Page 56 of Absolved In Death

My cheeks burned just thinking about it. Sometimes I still couldn’t believe that I went from being a regular bartender in a jazz club with no romance in my life to Hellish royalty with five men who made me feel like this. Who actually supported me andbelieved in me. Who knew I was a badass independent woman, but still treated me like anything but in the bedroom.

Life was crazy,I thought as I went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of cold water from the fridge.

I took my glass to the living room and sat down on a couch, wincing at the contact to my ass. Several minutes of silence passed as I sipped on my water and thought about all the changes in my life over the past months.

“Are you okay?” Zaz asked as he faded next to me.

“Yeah, are you?” I took a sip of water, then handed him the glass.

“No. I woke up and you weren’t there, so I used our soulbond to find you…” he answered before drinking the rest and setting the empty glass on the table.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I got thirsty and ended up lost in thought.” I climbed into his lap, resting my head on his chest.

“Remember when I ended up at your cabin?” I asked him.

“Yeah. It was snowing, and you showed up butt naked, your feet almost frostbitten. You seemed so calm despite it all.”

“I thought it was a dream. That you were this hot dream guy who made delicious venison chili. Sometimes I still think I’m dreaming…”

He squeezed me, resting his head on top of mine. “That’s understandable. Your life has turned upside down. All the change is beyond stressful.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to give this up. I love you all so much…” Tears welled in my eyes, because if that vision came to pass, I may not have a choice. “I’m so scared that Red will kill me. Or you guys. That we won’t have a future.”

“Visions of the future are not set in stone,” he reminded me.

“This one feels like it is,” I breathed through my tears, refusing to cry.

“What if I told you I’ve seen our future and all the beauty in it?”

I sit up on his lap, turning to face him. “You have?”

“Multiple versions, because none of it is guaranteed. I’ve seen us fight this battle dozens of ways—our victory and defeat—but I see us winning more than I see us losing. I’ve seen our mountain house, and the fun we have together. I’ve even seen our children, Diana.” As he said the last words, his voice cracked. “I saw you as a mother, and that gives me hope for our survival.”

He’s seen our children, as in more than one? I knew I wanted kids, but they seemed like such a far off goal with all the conflict we faced.

“What are they like?” I asked.

He hesitated for a moment, then offered me his hand. I took it, waiting for something to happen.

“Use your magic to see what I see. Tap into our bond,” he instructed.

I reached for the bond that linked us. At one point, it had been frayed, but now they were strong. Because we worked to rebuild them thread by thread. My mind and soul were open, and I called to his visions.

Show me our children,I thought with intention. Snippets of visions of a little girl with curly chestnut brown hair and ocean blue eyes filtered through my mind.

In the first vision, my baby girl cuddled with Desmond as he read a bedtime story about a unicorn on an epic adventure. In the second, she was a toddler. Mal chased after her as she ran through a kitchen with a spatula. A slightly older version of her casted a spell to move a plate of cookies across a table, and Zaz was there to cheer her on. She, Ares, and a younger little boy with red hair practiced fighting in a sparring ring outdoors. Bash, Ares, and I laid on a blanket outdoors at nightwith two teens and another younger girl, showing them the constellations.

The last version was one I saw before—of the familiar looking woman, Zaz, and I eating a picnic in the forest. That woman was a grown up version of the first little girl.

I let go of his hand, breaking the visions. Zaz held me as I sat on his lap in stunned silence. We made a family together after the war… There were three children in that dream. I madethreepeople, at least. That’s three more people who depended on me to win this war, and end Red once and for all.

“They’re…” I trailed off.

“A handful,” Zaz finished for me. “I’ve had many visions of the first child, although I don’t know her name. She has the same crazy laugh as you, and she loves pushing the envelope. I’ve seen the little boy, but he’s a lot more reserved. He’s a momma’s boy, your little shadow following you everywhere.”

My heart swelled at the idea of having a little mini-me shadow. “How come you’ve never told me about them?”

“I had some unease about us when we first got together. Our soulbond wasn’t romantic, it was for protection. I didn’t watch you constantly like a creep, but I did drop in on you from time to time, especially for all your theater and musical productions.” I laughed, and he rolled his eyes. “It took some getting used to. I started getting all of these visions when we started dating, and it seemed crazy to tell you ‘Hey, I know we just met in these crazy circumstances, and there’s a war brewing, but I’m going to have a baby with you at some point.’...”

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