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Langston frowns as I lift Atlas up into a hug. He seems to sense the turmoil going on in my head.
“Are you guys hungry?” Langston asks.
“Yes! I want pizza,” Rose says.
“Me too,” Atlas agrees.
“What are Uncle Enzo and Aunt Kai fixing?” Langston asks, assuming they are the ones doing the cooking.
“Pizza!” Rose yells.
We all laugh as we carry them inside. We stop in the kitchen and see that Enzo and Kai are, in fact, making pizza.
Cayden cries in Zeke’s arms; both Atlas and Rose turn concerned. “We need to go cheer up baby Cayden. He cries if we aren’t around him,” Rose says.
Atlas nods.
We put both kids down, and they race over to Zeke to have a look at baby Cayden. To our surprise, Zeke lowers him to let him get a look at Atlas and Rose, and Cayden seems to stop crying. He reaches out to Atlas and touches his face.
But then I frown when I realize that Zeke can’t hear any of the exchange the kids are having. He can’t hear, and it’s all my fault.
“It’s not your fault,” Beckett says from behind us.
Langston and I turn around. Langston is gripping my hand again.
Beckett walks closer and holds out his bandaged hand. “The doctors you sent took a look at all of us. Because you got us medical help so quickly, we are all going to heal; good as new.”
I frown. That’s not possible. Nothing is as good as new.
“Zeke’s hearing has already started coming back. The doctors are extremely hopeful he’ll get his hearing back completely within the year. If not, they can fit him with hearing aids that will get him to one hundred percent.”
I look at Zeke in surprise.
“My hearing is already coming back,” Zeke says. He either heard part of the conversation or guessed what we were talking about.
I nod, giving him a small smile.
“The doctors looked at Siren’s vocal cords, and they’re mostly infected at this point, not really damaged. It’s painful, but Siren can already make small sounds. She’s on painkillers and antibiotics, so she should heal quickly and be able to talk. Singing might take longer to come back, but it will return.”
I stare down at his heavily bandaged hand. “And what about you? You lost the most. Without the ability to use your hand, life is going to be hard—way harder than it should be.”
Beckett smirks. “I’ve lost a hand before. The body is amazing at adapting. If I lost this hand, too, I’d learn how to use the residual limb or my toes. The doctors gave me a salve to apply to the burns, though. I should heal, but if I don’t, it’s mostly cosmetic. My fingers still function even if I can’t feel what I’m touching.”
I wrap my arms around him. “It’s still too high a price to pay.”
“I just wish I had been able to save Declan,” Beckett says.
I pull away from him and pat him on the shoulder.
“You’re going to get the treasure to use to get Declan back, aren’t you?” he asks.
Langston and I nod. “Let me go with you,” Beckett pleads.
“No, you need to stay and watch the kids.”
“Yea, cause I was so good at it the last time.”
Atlas runs over to Beckett at that moment. “Come help make the pizzas. Uncle Enzo doesn’t know what he’s doing and is going to burn it.”
