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There was a playhouse of sorts off in one corner. It had multiple levels and was made entirely of stone, definitely the most epic playground I’d ever seen. Harper was sitting on the floor off to the side of it, grinning at us as Dove poked her head out of a window that appeared in the side of the structure right then.
“Hi!” she exclaimed. Her voice was much softer than it had ever been before she got her magic, but I knew she got overstimulated much easier now.
“Hi!” I waved back, keeping my voice at its normal level instead of raising it.
Zoran wiggled two fingers at her, and she giggled, jumping out of the window.
Her feet slowed before she reached the ground, and I looked at Harper with lifted eyebrows. She didn’t bat an eye at the jump, so I figured she must’ve been using her own magic to protect the little girl.
Dove sprinted across the room to throw her arms around Flood, who scooped her up and gave her a quick hug.
She signed something to him, her fingers moving so quickly that I missed a few of the words. It was about a bird, I thought—and the wind.
He laughed lightly, squeezed her close, and then handed her over to me. I gave her a hug of my own, and she told me a quick story about a bird that flew inside her room after she accidentally opened a window in the stone, making us both laugh.
My own magic was way too weak to imagine accidentally doing anything, but Dove and the kings were in a completely different category than me.
“Hey,” Harper said, pulling me in for a hug of her own after I’d set Dove down. She pulled Zoran to her playhouse with her, and I felt the structure change to make space for the gigantic man as they moved toward it. That was all Dove’s doing—she had to have an assload of power to make it happen that easily.
“Hey. How is she?” I glanced over at the playhouse again.
Harper’s smile faded a little. “Doing a lot better than the last time you were here. She’s her old self for a while, but everything slowly builds up. When it does, she just needs time and space to do her own thing without any noise, people, or anything else. One of us always stays close, to make sure we’re here if she needs anything. She’s used to us, and we’re good at staying quiet and giving her time, now.”
I nodded. “At least you’re all adjusting, right?”
“Mmhm.” She studied Dove and Zoran for a moment. “You two seem different.”
When she looked over at me, I caught the smile she was trying to hide.
My face warmed. “It’s been weird. He gave me space for a few months, because his instincts were getting really difficult to control. I didn’t take the space very well. When he finally told me what was going on, I figured we should deal with it before it got out of hand. One thing led to another, and… well, we’re together, now. Likerealmates.”
Harper smiled, the expression so genuine that it made me smile too. “I’m so happy for you guys. It’s incredible to be with someone who really loves you and treats you the way you deserve.”
“I don’t know if we’re quite there yet, but we’re getting there. I’ve never had so much attention, you know?” I looked at her, hoping she’d know what I meant. She frowned a little, and I regretted saying anything. Quickly, I added, “He just cares a lot, that’s all I mean. Like he’s been with me, watching out for me constantly. It’s weird to have someone help me take care of myself. I didn’t even think he was interested in me, and he’s huge, and gorgeous, and powerful… I don’t really know what he sees in me, if anything.”
Understanding flooded her eyes, and empathy too. “It’s weird at first, but you’ll adjust quickly.”
Harper caught my arm, squeezing lightly as she stepped closer to me. We watched Zoran and Dove interact through the small windows Dove had built into her playhouse, and my lips curved upward a little bit.
“I think we all feel like that sometimes,” she added quietly, after a few minutes of silence. “No one’s perfect. We’re all difficult, sometimes. And these kings are other-worldly, but to them, we are too. We’ve had experiences and seen things they could never imagine in Bluhm, just like they have compared to Earth. Their magic made them incompatible with the other fae, and then we showed up. You might not realize it, but we saved them in so many ways, Ayla. If you wonder what he sees in you, then he probably wonders the exact same thing about what you see in him.”
Her words shocked me.
We were both quiet as we watched them together, and I saw Dove sign something to Zoran about tea.
My throat swelled.
He would make a good father, someday.
He would make a good mate, too, if I let him. And if I forgave him for being wrong about his instincts and staying away from me. If I swallowed my fear, my pride, my stress, and just… let him.
We were already on our way to that, I thought.
A few minutes later, Sirus came strolling into the room. Harper went over to him, and he swept her into his arms for a fierce hug and kiss. She was grinning when he released her, and he was too.
“How are the water fae?” he asked me.
I shrugged. “Okay. Crest woke up the Mother of All Monsters, but Flood put her back to sleep.”
