Page 10 of A Fate of Blood and Magic (Fated #2)

When Javier threw his and Delaney’s trash away, I expected them to meet up with the rest of the group.

Instead, Javier hoisted his bookbag onto his back and sat in front of us with Delaney taking the empty chair beside him.

Javier unzipped his bag and pulled out the skateboard he and his friends had built.

Carefully, he handed it to me, and I examined it, turning it upside down to spin the wheels. While it wasn’t a full-size skateboard, it wasn’t all that small either. I wasn’t sure how he fit it inside his bag.

“Y’all made this?” I asked, my surprise bleeding through my voice.

The board was sturdy but lightweight, crafted from smooth, natural wood with a pattern so striking I couldn’t decide if it was designed or simply the wood showing itself off.

Grip tape framed the deck. I ran my fingers along the edge, wondering if they’d keep the natural finish or use the design Aidas had told me about.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It took us a couple of weeks and some failed attempts, but—” He shrugged.

“This is amazing, Javi,” I said, testing the nickname again.

He didn’t flinch or correct me, but gave a short, shy smile.

I turned the board over again, running my hand over the rough surface of the deck.

“Have you tried it out yet?”

He chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Kieren wasn’t very good at it,” Delaney added with a smirk.

“He’ll get better,” I said. “If he wants to and keeps at it.”

“Can you ride a skateboard?” Delaney asked me.

“It’s been a few years, but I used to know how.”

“She’s being modest,” Ryenne said. “Teddy was a beast, shredding up the streets of our small town.”

I laughed. “You’re saying a lot of words, but I don’t think you’re using them correctly.”

Javier covered his smile. “You aren’t.”

“Whatever.” She waved him away. “I’m old. I’m allowed.”

Delaney let out a soft laugh. “What’s old in human terms?”

“Oh no, little Miss Eighty- or Ninety-Year-Old , we’re not going there.”

Delaney’s laugh grew louder. “Is eighty old in human years?”

“Eighty is knocking on death’s door,” Ryenne told her.

“So you’re younger than eighty? ”

“What?” Ryenne turned to me, her expression that of mock offense. “She’s not serious right now, is she?”

Delaney bowed her head to hide her growing smile, her jet-black, almost blue hair falling to fan over her face. Javier tucked a curl behind her ear.

“Don’t listen to Ry,” he told her. “She’s clinically insane.”

Ryenne threw a wadded napkin at Javier, but it came up short and fell on the table.

Aidas and Kieren strolled up from behind Javier and Delaney. Without missing a beat, Kieren smacked the back of Javier’s head. Javier flipped him off without looking back.

“Mama Teddy, would you like to see our design?” Aidas asked.

Mama Teddy. If that wasn’t the sweetest nickname, I wasn’t sure what was.

It was a good kind of strange the way Aidas had taken to me so quickly, from worrying over Ryenne’s concern over me to now calling me Mama Teddy. It made me wonder more about him. He reminded me a little of Brenton with his easygoing manner that contrasted against his gentle nature.

I scooted closer to Ryenne, pushing her farther down the booth, then patted the empty seat beside me.

“Come, show me,” I said.

Aidas went through his inner pocket of magic where all fae seemed to store their stuff. I needed to learn that little trick so I could also have a magical pocket. It’d come in handy when I carted the kids’ stuff around, especially after the twins were born.

Damn. Twins. I was having twins.

He pulled out a sketch pad and slid in the booth with me. He flipped through a few pages, then handed it over.

I froze .

A beautiful green dragon with yellow and black scales soared across the page, wings stretched out mid-flight. I traced the sweeping curve of her yellow horns, swallowing past the knot that formed in my suddenly dry throat.

A gasp escaped me as I rubbed the side of my neck. “It’s Nalari. She looks beautiful.” Majestic, I almost said. “This is . . . this is incredible. Stunning. You’re quite the talented young man,” I told Aidas.

“Nah,” he said, lifting his chin toward Kieren. “He’s the artist, not me.”

I peered up at the quiet male. Kieren hadn’t spoken a word but his posture was open and confident. I gave him a watery smile.

“You’re incredibly talented, Kieren,” I said, tracing the outline of the dragon I missed every day.

“He said you can keep it,” Javier said. “If you want.”

I glanced back at Kieren, moved beyond words. “If you don’t mind, I’d love to frame it and hang it in our home.”

He placed an open hand over his chest and bowed his head.

I smiled.

