I couldn’t help but laugh, tightening my hold on her. “Perhaps not, but there are ways.”
That had Ivy pulling away from me completely and turning, her eyes wide. “Really?”
I nodded once, chewing the inside of my cheek. “Rare, but a fertility witch can impregnate a female with another female’s…essence. I’m not sure how it works, and it can be hard, but it can be done.”
Ivy watched me for a long moment before smiling. “Are you bringing this up as an option?”
“Perhaps.” I swam towards her and captured her in my arms once more. “Maybe in the future.”
Through the bond, I glimpsed happiness, bright and hopeful, and it soared through me in the same way.
I’d feared much throughout my life, but there were experiences I would only want to have with her.
And our future together had never looked brighter.
3
Hawk
Ipressed my lips together as I hammered another board into the wall. The tower, which would eventually become Ivy’s office and personal library, was slowly coming together. It was my pet project, and other than some help from Orion and Xerxes, most left it to me to complete.
My gift to her, in a way.
Even though I stole it from Orion.
He didn’t seem to mind, since the entire fucking island was his gift to her. And anyway, he had his own pet-project happening in the gardens. Now that the courtyard was complete and fully set up with all the things Ivy could possibly need, he was tackling the back patio area—which was more a deck than anything, with some hidden functions we were still sorting out—and the yard directly below it.
According to him, he couldn’t tell if there had been anything for children on the island. At some point, there would have been kids living here, though we couldn’t seem to find anything that would indicate they spent much time outside.
So, with the help of Arthur and Xerxes, he was going to build play equipment or something.
Honestly, those kids had an entire ballroom set up as an indoor play area. And now that the weather was getting warmer, we were taking them to the pond in the field or to the beach to swim. One of the guys had fixed up the shack down by the water to make it into a small space to keep kid-related stuff—toys, sunscreen, extra towels, snacks—and the pavilion out in the field was set up for camping, something Maisie was really into.
But this tower…it was mine to work on as I pleased. And I had a lot of ideas.
“You know, we need to paint this like, a deep purple-red, right?” Thea said, interrupting my thoughts. She had the seven cans of different paints I’d picked up in town.
I’d gravitated towards a deep green, considering all the personal library pictures I’d looked up—and, well, Ivy looked good in green.
But that was why I’d brought Thea in. Because even though I had a deep bond with my mate, her best friend still knew her better than I did.
I was working on it, but pregnancy sometimes put Ivy in moods where actually getting to know her proved…difficult. One-on-one nights were a thing we tried to do after the war, especially for those of us new to the bonds. But after a while, the pregnancy hormones kicked in tenfold, and it had to be more group time so she could get her magical fill.
“What do you mean?” I asked, lowering the hammer.
Thea set down the small tin, leaving the paintbrush inside, and pointed to the swatches she’d painted. “These are great, don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of you, because most guys wouldn’t get so close to the right colour on the first try,” she said, meeting my eye. “This would be great up in the reading nook. But Ivy always had a vision for her office, and she wanted it to be purple whimsy.”
“Damn,” I muttered, setting the hammer down with a groan. “Shit.” I stared at the swatches, none of which were the colour. At least I could use one upstairs in the reading area slash little library, which we were stabilising with new flooring and a better spiral staircase.
But I hadn’t stopped to wonder what colours Ivy would prefer.
“Hey, don’t stress,” Thea stated, hands going to her hips. “I doubt anyone here knows that about Ivy. You guys love her, but you’ve all known each other a year at best.”
“This is meant to be her wedding present.” I looked between Thea and the wall. “Or her pre-birth present.”
“And you still have time for both. I’m just letting you know, we need to go pick the right colour. You’re lucky you came to me.” When I glanced at her, she shrugged. “I will say, you’ve done well. This space isexactlywhat she wants.”
I blew out a relieved breath and scrubbed a hand down my face. “You think?”
