Almost a week had passed since the Tree had been iced, and we didn’t have a clue yet how to reverse the damage. The guard who brought the news had eventually thawed out, but fire fairies didn’t seem to be having as much luck with the Tree. The Ice Queen had not yet returned with the decision from her council, either.
“You should name your sons,” I whispered as I kissed my little purple eyed boy. He was beautiful and surprisingly strong for something so tiny.
“I’ve never named anything before,” Ryder admitted.
“Me either, Fairy, but we cannot continue to call them babies, or minions of darkness,” I said as I placed a soft kiss on our son’s dark head. “It’s hard to believe we created something so perfect,” I whispered as I held the baby to my chest.
I hadn’t stopped to think of the things I’d lost out on by dying. I hadn’t been able to feed my own children, but then…I’d had three, and it wouldn’t have been an easy task, not that I’d have known how to do it. I’d also missed the first few hours of their lives, which Ryder had told me about in length, omitting only the parts which had included their hasty delivery.
“What do you think about Nyxaria? And we call her Nyx for short?” I asked as I watched our daughter as she held Ryder’s finger.
“It’s beautiful, but it doesn’t suit her,” he said as he smiled lovingly down at the little minion who was quickly stealing her father’s heart as she wrapped him around her tiny little finger.
“Kahleena Larissa,” I offered, and he raised his eyes to meet mine.
“She smiled,” he said, and looked back down into her golden eyes with his own. “Kahleena it is, little daughter.”
“You do know she is slowly wrapping you around her finger, right?” I asked.
“I know it, but aside from her mother, I’ve never looked upon anything so beautiful.”
A few moments of silence passed before he looked up. “Cade, for our little violet eyed warrior,” he said as he watched me for a response.
“I was thinking Puck,” I said with an impish smile. I’d read several childhood books with the famous character who was keen to host pranks. Besides, it wasn’t like I planned to name him that, but it would put a fire under his father’s backside to choose names.
“Puck?” Ryder cringed.
Mission accomplished.
“Cade fits him, and for the other?” I asked as I continued to hold the dark haired one.
“Zander, for my father,” he paused and lifted his eyes to mine. “I know people hated him, but he was cursed and it tainted everything he did. I want my son to know where he came from, and I want the people to know that he, unlike my father, will be an honorable ruler when the time comes. I know Danu has yet to show us which one will lead, but he seems to be the watcher, and the most solemn of the three. If we only give him a part of the name, we won’t curse him.”
“I love it,” I admitted. “Much better than Puck,” I agreed impishly. I had to mentally stop myself from rolling my eyes at his curse comment.
“Zander, Cade, and Kahleena it is. I’ll tell the men to fly the banners to announce them to our people.”
“Can’t it wait?” I asked as I placed Zander down to pick up Cade, who was pretty much anything but dark. “Just a few more minutes, please? I want to just be here with you and them, as a family.”