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A slow, dangerous smile spreads across my face. Perhaps it's petty, perhaps it's beneath me, but the thought of hunting down the demon who thought to own Trinity—who I know has touched her and used her in ways that make me spiral with rage—sends a surge of vicious satisfaction through me.
"Tell Commissioner Drez I accept." I hand the courier a generous tip. "I'll be in touch regarding the capture."
After closing the door, I stand in my entryway, the bounty documentation still in my hand. The timing couldn't be more perfect—or more inconvenient. With newborn twins and Trinity still recovering, I should be refusing any contracts.
But for this one? For the chance to capture the captain who thought he could claim what's mine?
Worth it.
20
TRINITY
Iwake with a start, disoriented in the dim light filtering through the heavy curtains. For one terrifying moment, I'm back in the dungeons—but then Kaelin's unmistakable cry reaches me, followed by Liora's softer whimpers. My daughters. Not the dungeons. Vael's house.
Our house? No. Not mine. Never mine.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, my body protesting every movement. It's been three weeks since the twins were born, and while the physical pain has subsided to a dull ache, exhaustion still clings to me like a second skin.
"I've got them," Vael's deep voice calls from the nursery. "Go back to sleep."
It's still strange, hearing that dangerous voice softened for the babies—for me. I push myself up anyway, drawn to them like a moth to flame.
"I'm already awake," I say, padding across the polished floor to the adjoining room.
The nursery glows with soft amber light from the enchanted lanterns. Vael stands between the cribs, his massive frame somehow gentle as he lifts Kaelin. The contrast of his ash-grayskin against her paler tone makes my heart twist in ways I don't understand.
"She's hungry," he says without turning, somehow knowing I'm there. "Liora's just fussy because her sister is loud."
I move to Liora's crib, gathering her up against my shoulder. "Takes after her father that way," I murmur, breathing in her sweet scent. "Always making noise when she wants attention."
Vael's eyes glint in the low light as he turns, Kaelin nestled in one massive arm. "I don't recall you complaining about my noise-making before."
Heat rushes to my face. This new rhythm between us—this comfortable, almost domestic banter—is more dangerous than any dungeon.
"You're impossible." I settle into the padded rocking chair, adjusting my nightdress to feed Liora first.
Vael passes Kaelin to me once Liora's finished, taking our satiated daughter with practiced ease. How quickly he's adapted to this, this softness that seems so at odds with everything I first knew about him. The fearsome bounty hunter who now sings lullabies in a rumbling baritone when he thinks no one's listening.
"Jackie's coming early today," he says, gently patting Liora's back. "I need to go into town."
I look up from Kaelin's hungry face. "Another bounty?"
"Just supplies." His expression gives nothing away, but I've learned to read the tension in his shoulders.
"You're a terrible liar for someone who hunts people for a living."
One corner of his mouth lifts. "I don't lie to you."
"Not directly." I stroke Kaelin's cheek as she feeds. "But omission is its own kind of deception."
Vael sighs, the sound heavy with something unsaid. "It's nothing for you to worry about. I'll be back before dinner."
"I'm not worried." I keep my eyes on Kaelin, avoiding his piercing gaze. "The schedule works. You hunt, I watch them, Jackie helps during the day. We've found our rhythm."
The silence that follows feels charged, dangerous. When I finally look up, Vael is watching me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle.
"Is that all this is to you? A schedule?"