Page 51 of The Human’s Heart

I understood now why Zaos wanted me to change so badly, and as scary as it was to think about, it was even scarier knowing I could be taken from this world far easier than any supernatural ever could.

And Phia had been a supe, and she’d still been taken from us in the flash of an eye.

“Hey, mezelie,” Zay murmured as he squeezed in beside me.

I scooted closer to Virion to make room, and Zay draped his arm over my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. I went with ease, and through our bond, I said, “I think I’m ready to be changed.”

He hadn’t been moving before I’d said it, but somehow, he stilled further. “I… you know that’s what I want, sweetheart, but maybe we should give it a little time after… well, after last night. I don’t want you to make a hasty decision and end up regretting it.”

That was… fair, even though I was sure I wasn’t going to change my mind. But I just nodded and snuggled into his chest, closing my eyes when he kissed my forehead. I rested there as he chatted quietly with his sister and a couple of cousins who’d finally woken up.

A few minutes later, Uncle Tio announced, “Food’s ready!”

I opened my eyes and glanced over my shoulder, snorting when I saw half of Zay’s family already filing in from outside. No wonder he’d cooked so much food.

“Let’s wait for the rush to calm down.”

I nodded in agreement with Zay and relaxed back into him, soaking him up and letting his presence and the love emanating from him warm me down to the bone.

Eventually, we got up and made our plates, and then I devoured every single thing on my plate so fast that Zay ended up making me a second one. And I devoured that too. Uncle Tio was a master chef. I wish I could pay him to make all our meals.

Zay laughed and bumped me with his shoulder. “We could just go to his restaurant.”

“Isn’t that near coven land, though?”

“Yeah, but with the portal, it’s like five seconds away. Well, more like fifteen minutes by the time we drive there, but you know what I mean.”

I sat there, stunned for a moment. Why hadn’t I ever thought about the fact that we could explore the city he grew up in so easily? Whenever I thought about the portal, I only thought about going to movie nights and things like that at the big house, or maybe visiting Zay’s dads at their home or whatever. I never thought about anything outside of coven land.

That was… actually really awesome.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” After a second, I added, “Maybe we should ask your dads to go to dinner with us. We haven’t seen them much lately.” And I knew he missed them dearly.

“That would be great.” He sent me the sweetest smile that I couldn’t help but lean over and kiss his cheek.

Zay’s dads joined us in the living room with full plates, but I had no idea where they’d come from. I knew they’d planned to stay here instead of going home, but where the hell did they sleep?

In my head, Zay’s voice said, “I’m pretty sure they slept outside.”

“What? Where? On the grass?”

Zay snorted. “In a big sleeping bag, you goof.”

“Oh. That makes more sense.”

I supposed knowing they were both from Faela and that Talon had that nature thing going for him made me jump to conclusions.

Zay snorted again and pressed a kiss to my hair.

I studied his one dad, Obi, for a moment, amazed at how much Virion looked like him. They weren’t blood-related—all three kids were adopted—but their drow-ness was a stark contrast to everyone else. They were both so very pale, and their dark hair made their skin seem even paler. They both had deep purple eyes, angular cheeks, pointy ears, and were covered in piercings. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she was his biological daughter.

It made me wonder if all drow had those features.

Zay nudged me. “Maybe one day I can take you to Faela, and you can see for yourself. It’s beautiful there, and there’s so much wildlife and magic just… everywhere. It could be a fun vacation.”

“I think I’d really like that.”

Before I could be too happy with our plans, Kian finally came out of the bedroom. He glanced around, then headed straight for his dads. Even though he was way bigger than either of them, he managed to squeeze in between them and plop down like a little kid. Neither seemed to mind. They just gave him room, then squished into either side.