In the Dining Room, Zephyr sat at my usual table with everyone from the Forest—except Khush and Dustin who now ate in their room for Dustin's sake, much to his ire—while I stood beside him as I chatted away with everyone between bites of my food. I pulled Zeph into the conversation every once in a while, and watched as he slowly relaxed into the meal.
After dinner, I walked all the way back to the office with Zephyr, not ready to let go just yet. Yesterday was wonderful, and I couldn't wait to spend time with Zephyr again. I knew he had responsibilities, though, duties that he couldn't ignore, not even for me. I didn't mind—at least not when I was thinking rationally—but sometimes I wished we could just portal away somewhere far away from here so he could be all mine for a while.
I'd miss our family, though, and that was the only thing that kept me from saying it out loud.
I stopped Zephyr before he could go in and tugged him closer. I leaned up as much as I could, and he seemed to get the message because he lowered his head immediately, meeting my lips with his. I kissed him deeply, pressing him against the office door with my hands on his hips. We kissed until we were breathless, and as he pulled away with a gasp, I rested my head against his chest, smiling as I felt his heart beating wildly. I'd done that to him.
With a soft sigh, I stepped back and gazed up at him. His blue eyes were dark, his salt-and-pepper hair messy, and I reached upto cup his stubbled cheek. I ran my thumb over his wet lower lip, then took another step back as I let my hand drop.
"Sleep well, Zeph. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, then turned around and walked away.
Just before I stepped into the Forest, I heard a soft, murmured, "Good night, Keoni," and I smiled all the way to my cabin.
Thirteen
Zephyr
Two days later, Michelleand Sofia were settled in Khush and Dustin's guest room, while their bedroom upstairs now looked more like a hospital room. I'd managed to find everything on the list Michelle had given us, and now the previously open, airy room was crowded with medical equipment.
I knew Dustin hated it, but also understood that it was necessary. He was getting antsy since he was due any day now—his official due date was yesterday—and everyone in the whole Sanctuary seemed to be waiting with bated breath.
"That baby is going to be so spoiled," Keoni murmured, a grin on his face, and I hummed in agreement.
Supe babies were rare, and we'd never had one in the Sanctuary. While I knew there were supe children out there who needed guidance, who lived with no knowledge of their heritage and what they were, I'd never been able to track them. Adult supes were much easier to find, maybe because a lot of supe kids didn't know how to use their powers, and my spells could only track magic use.
A lot of the Sanctuary residents had probably never seen a supe baby of any kind, so Khush and Dustin's baby would be very welcome here. Everyone was eager to see them.
Footsteps drew my gaze toward the woods, and I watched Draven walk out, the braid in his beard appearing somewhat singed—not for the first time, unfortunately.
"Keoni," he said, then turned back around. "Come with me."
Without waiting to see if Keoni did as he asked, he left the way he'd come.
Keoni and I shared a look, then followed after Draven, though I could guess where he was leading us.
The braid on his back hung all the way to his knees, and it swung with every step he took.
I took Keoni's hand in mine, and he grinned at me before linking our fingers.
We reached a large metal shed, and Draven pushed aside the curtain and stepped inside. I had to let go of Keoni's hand since the doorway wasn't wide enough for us to walk through together, and he followed after me, then stopped short when his cart was still outside. I realized he was afraid of knocking into something, and figured it might be better if he stayed like that.
"What's up, Draven?" he asked, and Draven ignored us as he walked over to a small stool. On it sat a folded pile of material of some kind. It looked like a net, made with white and silverthreads. The white threads shone like silk, while the silver ones gleamed like metal. It was beautiful, whatever it was.
Draven picked up the pile, then walked back to us, placing it on a wide bench before us. He carefully put away all the little bits of metal on the bench, then unfolded the material and spread it out on the bench so we could finally see their shape.
There were two of them, two identical pieces that looked like stockings, with two long straps at the top that had buckles at the end. A small silver button sat on the spot where the belt joined perpendicularly to the end of the stocking on both of them.
"What—what's this?" Keoni asked hesitantly, though I could tell he had an idea. He just didn't want to hope. Suddenly, I was glad I'd followed him.
Instead of answering him, Draven turned to me. "Zephyr, come here."
Wishing he'd answered Keoni's question first but knowing he was enjoying the suspense and would say nothing until I did what he wanted, I stepped forward. He pointed at the silver buttons on the stockings, and said, "Push some magic into those, until you feel them reach capacity."
Puzzled, I pressed the tips of my right index and middle fingers to the silver, realizing at once it was the same metal that Draven had used to make my arm. My magic recognized it too, and filled it quickly. I did the same with the other one, then stepped back.
Draven nodded to himself, folded the stockings back up, and then picked them up and held them out to Keoni.
"I've been working on these for a while, but with everything that was happening around here, it took me longer than I'd hoped," he said, his voice soft in a way it rarely was. The last time I'd heard it, he'd said something similar as he'd shown me a beautiful metal arm that could work with my magic without hindering it or me.
