Page 46 of Loving Amari

Tofi suddenly appears with Noki by her side, approaching Amari. Their legs click softly against the floor.

“What are you two doing here?” Amari asks them, crouching down.

Tofi sends him images of protecting Daddy, fierce and clear, and they skitter away to take up positions near the doorway.

“Look at them bonding.”

He stands, smiling. “One problem down. Now one more to go.”

My hands shimmer with pink magic, the familiar tingle spreading through my fingers. I open the portal to limbo, the familiar void appearing before me like a tear in reality. The darkness beyond is absolute, swallowing light.

“Hurry back to me.” His voice is rough with emotion.

I look back at him. “I’ll try to make it quick.”

I step through into the void of limbo, looking back at him when he calls out, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I close the portal, severing our connection. The emptiness of limbo presses against me immediately. Of course, Aya’s standing right in front of me the moment I turn around. Her ghostly form flickers, that damn cloak billowing around her even though there’s no wind here.

“I hope you’re all rejuvenated now that you’ve gotten your insides dug out by your man.”

I glare at her. “You’re fucking gross.”

“You’re the savior of limbo. I have a job to do and you have a job to do.” She steps closer, her form solidifying slightly. “Enough of this bickering bullshit. Your children are running on fumes. It’s time to put this to rest. Call them off. Send them back to the living.”

“What?”

“Do you want to lose one?” Her voice is sharp, cutting.

I take in a sharp breath. The thought of losing any of my children makes panic spike through me. My magic pulses, pink hues forming an elegant web around me that spirals outward like gossamer threads. “Children, go home. Mommy’s got it from here.”

At my words, Aya smirks. My children suddenly appear from the darkness, hundreds of them emerging from the void, theirlegs clicking in unison as they run toward me. Some are small, no bigger than my hand. Others are massive, their bodies sleek and powerful. I open a portal to the forest of Medina Shadow and they run through it, chittering happily at the break from limbo. I smile as many of them pass. They’ve grown so much. They’ve been feeding well.

Moria and Kemnebi approach me but don’t go through the portal. They send images to me, clear and insistent. No, Mommy. Stay. Protect.

“I have Verto. I need you to do this for me. I need you to protect Amari. Do it for Mommy.”

I smile at their visible frustration, their legs tapping an agitated rhythm against the void’s floor, but they do as I ask. They scuttle through the portal reluctantly, looking back at me one last time before disappearing. I close the portal with a wave of my hand. Then I see Verto, who has to stay permanently in limbo due to his massive size.

“It’s just you and me, Verto, my big baby.”

The first tightened version. The detail about feeling the chitin and magic is much more interesting and specific than “graceful movements.” Also, you already said “massive” twice in close proximity—cutting the first sentence shorter helps with that too.

“I don’t understand why you’re so repulsed by him. He’s made of my children and your magic.”

“This isn’t what I stood for.”

I turn to her, anger flaring. “Oh really? You ordered the deaths of many supernaturals and their fated mates because you wanted their children.”

“Yeah, that. But this...” She gestures to Verto, who is completely ignoring her, his many eyes focused solely on me. “Not my idea at all.”

“Whatever.” I step away from him and walk around Aya, my feet making no sound in the void. I look around the darkness, searching for any sign of movement. “What now?”

“We wait. Nathaniel’s been waiting for this moment. To have you alone with him.”

I glare at Aya. “How do I know you’re not setting me up?”