Page 53 of Tangled Threads Of Fate

“Do you want to know the sex?” I choked out, trying not to spoil one more thing for Wren, when really I wanted to ask Demke what he thought the baby’s gender meant for our theory about the Fates.

The Fates hadneverbeen male. They were always a trio of females. Had we been wrong about this whole thing?

“Uh, I think so. I’ve had enough surprises this pregnancy.”

Milo laughed, but his eyes were locked on her face, not on the screen at all. I looked between Demke and Néit, because they’d understand what I was trying to tell them with my next words. “You’re having a boy.”

Milo’s eyes snapped to the screen, so maybe he knew what I was trying to say too. “What?”

Wren’s face folded into a confused frown. “Why do you all look so freaked out?”

Néit squatted down beside her easily, which was quite a feat, because the guy was huge. “It’s nothing bad. Just historically, the Fates have always been girls. Women. That means either Teron is wrong reading the ultrasound, Demke is wrong about the threads of fate, or the Great Weaver has decided to mix things up.”

I raised a brow at him. “I’m not misreading the ultrasound.” I managed to keep the snippiness out of my voice… mostly. I looked around for the next baby, finding him easily. Yep, another him. “Another boy. But he looks healthy and strong.” From what Wren had told me about how far along she was, and what her OB-GYN had said, they looked like they were growing well.

I searched around for the third baby, who was a little more hidden, but I found him eventually. Still perfect in every way. Still another boy.

Three boys. What did that even mean?

Meeting Demke’s eyes, I found him as equally at a loss as I was.

Had we been completely wrong this entire time? And if we were operating under the wrong conclusion, what did the Greek Mythics want with Wren?

Chapter 27

WREN

Ihad a lot in common with a yacht that had run aground as I laid out beside the pool the following day. Regardless, I felt more carefree than I had in months. Something in me had relaxed once I could see the babies, their unique little faces, and know they were okay.

I wasn’t sure why them being boys had freaked everyone out so much, but if Demke was wrong and they weren’t the future Fates, then I was ecstatic. Hell, I’d be thrilled if they were just ordinary kids, mortal with no divine calling. Not Demigods, or Oracles, or any other mystical thing. That this had all been a giant misunderstanding. I would even take the huge blank spot about their parentage and go back to just assuming it was some random hookup in a gross club bathroom.

I was clutching at straws, but until I had confirmation, I was going to live in hope that they would have normal lives, where the most aggravating thing that would ever happen to them was people repeatedly saying, “Oh, gosh, you’re triplets!” for the rest of their lives. And where no one tried to kill them with Greek monsters.

I mean, there was one surefire way of finding out, but I wasn’t going to fuck a guy who hated me just to get a little peace of mind. Not yet, anyway.

My pale skin tended to burn pretty easily, so I rotated on the sunbed like a rotisserie chicken, trying not to cook one side too much.

“Have you been in yet?”

I looked up at Milo, who was standing so his handsome face was silhouetted by the sun. My heart thudded in my chest as I looked at him, a completely ridiculous response.

I shook my head. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to haul myself back out again.” And that I’d sink like a rock to the bottom with all this extra weight. It was an old-school pool that was essentially just a hole in the ground, equally deep all the way around, with small ladders on all four sides to climb out.

Except I had this fear that I wouldn’t be able to heft my stomach all the way back up the ladder and I’d be stuck in there forever.

Milo threw back his head and laughed, the mid-morning light making his sun-kissed hair glow like a halo. “I’ll come in with you, if you like. You look overheated.”

I hesitated, but only briefly. The water did look amazing, and I could almost viscerally imagine what it would be like to float weightlessly. It was too tempting to ignore, much like the man in front of me.

Seeing me strain to sit up in a poor imitation of a crunch, Milo took pity on me and helped me to my feet. Walking backwards, he balanced precariously on the edge before letting himself fall backwards into the deep blue water, the splash coming out like a wave. It splashed right up to my thighs, and I let out a girlish squeal that I hadn’t even known I possessed as I danced away.

Popping back up out of the water, he looked like a merman, and my breath caught in my throat. God, he was so fucking beautiful.

“The water is perfect,” he laughed, and I gave him the stink-eye for soaking me. I was in a tiny bikini that hadn’t always been tiny. My boobs were huge. Like, freaking massive. I’d only ever dreamed of tits like this, and if I could run, I’d be a little worried that they’d fly right out of this top and I’d flash the entire household.

Milo swam over to the edge of the pool, looking up at me like temptation personified. “Come in, Little Bird. I’ll catch you if you jump.”

There was no way I was jumping in the water—I’d end up drowning us both. Instead, I sat on the edge and then gently fell forwards, turning onto my back immediately.

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