomach then. “The thought of you full with my child again…” His voice broke into a low hum.
She kissed him—soft and slow, her fingers tangling in his dark hair.
When they pulled apart, breathless, he rested his forehead to hers and whispered, he held her tighter. She rested her head beneath his chin, listening to his steady heart.
One Moon Later
Elowen stirred from sleep, stretching beneath the blankets. She blinked, yawning softly, and turned to find Midas already awake beside her. He was in his human form, lying on his side, head propped against one hand. His golden eyes were fixed on her, and his tail was flicking around playfully with the same mischief in his eyes.
She smiled sleepily. “What?”
He reached out, brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, then slowly let his hand settle over her abdomen. Elowen’s breath caught.
“I think you’re carrying again,” he said gently.
She blinked at him, confused, then laughed. “Midas, how would you know that?”
He didn’t smile. “I smell it,” he said. “Your scent has changed. Only slightly. But it’s there, just like before. I feel it in you like I feel the fire in my throat.”
She stared at him, wonder and disbelief flickering in her eyes.
“It’s too early to tell,” she said, but the words felt fragile now. Thin. “We’ve scarcely been trying for a cycle!”
He only looked at her with an unwavering and proud smile.
“Your body is building something new,” he said. “I would know it anywhere.”
She laid her hand gently over his, resting on her stomach. Her eyes softened. “We should tell the boys. They will be thrilled.”
Later that morning, they sat outside near the lake. The boys were stacking stones, building some imagined fortress, arguing over whose side the turtle they’d found belonged to.
Elowen and Midas sat a few feet away on a flat rock warmed by sunlight. She looked over at him—he gave a small nod.
She turned to the boys. “Can we tell you two something?”
They both looked up, instantly alert. Kalen cocked his head. “Are we in trouble?”
Midas snorted softly. “Should you be?” he mused teasingly. The boys sank playfully into themselves.
Elowen laughed. “No. It’s something…good.” The boys exchanged a look, then trotted over and sat cross-legged in front of her, expectant. “I think we might be adding someone new to our family.”
They blinked. Midas leaned forward, one arm around Elowen’s back, the other resting loosely across his knee. “A sibling,” he clarified.
Kalen’s mouth dropped open. “You mean…a brother orsister?”
“Yes,” Elowen said, smiling. “Your father suspects I might be pregnant.”
