Page 170 of The Dragon's Gambit

“Wouldn’t it be great if this child ended up being Reiya’s child’s guardian?” Chelsie asked with excited eyes.

“You want to tell us something, Reiya?” Xander smirked and looked over at her.

Reiya leaned into Lee’s arms and giggled. “No baby in here.”

“Yet,” Lee answered immediately, and their eyes met.

“Right, not yet,” Reiya answered him softly.

Everyone in the room stared at the screen and quietly listened to the unborn infant’s heartbeat. The sound of the next generation echoed gently in the room.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of water trickling into a little pool was heard as a candle flickered in the darkness. Approaching footsteps echoed in the cavernous room.

Glossy, dark, beaded eyes glanced up as a familiar figure walked in. “So, you did know about this possibility after all, and you interfered.” Kali scowled as she glared at Selene.

“Hmph. You knew what was going to happen. You saw it. You already knew I had talked to the Merrow Queen after you. Don’t worry, this isn’t interfering. I just gave her a suggestion, but I made her promise not to utter my name. I just mentioned that she could save her princess from a lot of heartache if she was able to succeed. The rest was her choice.” Technically, she had just given the Merrow Queen a gentle nudge, which wasn’t really interfering. “Reiya will need Brody in the future. Reiya has to make it. Xander has to make it. We need the two of them if we’re going to get Endymion back.”

“Say what you want. You just didn’t want to see your precious little child hurting.” Kali rolled her eyes and looked back at her pot. “It is almost time. The demons are on the move. Leoric is leading the demons to war. Soon ... soon we will have Endymion back. In order to prevent the black hole from raging again, this war must come to an end.” Kali dipped her finger into the liquid and stirred it around gently. “The young alpha is on the move. The wind favors him heavily.” Kali smirked and looked at Selene. “Now, talk about balance, with him being united with her. A werewolf paired with a demon … now isn’t that interesting.”

“We are on the right path there with restoring balance.” Selene smiled warmly and breathed in deeply through her nose. All this time, they’d been working in the background, trying to correct the balance. They were almost there. Once balance was restored, they could then work on bringing Endymion back.

She squeezed her hand into a fist. So close. The time was so close. They had to succeed. She couldn’t continue living without him anymore.

“Thanks for coming, mom. We’re going to visit Hunter and Chasen next. I can’t wait to see them and everyone.” Reiya hugged her mother close.

“I know they will all be excited to see you.” Lita patted her daughter’s back. “Reiya, I am so proud of you. You’ve shown so much strength.”

“Thanks, mom.” Reiya pulled back enough to gaze at her mother.

“Because of you, the dragons are now our allies. You being the dragon deity’s mate was destined. You are the connection between dragons, fairies and werewolves.” Lita leaned her head into her daughter’s.

“Just like how you were the first connection between werewolves and fairies.” Reiya smiled as she stared at her mother. It was sad to see them go, but it was not like before. Now, this was her home. She had family here, too.

“I love you, baby girl. We’ll be seeing you again soon,” Asher said, hugging her, and then reaching out to hug Brody. “You take care of yourself. No more almost dying.”

Brody chuckled. “It isn’t on my list of things to do.”

“Keep training. We still have a demon war coming up. Spar with the dragons since I’m not around.” Grayson slapped Brody on the back, and he nodded with a smile.

Brody walked away and back to the castle with Chelsie. They stood by the doors with Xander and Lila. “Well, I guess you’re officially my adopted brother now.” Brody laughed. His parents were insistent that, because Xander was Reiya’s soul twin, he was also family now.

“Your parents are great people.” A warm smile rested on Xander’s face as he watched them ascend on the hippogryphs. Who would have thought that the young woman he met when he was a child would be so involved in his life as an adult?

Reiya leaned into Lee’s side as she watched part of her family leave again.

“Sorry I took you away from your parents,” Lee said quietly. Now that Abaas was gone, she would be free to travel back to Elysia or live in the Black Ice Pack. But Lee had to stay with the dragons, and she was his mate.

Reiya shook her head and looked up at Lee. “This is okay. I can visit them whenever I want. I’m happy with this arrangement. This is my home. You are my home. My place is with you.”

Lee encircled his arms around her back. “Baby, I’ll give you the world if you want it,” he said, resting his forehead on hers.

“I don’t need the world, Lee.” Reiya felt his hot breath fan against her face, and she smiled up at her dragon. “I wouldn’t mind having some littles of our own, though.”

Lee’s eyes darkened and his lips curved up in a smile. “We can arrange that, my sweet fairy.”

Reiya grinned up at him. “After the demon war?”