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“Hawk was born there, Mom.”

She looked stricken. “Oh. Oh, my dear, and now you’re here…”

“With Cosmo. I will never regret that one bit.”

And he meant it. No matter what else happened, he had a family now.

He would never be more grateful for anything than he was for them.

Chapter

Eighteen

“Ireally like him, dear.”

He was going to cherish that memory forever—the sight of his mother smiling, patting his stomach, winking at Hawk, and sayingI really like him, dear.

Cosmo waved as she headed home, but he wasn’t sad. She could come and go as she pleased.

He had to wonder about that, really. Why was it that she could come and go and the dragons couldn’t? Were there dragons that could, and he just didn’t know any? Were there fae that couldn’t come, and he just didn’t know any?

It wasn’t like they had a lot of fae friends or anything. It just wasn’t a thing. They hadn’t been welcomed in polite company, sometimes…

But still.

He pondered that, because rules were important in the fae world, and he needed to know exactly what the rules were going to be for him and Hawk…

He needed to ask someone, but his mom wasn’t the one to go to.

Cosmo really needed to ask his dad.

Not right now, though.

Right now was about him and Hawk and the knowledge that they were going to have a baby together.

Mom was gone, his brothers were in their respective houses, and he was alone with his mate.

Who, Cosmo thought, might just be losing his mind.

Hawk was pacing, talking to himself, and periodically looking out of the stained-glass window like he could make something out.

“You can’t see out of that window. Love, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy about the baby?”

It wasn’t an honest question. He knew better. He could feel Hawk’s nervous excitement. He thought maybe his lover just needed an excuse to talk to him.

“Happy?” Hawk blinked at him. “I’m overjoyed. I never thought I could have a child. I never thought Iwouldhave a child. I’ve been waiting for this moment for millennia, but now we have to decide all sorts of things. Where are we going to put the nursery? Is it going to be close enough? Should we move the bedroom? What about the stairs? There are so many stairs in this house…”

“I think we should put the nursery in the little drawing room we have here. That would be perfect for the infant stage, and then we move him downstairs—or her. I don’t know yet. So don’t read anything into that.”

Hawk blinked. “Fine, not reading anything into that, but he’s going to be amazing. Do you think that’s big enough?”

Hawk couldn’t be serious. “I could sleep in there. Yes, it’s big enough. There’s acouch.”

“Well, I just want my child to have everything.”

“He’ll have everything.” What was Hawk going on about? This was supposed to be about snuggling and dreaming andbeing together. “Everything is fine. He has us. What more does he need?”

“I don’t know, friends? A mate someday? To be able to go over to the dragonlands or to the Land of Summer? What will happen if he gets stuck here in this house?”