He nodded.
“Now, gentlemen, I have a question for you.”She looked at each of them and said, “Which of you had the bright idea to fuck my sister to exhaustion and then leave her there?”
Solor cleared his throat.“It wasn’t premeditated.The ritual finished, your sister left, and the wave of fertility magic washed over us.We followed her back to her hotel, and she invited us up, and when she was down for the count, we left.”
Kaitha snorted.“Charming.I always used to tell her that she would find someone to hold her through the night, and the one chance she gets, you bail.Typical.”
Demuel frowned.“What do you mean?”
“Curse of the demonborn as she calls it.There is something unsettling about her, and it makes it hard for people to enjoy prolonged contact.”
Solor frowned.“So, she didn’t have a steady lover?”
“No.That’s a dark fae thing.She was willing to find someone, but when she got the job as a paramedic, she wasn’t going to fuck coworkers or XIA or anyone that would interfere with her.The ritual must have packed a helluva punch, or she would have attempted to put you guys down for the count.”
Solor nodded.“It did, or we would never have followed her to her hotel.”
Demuel smiled.“She had a scent trail a mile wide.”
“Ah.So, you knew she was receptive.”
Solor snorted, and his foot tapped.“Yes.”
“She changed after the last wave.She got something—I don’t know what—and after that, she got pregnant.She was mortified when she told me.I invited her to move in permanently, but she said that a little support would be nice for now.”Kaitha rubbed the back of her neck.“I want her to stay, I want her to feel that she has a place, but I know that she isn’t made that way.She has to earn her way in the world.”She chuckled.“But people like her.Leo Wicks is going to throw her a baby shower.She doesn’t need to earn her way; she already has, but she can’t see the finish line.When the baby is born, she is going to try and earn its love, and that is going to break my heart.”
Solor cocked his head.“What do you mean?”
Demuel frowned.“I think I know.She has never had a place or stability, and she has, in fact, caused instability in where she lived and what she did for a living.She lives with constant uncertainty, and she can’t imagine a world where life isn’t a struggle.What about her sister?”
Kaitha groaned.“Oh, that.Well, her grandfather wanted to eat one of the babies, and Isocar is made of two magics.Their mother helped Nylora age up until she could carry the baby, and then she sent them through a portal to this world, in the middle of winter, with no proper clothing.Freezing, Nylora went to a mage’s house on Anchor Lane and gave her the baby and then walked off.Her mission was finished.An agent was called for her, drove her to the city, and got social workers involved.She was placed with my parents a few days later.I came along when she was fifteen or so.”
She sighed.“When I got engaged a few months ago, she started mentioning getting her own place so that my fiancée and I wouldn’t be uncomfortable.”
Solor asked softly, “Does she have the resources for that?”
“No idea.She and I never discuss finances.It reminds both of us that she wasn’t in the will.I still don’t know how that happened.”
Solor asked, “Do you think it’s a girl or a boy?”
“It’s a Bump.That’s all I need to know.It makes her happy when I call it that, and the soft smile on her face as she pats it makes me want to cry.”
Demuel said, “What if we ask her to move to Solor’s place?”
“Be extremely specific.”
He frowned.“Why?”
“If you ask her to move out of my place, she might end up anywhere in the city.If you ask her to move in with you, she might camp out in the living space.Be specific.I cannot stress that enough.Also, be prepared to see me daily.She’s high risk because she’s dark fae, and I hope she would have enough sense to call if she starts bleeding, but if she’s saving a life, I don’t know if she would pay attention to her body.”
Demuel muttered, “Kevlar corset for one.She and Bump need protection.”
“She was going to have to switch up the style anyway.Her breasts are growing, and she needs a bit more support.I am going to make that call today.”
“I will get some stab-resistant fabric, just let me know where to send it,” Solor said softly.“She has to feel the time is right for her to leave active duty, but there are things in the works to make her job a little safer.”
Kaitha paused, “What did you do?”
Demuel chuckled.“The thing he is third best at.He filed a lot of paperwork and threatened to bring the press in on the ways that first responders are treated and what they risk on a daily basis.”
