“Professor Holiday and his monster went down at the same time,” Quinn pointed out.
“They were tied together,” Brit added. “Like an outfit.”
“Clothing!” Quinn exclaimed. “Right. My Majekah definitely only affects one thing at a time. When I touch someone, their clothing disintegrates first. I didn’t understand what was happening. I, ah, melted off Ezra’s pants but pulled back before I touched his skin, um, recently.”
My blood heated, a beneficial skill if surprising.
“Men are supposed to be melting your panties, Quinn.” Everly sighed. “Okay, I forgot what we were talking about. Ezra’s stupid hot. I can’t believe it took you so long to secure that, with a contract, right?”
My stomach sank. Our Intentions still sat in Xan’s void.
“Rowan gave me one,” Quinn answered defensively.
“Girl,” Everly let out a frustrated groan. “What if you’re already pregnant?”
My heart thumped. Kids. Little copies of me. Logically, I understood it was a possibility, but the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. It wasn’t something my lover and I had to factor into our activities.
“My IUD’s still in,” Quinn said. “I felt the little string and everything. I don’t quite understand the physics of that, but I’m not questioning it. I honestly could not handle being pregnant right now. It’s already too much.”
“Hell's an IUD?” Brit asked.
While Quinn explained birth control and hormone regulation from her time—followed by Everly explaining the extreme lack in ours—I took a rare moment to check in with my emotions. I lived and breathed in the moment… but the idea that Quinn could be pregnant hadn’t terrified me the way her flowchart of possible outcomes had. Instead, something unsteady fluttered in my chest.
I didn’t have the imagination of my lover. I couldn’t picture the child, not really, but I knew I’d be there, and I’d love them more than anything in this world.
“I’m done with facts!” Everly’s voice rose, then dropped again. “And I didn’t forget your second comment. Rowan gave you a contract?”
I took a deep breath. Rowan had beaten us to the punch, but I wasn’t worried. Quinn could have as many of us as she wanted,and my officer was someone I was more than willing to share with.
"An Intention," Quinn corrected. “Though I wanted to respond in person, so I haven’t accepted yet. But I bet I can sic him on Ezra to defend my honor. That’s a thing, right?”
“Oh, definitely.” Everly giggled. “And Rowan comes with a pet, Cayden, now. I bet the two of them could pin Ezra down.”
The two could try to pin me down any time, though I doubted Everly and I had the same picture in mind.
“Rowan and Cayden are getting along that well?” Quinn asked.
Their chatter drifted from observations to nail polish to futures, then finally to sleep. I let myself follow.
I wasn’t used to living in a room full of others, and the first opening of a tent woke me. I put my arms behind my head and listened. Water bubbled, and clothing rustled. Two people exchanged pleasantries while a third exited. Someone tip-toed out of Quinn’s tent, and I finally sat up and dressed.
I fully expected to see Brit sitting at the communal table. Instead, Everly beckoned before pointing at a cup of coffee. I crossed the room and took a seat.
“Quinn wants to help other women,” Everly said before I even sat. “Last night was the first time she talked about a future here, something bigger than surviving. That’s not nothing.”
I downed half the coffee she shoved at me.
“You do get what that means, right?” Her eyes narrowed. “She’s not like me. She won’t float. People will swarm her. Men and women, desperate for answers. Are you and your Architect ready for that storm?”
“Yes.”
Her lip curled. “That’s not an answer. What protections? What plan? Or are you just hoping she’ll smile pretty and somehow it works out?”
I drained the rest of the mug. “Yes.”
Good point or not, it was too early for this conversation. Her glare stayed hot on my back as I walked out for my run.
By the time I returned, Quinn was finishing breakfast. Everly fretted about the future, but my focus stayed on today. One last trial, and then she would come home with me.
