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“What is it?” she said impatiently, pulling her hands away from her face.
Gabriel held a finger in the air, dragging out the anticipation for as long as possible.
“You're killing me!” Lily exclaimed with a giggle.
He kissed and nibbled her neck. He loved the power he had over her, as evidenced by the red blush that crept over her skin.
“You have given me so much of yourself, Lily,” he began, gliding his fingers back and forth over her shoulders and the exposed scoop of her chest. “And you have given so much of yourself to the pride already. I wanted to give something back to you.”
With that, he turned her around to face the structure. He held his breath.
Lily clapped her hands over her face and gasped. That was a good sign.
“Gabriel!” she said, running toward her new, sleek, and modern studio. “This is what you have been up to!”
She ran from him, escaping his grasp, and he chuckled. His throat ran dry from the glow of pure euphoria moving through his body, pleased by her reaction. He watched her giggle like a child, touching all of the supplies he had bought. Canvases, easels, brushes, and paints in every color of the rainbow.
“Gabriel, I can't believe this!”
Lily’s voice cracked when she came upon a collection of paintings done by the children she had taught. Her eyes glassed over, and she tilted her head to look at Gabriel, who was strolling toward her with his hands in his pockets.
“Gabriel, I …” She choked on the words.
Lily shivered as a gust of wind blew. He could tell she was cold by the way she pulled the cape of the dress over her shoulders, then swathed it around her chest like a scarf.
Gabriel came to her rescue. He enveloped her in his body. Because of his shifter nature, his blood ran hot.
“God, winter is coming early,” she said, nuzzling her face into his neck.
“It really is,” he said, stroking her lustrous hair.
Lily pulled away from him, her arms still intertwined with the end of her cape. She took his hands and placed them on her cheeks.
“No one has ever done anything like this for me. I used to think love was a flash-in-the-pan thing. You know, an attraction that couldn’t last. But it’s real with you. I know it right here."
She brought both of his hands to her bosom, which felt like cold stone in the biting air. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
That was when snow began to fall from the sky. They were standing half beneath the tin roof of the studio, half out in the open. They both felt the fine flakes, but neither of them reacted. They were anchored to each other's eyes.
The snow dotted the scarlet terrain of her gown with ashen sprinkles. He burned for her in a way that stole the words off the tip of his tongue.
Lily smirked crookedly, watching him staring at her. “What?”
Her voice was a demure hum in the quiet. He bent down and kissed her rosy lips.
Their breath danced between them like smoke when they parted. They were both smiling as Gabriel stroked her cheek slowly.
“I can’t really find the words. It’s not easy with you. You are rather ineffable.”
Lily laughed, a musical sound that echoed in the tranquility. They kissed again with far more fervency.
“Our children are going to be so lucky,” Lily said when they finally decided to return to the celebration. “I never thought I was going to be able to say that.”
They walked together hand-in-hand, returning to the pride to move the party inside. He kept placing his hand on her belly throughout the night, feeling an entire universe of possibilities inside her.
The Lantern’s Eye would never be found. He knew that, and he knew it well. His legacy was going to live on, just the way it was intended.
With his beloved and their child.
