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"Vael," she breathes.
My name on her lips shatters whatever remains of my composure. I cross the room in three strides and drop to my knees before her, uncaring of the pain that shoots through my injured leg. My arms encircle all three of them—Trinity and our daughters—and I press my forehead against Trinity's shoulder.
"He's dead," I manage, voice thick with emotion I've never allowed myself to feel. "He'll never touch you again. Never threaten our family."
Trinity shifts, balancing the twins with one arm to free her other hand. Her fingers thread through my hair, coming away sticky with blood.
"You're hurt."
"Doesn't matter."
"It matters to me." Her voice cracks on the last word.
I lift my head to look at her, really look at her. The green eyes that first captured my attention now swim with unshed tears. Her bottom lip trembles slightly.
"I thought—" She swallows hard. "When he grabbed me, all I could think was that you weren't here, and if he killed me, the girls would be alone."
A growl rumbles deep in my chest. "I should have been here."
"No." Trinity's hand cups my cheek, forcing me to meet her gaze. "He would have ambushed you first if you'd been home. This way, you saved us."
Kaelin hiccups and reaches a small hand toward me. Without thinking, I offer my finger, and she wraps her tiny fist around it. Something powerful and primitive surges through me at the contact.
"I almost lost you," I whisper, the admission torn from somewhere deep and vulnerable I didn't know existed. "All of you."
Trinity's eyes soften. "But you didn't. We're here. We're safe."
Liora begins to fuss more insistently, her little face turning toward Trinity's chest. Hunger, most likely. The practicality of the moment—these tiny beings need feeding, need protection, need everything—centers me in a strange way.
"Let me clean up and help you with them." I start to rise, wincing as my injuries protest.
She just nods, and I stare at them, trying to really remember that my family, the people I love most,mygirls, are safe. They are here.
And I can't let any of them go.
26
TRINITY
Ican't stop trembling, hours after everything happened. The moment keeps replaying in my head—Drez'kor's hands around my throat, the twins screaming, the sheer terror that my daughters would be left motherless or worse. Then Vael bursting through the door like vengeance personified, his eyes blazing with a fury I've never witnessed before.
After bathing the girls and tending to Vael's wounds—which he stubbornly insisted were "nothing" despite the deep gash in his side—exhaustion settles into my bones. Yet sleep remains elusive, my nerves too raw, too alert.
The twins, miraculously, drift off easily after their feeding. I gently place Kaelin next to her sister in their cradle, brushing my fingers against their impossibly soft cheeks.
"Your father saved us today," I whisper, the words catching in my bruised throat.
Their father. The demon who went hunting today to protect what's his. I touch the tender skin around my neck, wincing at the pain. Drez'kor's hands had been like iron bands crushing my windpipe. If Vael hadn't returned when he did...
A soft knock draws my attention to the doorway where Vael stands, freshly bathed, his torso wrapped in bandages. Despite his injuries, he looks powerful, vigilant—a predator still on alert.
"They're asleep?" His voice is low, gravelly from the day's exertion.
I nod, careful not to disturb the peaceful twins. "Finally."
He crosses to the cradle, gazing down at our daughters with an expression that makes my chest tighten. Tenderness and ferocity mingled together—the look of a father who would tear apart worlds to keep his children safe.
"Come with me." He extends his hand, those red-gold eyes fixed on mine. "To my room."