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Nix relaxes against his side but pulls Jay’s hand out in front of him so he can see how many keys Jay can span on the keyboard now that he’s grown.

“I like Nimue and Emmy.”

“I do, too. I think Nimue has helped Grayson already.”

“Me too. He’s not pulling so often. The bond feels more like it did in the beginning now. I hadn’t even noticed it had changed until he put a knot in it.”

“That’s what he said,” Jay deadpans.

“Ha. Funny. I think she’s prettywise.”

Ah. Jay can tell this is going somewhere, and while he’s not shutting it down yet, he knows already that it’s going to be something he’s not going to want to hear.

“Yeah?” he asks, unwilling to make it easy.

“Yeah. Like what she said about Finn? A Scholar. I mean, he could have been a healer instead, right? He’s obviously caring and knows medical stuff…he’s a Doctor now. But…I think it’s just that he’s always using his knowledge for good. Always learning more, so he can care more.”

It’s true. The core of who Finn has always been lies in acquiring knowledge so that he can care for them in ways that matter: learning about Omegan healthcare, learning about the legal ramifications of Nix’s court case, or figuring out how the backyard grill works so no one loses an eyebrow (Rowan).

So whether a doctor or a lawyer, or a code-breaker during some war, Finn loves through knowledge.

Of course, Finn is more than the things he knows; Jay understands that. His intelligent mate is so, so much more.

“That’s a cool observation, for sure.”

“And Gideon as a King.”

“I thought he was the Architect of Pleasure,” Jay jokes, attempting to divert this runaway train from the path leading straight to Jay’s door.

“That is for fucking sure. But also, kings are about leading. I mean, you are our pack leader, but…”

“But he keeps us all moving.”

Where Jay is arguably more about equality, Gideon runs a tight ship. Jay has said it more than once. How they managed before Gideon deigned to mate them is something Jay doesn’t want to think too much about—ever.

“We are lucky he does. He’s more of a My Way or Over My Knee Way, and you’re more: Don’t Push My Buttons or Daddy will be mad.” Nix waggles his eyebrows.

“Sounds the same to me…”

Nix scoffs. “It is so, so,so not the same at all.”

“I guess not.”

“You’re our Guardian. You show us time and time again,” Nix says, turning a bit on the bench so he can capture Jay’s gaze—it’s surprisingly difficult to look away.

“Nix.”

Nix frowns. “I’m serious. I know you think you’re to blame for thelost years.”

“Lost years?” Jay knows what he means; it’s just that it’s a new label—and not a welcome one.

“Yeah. Nimue says there are some missing spots in her Temporal Overlay of me. Not so weird when you know what Hayes did to us.”

The amulet.

“It was magic,” Jay murmurs.

“Terrible soul magic.”