“Any aura symptoms?”
“Some earlier.”
Billie gasped loudly. “Have you traveled outside the country in the last ninety days?”
Conrad stared at her. “Billie. You live with me.”
“I saw it on television.”
Bianca gave him an analytical once-over. “You do appear less squinty.”
“Thank you?”
The children continued interrogating him with surprising seriousness while I tried very hard not to look like their father had just finger-fucked me on the kitchen counter.
Unfortunately, I could still feel Conrad’s eyes on me. And that did not help matters.
When Amethyst entered the kitchen, she glanced between Conrad and me. Her brows rose slightly, and she pursed her lips almost imperceptibly.
Oh no. She’d definitely noticed something. To her credit, she said nothing, just wandered toward me while the children continued conducting medical evaluations on their father.
“You survived a day at the amusement park.” I tried to sound light and casual, but I could hear the strain in my voice.
“We had a wonderful time,” Amethyst said. Her eyes flicked briefly toward Conrad before returning to me with unmistakable amusement.
“I wanted to thank you,” she murmured.
“For what?”
“For him.” She nodded in Conrad’s direction.
I blinked.
Amethyst adjusted one of her bracelets absently before continuing. “Conrad seems…” She hesitated. “Better.”
I glanced at the children as they pretended to play doctor with their father. “He loves them very much.”
“I know.” She let out a slow, quiet breath. “But grief turned him into a machine for a while. All he did was work and survive. The kids loved him anyway, but…”
“They missed him.”
“Yes,” she agreed.
She looked toward the children fondly. “They seem happier now, too.”
I swallowed unexpectedly hard. “They’re wonderful children.”
“They are,” Amethyst agreed. “And significantly less feral than before.”
“That remains up for debate.”
She laughed softly. “No, truly. The difference is enormous. They’re not as guarded, and they seem more open to care-free days, like today, without a dark cloud hanging over their heads. I’m assuming I have you to thank for all of this—at least partially. So thank you.” She looked down at her bracelets, her voice dropping to a softer, more reflective register. “My sister would’ve liked you.”
I wasn’t prepared for how much I wanted to hear that, and I didn’t know what to say. Jade still existed everywhere in thehouse. In the children. In Conrad. In the carefully preserved pieces of her life still tucked quietly into corners.
And despite everything happening between Conrad and me now, I had never once forgotten that.
Amethyst smiled gently at my silence.
