“I really like your little friends,” he whispered against my skin, kissing my hand softly.
“You two are so cute,” Tualy commented, making me blush. It was so strange seeing Xavier loosen up in public, especially surrounded by the one magical creature so different from his kind.
“Now, Tualy… think of it, if we don’t leave now, it will be too dark later,” Pip said, his arms suddenly full with a tray of cupcakes.
“Sure.” Her question was forgotten.
“Goodbye,” I said again, embracing each one of them in my arms. Their little wings fluttered against my skin.
“Can I hug Xavier too?” Fayette asked, her tone almost shy now.
“Yes,” he replied, crouching down to hug her. Seeing him hugging her made me feel so warm.
Before they left, each one of them gave me a little smile.
“God, faeries seem stressful,” Xavier commented.
“Don’t be mean, they are so sweet, just like children.” How dumb of me to even mention the word again.
“Oh, yes. That’s what I asked you earlier. Do you want children?”
“I love you,” I said, gripping his arms, trying to distract him.
“I love you too, my love, more than any other person I will ever love. Still not really the answer to my question. What about children?” he asked again.
“I mean, I’m sorry, obviously, we can’t have children, just forget it… I meant…” I started to stutter like I was in first grade introducing myself.
“You’ll get everything you want, if you want children, then I will find a way for it to happen.”
I didn’t have any idea that Xavier would be so selfless when it came to my wishes for the future, especially regarding the current situation of his realm. I would have expected an immediate rejection.
“Maybe… sometime. If you can share my love,” I replied, teasing.
“No to sharing your love. You are my life, Gwendolyn. Without your love, children won’t ever be on my mind and certainly my love for you cannot be shared. But I would be willing to extend my ability of love for your children.”
“Why my children? They would be yours too.”
“Because it doesn’t matter who you decide will be the father. I will love and spoil them regardless, whether they carry my DNA or not. As long as they are a part of you, that is all what matters. I also would prefer to not pass on my evil genetics.”
I smiled and took him into my arms, pressing my face against his chest.
“You don’t have evil genetics, Xavier. The faeries wouldn’t have liked you if you did,” I replied, cradling his beautiful face in my hands. “And you should really pass on your DNA, with your looks.” He grinned at my remark, before his lips captured mine.
I never would have dreamed of finding a place so far away from everything I’d known, a place that only existed in books, to call my home. Meeting the faeries again just reminded me that indeed the forest deities brought me there, where I belonged. I belonged to Xavier, Malakai and Damien, and they belonged to me.
My mother pitied me for putting my faith in childhood fairytales; little did she know that I would end up in one of them.
Chapter 36
My whole body felt tense, I was irritated and yearned after Gwendolyn more than ever. She promised to be quick, but it had been six hours already. I couldn’t even remember if we had been separated from each other for so long, at least not since we’d bonded. Even when she was with Malakai or Xavier, I was still in her head most of the time. But as soon as she entered the central goblin market it was barely possible to keep up with our connection due to the magic of the goblins.
I hated it, the feeling of her skin on mine burned deep in me, I couldn’t think about anything else right now. This was one of the worst side effects the power had on me, it made me open to too many emotions and because of being bonded to her, my instincts and emotions intensified. Sometimes they were unbearable. The moment she had come to my bedroom telling me she was afraid of dying, it left me shattered and overwhelmed. I was already thinking about losing her, how the moments of laughter, the world of vibrant colors would be gone. Simply imagining it was suffocating my heart and soul as the sound of her voice, the touch of her skin, the gaze of her eyes, the beauty of her soul, everything would haunt me to the point that I would need to endmy life.
Amidst the darkness that I carried inside myself, the burden I was for my kingdom, it all seemed to disappear into the background whenever she was there. She was this tiny golden sunshine, a glimmer of hope, the ember in the ashes, that would let me forget all these things. Gwendolyn was the solace to my soul, the reason why my nightmares turned into beautiful dreams and the scars that lingered behind my inner child began to heal.
“Damien.” I heard my baby’s voice behind me, she was back. I smiled and turned around. There she was, standing in her black dress and purple cape. She looked like some figure from a fairytale, and I didn’t care that I seemed to be hungry like a werewolf for her. I was going to make this night ours now.
I enveloped her in my arms, her sweet alluring scent relaxing me. I gripped her chin and pushed my tongue into her mouth.
