Page 45 of In Your Light

“Good,” he replied. “Well, actually, it’s kinda great news.”

Fyn’s heart began to race. “Tell me.”

His smile became a grin. “Eva’s pregnant.”

Fyn gasped, eyes wide. “For real? You’re gonna be a dad?”

Zaq nodded, beaming with pride, and Fyn gave him a bear hug, lifting his feet off the ground before setting him back down.

“Oh, Zaq, I’m so happy for you! That fertility festival really works, huh?”

He let out a laugh. “Yeah. It could have been you,” he said with a smirk. “If you, you know, liked the opposite sex and weren’t a virgin.”

Fyn shoved him. “Fuck you. It’s not my fault my only real options were you, my straight best friend, and my brother. Hard pass on both, thanks.”

Zaq laughed. “So how are things going with Hadeom? The friend of Cern’s who may or may not be an old god, who you claim to not be curious about, but he makes you blush when you talk about him.”

“An old god? Do you think...?”

“Who else would Cern consider an old friend?”

Fyn considered this. He knew the facts—that Hadeom was old, that he was not human—but to think of Hadeom as an old god? He wasn’t sure. Hadeom seemed so... well, human.

“I’m not sure. He’s there to heal, to rest and recuperate. What could an old god possibly need to heal from?”

Zaq eyed him seriously. “Exactly. Perhaps you should ask him before you get in any deeper. I don’t want you to get hurt when he leaves.”

“Leaves?”

“Well, he can’t stay at a hut in the middle of the wilderness forever.”

Well, he could.... Or he could stay in Tenebrae....

“I thought I could ask him if he wants to move into my house with me?”

Zaq’s eyes went wide. “Fyn....”

“I like him, okay? He’s nice and funny. And I made him smile. He smiled, Zaq. Maybe he’d heal a lot faster if he wasn’t alone.”

Zaq sighed, and he gave Fyn a sad smile. “Just be careful, okay? You’re gonna be an uncle in the spring, so we need you in one piece.”

“An uncle, huh?” Fyn still couldn’t believe it. “I’m really happy for you. And Eva. Is she okay?”

He nodded. “Her herd is making sure she’s looked after. They’re great. Treating her like a queen.”

“Good.”

Zaq was quiet for a moment. “Our lives are both changing.”

“Sure,” Fyn agreed. “And we both need to grow. But one thing that won’t change is our friendship.”

Zaq rolled his eyes. “Way to make it all sappy.”

“And the fact that I’ll always be faster than you. That’ll never change.”

He gasped and gave Fyn a shove, and while Fyn was off balance, Zaq took off running. Fyn sprinted to catch up, which he did easily because Fyn truly was faster, and they fell into an easy gait. Leaping puddles, bounding off fallen logs with ease, dodging trees as they darted through the dense forest, their laughter ringing out beneath the ancient canopy. They skimmed over moss and roots as they chased each other between towering trees, and for this fleeting moment, the world beyond the woods did not exist—there was only joy, freedom, and the simple delight of being carefree, if only for a little while.

Fyn changed direction, knowing Zaq would scramble to catch up, and raced straight for the gorge. It was a sheer drop to the river below, and they would come this way occasionally, if only to skirt the human world on the other side of the river.