“A family,” he tested the word out on his tongue.
“We seriously cannot mess them up,” I said as I ran my finger over Cades cheek, and watched as he opened his violet eyes to look up at me. “My little man,” I whispered in awe. “How we made three little perfect things is so beyond me.”
“What did you think we would make?” Ryder asked with a gentle smile.
“I don’t know, but I never imagined loving anything as much as I love them. I hardly even know them and yet I’d give my life for them.”
“You’re going to make a fierce mother,” he said wickedly. “The men seem to think I would be the overprotective parent, but I think it will be their warrior mother. Gods help anyone who tries to fuck with your babies,” he said with a proud look in his eyes.
I smiled at him, but when Zahruk sifted in, I stopped and looked up at him.
“You two need to come see this,” he said carefully. “Dress for your station, and call the Elite Guards in, now.”
I started to interrupt him, but thought better of it. “It can wait,” I finally said as I leveled a look that told Ryder that I didn’t want to leave this room at this moment. “Whatever it is, it’s not more important than this,” I said as I moved with Cade in my arms, and smiled as Ryder glamoured a chair for me at his side.
“I wouldn’t have interrupted you if it wasn’t important,” Zahruk said as he walked over and gently picked up Zander. He smiled, which made my eyes widen. Zahruk’s face changed completely when he smiled, which wasn’t often. He was a born warrior, and a damn good one. But when he smiled, he was beautifully dangerous. His eyes glowed with a light that he normally kept hidden from everyone, and his lips took on a softness that you never saw behind his warrior side.
“On a scale from one to ten, how important is it?” I asked as I moved my hand over to touch the wispy blonde hair on the top of my daughter’s head.
“Twenty,” he said as he kissed the top of Zander’s head and placed him back in his crib. “I’ve called the handmaidens in, and guards to watch over the babies. There’s also been no word from Ristan since he left to go check Alden’s progress.”
“How long has Ristan been gone?” Ryder asked as he held our daughter closer.
“He left after the presentation of the babes; ‘bout two days ago in the Human world, but when he left, he mentioned he would only be a few hours there. You know how punctual he normally is.”
“Did he go to the Guild?” I asked, butting into the conversation.
Zander let out a small wail and I watched in amusement as Zahruk deftly picked the small infant up and started rocking him in his arms as if he’d done it a million times before. I was amazed at the sight in the room. We each held a child, and it was the farthest thing from what I could have ever imagined. Ryder cocked his head to the side for a moment and from the narrowing of his eyes, I could tell he was concentrating very hard on something. He shook it off, and I felt a foreboding twinge in my gut, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the babes or something else.
“Send Sinjinn to check on him. Tell him to be careful and not to try and enter the Guild. The Mages are desperate, and it’s likely they’ve grown bolder since they think they’ve gained a foothold in our world. They iced the Tree. It shows that they’ve become stronger, but it also shows how desperate they’ve become. We can use it against them,” Ryder finished and stood as he slowly moved to Kahleena’s crib to set her down.