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Tee was dozing. He had tufts of blond hair, and his cheeks and lips were rosy. No trace of a Bagger.
I glanced up when winds gusted, rattling the castle’s shutters. “Circe thought his birth might bring about the renewal of the world.” She’d hoped the arrival of the first second-generation Arcana would usher in dawn breaking and a new beginning. Maybe I’d hoped too. Had Aric?
I feared those things would only return with the end of all but the last Arcana. Was Tee now damned to be among that number?
Aric canted his head. “I suppose that was never his purpose.”
“Does he have one?” Aside from protecting me from Paul?
“As yet to be revealed.” Aric sat beside me on the bed. “Lark came by while you were asleep. She dubbed him the Unclean One Junior and said he was kind of cute for a blob.”
I had to smile at that.
“When she removed herself from the study earlier, I was very impressed and I let her know that. Which seemed to please her to a great degree.”
“I’m glad you told her. She values your opinion more than anyone’s.” I’d bet she was thrilled.
“I don’t mind if she has Arcana instincts as long as she can control them around you and the babe. I now believe she will.”
“Oh, I see what’s going on. You figured out you couldn’t forgive me for past games and not forgive Lark as well?”
“My card is known for change and growth.” We shared a grin. “And yours is known for regeneration and abundance.”
The earth mother. “And wrath,” I said, pointing to the bandage peeking out from his sleeve.
“Of all the scenarios that might have happened tonight, a scratch on the arm is welcome.” Wolves could have eaten us; cannibals could have eaten Jack and Joules. Tee could have died from Aric’s touch. So, yeah, we’d take the win. “I intend to mend fences with Lark and do whatever I can to help her through her current troubles.”
Wow. This was huge.
“But we can’t let her hold the baby. He might have the Touch of Death.”
“You think that’s how he withstood yours?” I gazed down at Tee, and all I felt was optimism. “I don’t believe he does, but I’ll go along with caution if it makes you feel better.”
“Thank you.”
Aric and I sat together, marveling at every nuance of our kid, tracing his little hands and tiny toes. I said, “He couldn’t possibly be cuter.”
“Not possibly.”
“You lost your heart, huh?”
He raised his face to stare into my eyes. Deliberately misunderstanding me, he said, “Done for.” In a wry tone, he added, “And the child’s not so bad either.”
My lips curled. All the worry, all the strife, and now Tee was here in my arms. This little guy had already secured a piece of my divided heart for himself. Protectiveness like I’d never known overwhelmed me. “Do you think he’s healthy?”
“I do, love.”
I did too. With a warm, welcome certainty, I murmured, “Aric, we’re going to be okay.”
“I shall make sure of it,” he said with steel in his tone, reminding me that the game played on, and the rules said that only one of Tee’s parents would get to live. At best—
The phone rang.
24
The Hunter
I called Evie early, needing to hear for myself that she and the baby were safe.
Gabe and Joules were holed up with me in some barracks that looked like they hadn’t been slept in for a while. After stocking up on food, heating fuel, a pack of cards, and whiskey for me, we’d started our quarantine.
Kentarch and Sol would remain parked close to the fort, keeping watch for any stragglers that might show.
We’d already turned off the Pentacles’ message offering medical care. Though I’d expected a large-scale infirmary, we’d found only a pitiful first-aid station for their private use.
Desperate folks had risked their lives to journey here for help that had never been coming.
We’d also found a garage stuffed with personal belongings that made the mountainous pile we’d found in the Hierophant’s mine look meager. The Pentacles must have preyed on thousands of people.
Evie and Dominija answered on the first ring, and she wasted no time: “What the hell, Jack?” She sounded pissed, but strong.
Relief hit me. “I could ask the same of you—having a baby? What’s that all about?”
“We’re both fine, by the way.”
“So they told me, but I wanted to hear it from you.” A little squawk sounded in the background, and I found myself smiling. “I can’t wait to meet my godson.”
“Oh, but you have to wait—because quarantine. Most sensible individuals go the other way when faced with bonebreak fever.”
“You didn’t.” I swigged my bottle, figuring the whiskey might disinfect me. Heh.
“That reminds me: I need to mix up a batch of poison for you. You can take it as soon as your eyes turn red.”
