Page 10

Story: Cosmo

Vampires. It was vampires.

Oh.That made him angry on their behalf.Vampires are unnatural.

They fed on the babies. They almost killed them and Myk.

He wanted to roar about that. No. Not babies. Are they dead?

The babies are alive. The vamps are dead, but this was the house they came to…

That’s horrid.He would have hunted the vamps down and killed them if no one else had. Thankfully, he didn’t have to leave Cosmo.

Cosmo nodded.Say, “It’s stunning.”

He blinked, then opened his mouth. “It’s stunning.”

Cullen beamed. “Thanks! I think we did a great job painting it.”

“Absolutely.”Thank you, sweet Rosie.

Any time.

“Now, this is the stairway to the tower.” That was Corbin.

“I know.” He squatted down, then ran his hand over the lower step. “Here are my marks where I signed when I made them.”

“Oh wow!” That was all three triplets, who immediately came to see.

He smiled. His mark was a carved Hawk, one that might pass for a dragon if one looked closely enough.

It meant a lot that they were willing to listen, to believe he was who he said he was. And he was. How this had happened was a mystery, but the why…

Cosmo.

I love your mark—it’s perfect.Cosmo touched his hand, the touch featherlight.

Thank you, love. I like it. I’ve used it since…Hawk frowned. For a very long time.He couldn’t remember how long. He’d been born on the other side of the veil. Being cast out had hurt his memory. So had all the many years of living on the human plane.

Cosmo made a soft noise of sympathy.

“You okay, bro?” Cullen asked.

“Fine. I think this is just hard on Hawk, hmm?” Cosmo stroked his arm, and his energy levels seemed to spark.

“It’s been a tiring couple of days.” Hawk just tried to smile.

“Would you like to lie down a bit?”

Only if you come with me…

Cosmo flushed dark again.I can’t yet. The brothers will want to talk about you being here.

“May I bathe?” Hawk asked aloud. “I would love that.” In fact, he would dearly love to wallow in a bath.

“Of course you can! There’s a huge tub.”

“Yes, with pink tiles.”

Like it was meant for me. Like it was built just for me.