Page 45 of The Child of Rue Royale

And then Bastian looks at me, eyes filled with tears, a sob in his throat, and asks me what our son’s name is.

WE LIE WITH AVEN BETWEENus and watch him sleep. Our hands clasped, our eyes red from tears. When I told Bastian Aven’s full name, he wrapped his arms around me, holding us both as he wept. “Luc after my brother, Aven after Aventurine,” he said, teeth clenched, clear tears falling from his eyes. I held him then. I’ll hold him as long as he needs.

At least an hour has passed, and he stares in wonder at the little being he never thought possible.

“I’m ready,” he says, so I place Aven on his bare chest, out cold, and Bastian’s body shivers. “I’m a dad.”

“How does it feel?” I whisper.

He looks down at Aven, his tiny cheek smashed against Bastian’s skin, and places his large hand gently on Aven’s back. Meeting my stare, he says, “Really fucking good.”

I text my mother two words.

It. Worked.

She sends a ton of hurried texts like:

OMG!

I NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING!

Did you ask him about what Grandma said?

Is he okay?

CALL ME

You did it! I knewyou could do it!

I’m CALLING CHANTAL

I answer everything, telling her I’m not ready to ask him about Grandma but soon. I tell her to call Chantal for the details until I can fill her in, and she does that, as I can hear Chantal’s muffled voice down the hall.

I tell Bastian that Cassius is in Santa Cruz, and I text Cassius to come over as soon as it’s dark. I’m worried my loophole for bringing Bastian back won’t work because it appears he is no longer a vampire. But I push that out of my mind and focus on my family.

I have a family.

“I’m not a vampire. I can’t feel it in my body.” Bastian says it as though he’s lost something, and I nod. “I’m hungry for food. I’m not as strong. Everything looks how it did when I drank the potion. Less vibrant. My sense of smell is mediocre. I don’t feel as strong. I’m slower.”

“Does that upset you?” I ask, hesitant to hear the answer.

“I don’t know. I think…it’s an adjustment. But I think I’m okay with it. I just feel a little lost. So confused. Areyouokay with it?” His eyebrows knit together with worry for this unchartered territory, and I take a deep breath.

This is something I hadn’t thought of or considered. “I will take you any way I can have you. I know it’ll complicate things. But if it means you can be in the daylight with me every day, then, yes. Of course, I’m okay with it.”

“It’s going to take some getting used to.” His smile is tight lipped, but then his eyes flash with appreciation. “I told you, you could do anything.” His knuckles graze my cheek, and I cover them with my hand. “You are one of the goddamn seven wonders of the world.”

“I’m just crazy enough to do anything to bring my man back.”

“Your man,” he whispers, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his chest stilling. “Come here,” he says, and I scoot closer, careful not to disturb Aven on his chest but close enough for his lips to touch mine, so softly, so sweetly—my veins fill with sugar. The kiss deepens, the desire for him pooling in my stomach, the need for him beating in my ears like a drum.

When we part, his hand stays in my hair, looking at me in awe. “You’re so beautiful.”

“You’re so beautiful,” I repeat.

“And your hair is so long.” He pulls his fingers down my tresses.

“Pregnancy does it.”