Page 72 of Guardian of Shadows
“Give us a few minutes.”
“You got it.” Yari disconnected, and Elle held the phone between her hands.
“You okay?” Anthony asked.
“Yes. Whew. This is...” A bright smile lit her face. “I never expected this, you know? And now I get to show you Evyndral. You do want to go, right?”
“Are you kidding? How often do beings from Earth get the opportunity to visit another realm? That’ll be a story for the grandkids.”
Elle laughed. “Grandkids? We don’t even have children. Speaking of, we never talked about having them. Is that something you want.”
“Definitely, but maybe not right away. And we probably should have had this conversation before we ever had sex. I haven’t used a condom.”
Elle turned her head and pulled her ear forward. “See that marking?”
“Yeah, it looks like a rune.”
“Oh, I know what those are. Solara taught me. It’s not a rune, but it is a sigil that keeps me from getting pregnant. I can remove it whenever we’re ready for children.”
“Now that’s convenient. I bet you could sell the shit out of those at Solaralun.”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely. Talk to the twins about it. As far as going to Evyndral, I should be finished with my current case in the next few days. I’m sure Mason would take me off the schedule long enough to go see the King. Let me call him to make sure.” Anthony gently moved Elle back to the glider, then went inside for his phone. While it was ringing, he refilled his travel mug and added caramel creamer.
“Tony? What’s up?”
“The dragons want to honor Elle for her part in the battle. After I wrap up my current case, can I have a couple of days off to go to Evyndral?”
“Damn, man. Of course. How exciting is that?”
“Right? It’s like I told Elle, it’s not everyday someone from Earth gets to travel to another realm.”
“Papa! Help!” Madison, Mason’s youngest yelled.
“Maddy, I’m on the phone.”
“Who is it?”
“Tony. If you—”
“Hi, Uncle Tony.” Madison loved him for some reason. He’d never thought he would be good with kids since he wasn’t around them that often. With his parents moving to New York, Anthony hadn’t spent a lot of time with Andy.
“Hey, Munchkin. What’s up?”
Madison sighed. “Momma’s making me go shopping with her and Gigi. I don’t wanna.”
Anthony grinned. Where Gigi was girly like Willow, Maddy was all about playing outside, getting as dirty as possible, then hosing off before going back in the house.
Mason chuckled. “Let me finish talking to Tony, then we’ll go discuss this with your momma like adults.”
Madison huffed. “Fine. Bye, Uncle Tony.”
“Later, Munchkin.”
“That girl,” Mason said wistfully. “How can two kids be so different?”
“Because they’re their own beings. It would be boring otherwise.”
