Mom tilted her head. “Mason?”
Aunt Maelis nodded, eyes shining with tears. “Mason. That’s his name.”
The baby let out a cute noise in what seemed like agreement.
Love settled in my chest, flowing between Rune and I. Watching Aunt Maelis cuddle him, watching my mom fuss over him, and seeing Rune smile softly beside them gave me a sense of completion that I hadn’t realized I was missing until just then.
“I’ll handle the paperwork with the Council,” I said, voice cracking. “Official adoption, death confirmation of his parents, all of it. Don’t worry about any of the legal work.”
Mom sniffed, wiping at her eyes even as she watched Aunt Maelis rock Mason gently. “Good. You do that. I’m going to getbaby food. And clothes. And a crib. And—” She spun on her heel and headed for the door with determined purpose.
“Mom,” I called after her. “He’s like…weeksold. He’s not eating solids.”
“We’ll need it eventually,” she shot back, already halfway out the door.
Rune laughed, glancing up at me. “I’ll stay with your aunt while you do the paperwork.”
Aunt Maelis looked up at me over Mason’s tiny head. Tears streaked her cheeks, but there was color there again. “Thank you, Jesper. You have no idea…”
“I do,” I said quietly. “More than you think.”
Rune moved closer to Aunt Maelis, leaning in to coo at Mason, talking softly about the Fates and found family, and about how sometimes the worst nights led to the best gifts.
I watched them for a moment, memorizing the image.
My mate, my aunt, and a brand-new baby firedrake named Mason who was now safe and sound in our home.
I exhaled slowly.
The fight in the Bizarre, the bodies, the human with Rune’s stolen DNA…all of it lingered in my chest. There was still a war outside these walls. We still had a lab to burn, treaties to keep, humans to kill, and supernaturals to save.
But for a stolen moment, in this house, something broken had been given a chance to mend. Both baby Mason, who lost his parents twice over, and Aunt Maelis, who had lost her son.
“I’ll be back,” I told them.
Rune glanced over her shoulder, meeting my gaze. Our bond hummed between us—warm, steady, and full of shared grief and love.
“See you soon, mister agent,” she teased.
“See you soon, honey drop.”
I stepped back onto the wayfaer portal in our living room, already pulling up the forms I needed in my head to handle the Council’s systems. Adoption papers, guardian claims, and death certificates needed to be filled out. They were all red tape that I would happily cut through with my bare hands if anyone tried to stand in the way.
Mason was officially part of our family, and I protected my family.
For the first time since the humans took Rune, stole her DNA, and turned it into a weapon for themselves, I felt a little less like everything was spiraling out of our control.
We’d lost anentirevillage in the Bizarre today, but we’d also saved a life.
Mason’s tiny heartbeat and coos echoed in my mind as I stepped out to brief Sabine and explain the situation.
dimitri
. . .
As House Head,I had scheduled a mandatory year-four House of Twilight study session.
To be completely transparent, I’d bribed them with snacks and guilt.