“I’m sure you’re wondering,” Aidas said after a beat, “but Kieren doesn’t talk. Not conventionally anyway.”

“Do you mind-speak?” I asked him, remembering the way my own mind-speak magic had reacted to him earlier.

A warm tingle brushed against the edge of my mind, gentle and curious, as if asking for permission. I opened myself up to who I assumed was Kieren.

“You can mind-speak too?” Kieren’s deep voice asked with a surprised lilt to it.

“It’s something new I somehow acquired,” I answered. “I’m still learning and don’t do it that often because it tires me. I haven’t told my best friend about it yet. She’d probably want to talk to me at all hours of the day and night.”

His chest shook with laughter, his shoulders trembling with quiet amusement, but the only sound I heard came from inside my mind.

“It’ll take time and training before it stops tiring you,” he said. “I can feel how much energy you’re burning just to talk to me. You don’t have to push so hard.”

“If I don’t use this much energy, Elias can barely hear me.”

He nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. “I can show you if you’d like.

Not now, but if you’re okay with me coming over after school a few times, it wouldn’t take long to teach you.

And eventually, you’ll be able to leave an open connection with those you want so they can contact you through your magic anytime. ”

That would be convenient.

Mind-speak, just like other magic, was incredible and strange.

While I was still learning how to use my mind-speak magic, once I was able to open a connection with someone, including Ryenne or Javier, who didn’t possess magic, we’d be able to communicate through our minds.

It was a little bit insane and a whole lot of awesome.

And with Kieren’s help, I’d hopefully master it soon enough that I could leave that connection open to the kids in case they ever needed to reach me.

It was kind of like cell phones without the spotty service or monthly dues.

“I’d love for you to come over,” I said. “It doesn’t have to be to teach me. You and your friends are always welcome.”

He smiled, and when he reached for his drawing pad, he gently tore his design of Nalari out. I traced her face again when he handed it to me.

“Thank you, Kieren.” I sniffled, quickly wiping my eyes. “Seriously. I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Maybe we should change the design on our skateboard,” Aidas said with a mischievous grin. “I wouldn’t want Mama Teddy getting weepy every time she sees it.”

“Oh, you’re a little shit, aren’t you?” I gave him my best mom glare, the one that should silence a room.

He just grinned wider. “What is it with humans and talking about bowel movements?”

“Is he always like this?” I asked, quietly snickering because Elias and Brenton had asked that very question many, many times.

Delaney nodded while Kieren spoke the word always in my mind.

“I think you’re going to be my favorite, Aidas,” Ryenne said.

“Can we do presents yet?” Nate called from the back of the restaurant. “Javi’s gonna love what we got him.”

Javier huffed out a nervous laugh. “Y’all didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Of course we did,” Ryenne said. “Then you can tell us whose present is your favorite. Spoiler, it can’t be Elias’s and Teddy’s present, or Brenton’s because you’re not getting them today.” She grinned, the picture of chaotic pride.

I scoffed.

When Ryenne handed Javier his first gift, he hesitated, simply staring at it.

That same sorrow washed over him before Jasmine tried to rip through the wrapping paper.

He pushed her away, making her laugh as he dug through the paper to reveal his present.

One by one, he opened each present, his shoulders loosening with each laugh and tease.

By the time he reached the last one, a wide grin lit up his face.

At that moment, he didn’t look like the careful, quiet teen but youthful and hopeful. My heart soared, knowing I’d played a small role in bringing him joy on such a hard day.

Ache lingered too, though.

Because Elias should’ve been here to celebrate with us. To be part of the family we’d built together, one cracked piece at a time.

It was dark outside by the time we left the restaurant.

While none of us would rate the pizza above three stars, the evening had been meaningful in its own way with laughter, shared grief, and the kind of comfort that came from simply being together.

I was eager for Elias to return so he and Brenton could join us on nights like this.

If I played it right, I might be able to convince Alastor to join us too.

I wondered how the fae would react if Koa and his family came too. I knew their kids would love playing the video games, and it saddened me that they wouldn’t because of what the lirio had done under Leanora’s control. It didn’t seem fair.

Once my friends left to head to their homes, the kids and I took either Aidas’s or Kieren’s arm so they could bend space, and within seconds, we were standing in my front yard.

Jasmine hurried up the steps to let Hee-haw out, who squealed when he passed Javier’s friend.

“What is that?” Alarmed, Delaney pressed her back against the railing that framed our front porch.

“Hee-haw,” Victoria answered.

At the same time, Jasmine said, “Our pet donkey.”