Page 35 of A Single Thread Of Hope

Wren’s lip wobbled, and I tugged her back into my chest. Khonsu gave me the same sparkly-eyed, old-man look, like we weren’t roughly the same amount of ancient. After several thousand years, you no longer wondered who was older—you were all the same amount of old. “Zelda would be proud of you too.”

It shouldn’t matter what an elderly mortal thought of me, but Zelda Byrne had been no ordinary mortal. She was special.

I nodded back. “I hope so. I have no doubt she’ll find a way to come back and haunt me if she isn’t, though.”

As Wren laughed, the tears dried in her eyes, and we said goodbye to the old Mythic. I had to trust in his power, trust in his word, and while that didn’t come naturally, I had to have a little faith.

So, for the first time in almost a year, I let down my guard and relaxed.

Chapter 19

MILO

“Happy supposed-to-be birthday to you! Happy supposed-to-be birthday to you! Happy supposed-to-be birthday dear Bran, Emeric and Zale, happy birthday to you!”

The babies just blinked at us owlishly, their gazes moving from faces to the small cake covered in candles that they couldn’t blow out. Despite the fact that we’d had them with us for five weeks now, they’d only just reached their due date and made it to the size of average newborns.

They were healthy. They were happy. And so was I.

Wren blew out the candles, and we all cheered. I lifted Emeric up against my chest, gently stroking his back, which was still smaller than my hand. They were tiny replicas of their mother, though she didn’t see it. I could, though—it was there in the small tilt of their noses, the little rosebud lips. Three little pieces of my Wren.

I loved her even more now. She held Zale in her arms, while Néit was casually holding Bran like he’d done it a million times, like they weren’t tiny and breakable. I had no idea how he did that. I always expected them to break. I felt like that old adage of a bull in a china shop—too big, too clumsy.

I watched my family as they ate cake and laughed with each other, the love flowing more freely than the alcohol I used to drown myself in to feel nothing. Now I felt so much that my chest threatened to burst.

Tryp picked up some gift bags, shooing away the animals from beneath the table. I huffed a laugh as he found Von, the battle kitten, curled up in one of the bags. I didn’t know how this messy chaos had become our lives, but I wanted to thank whoever put us on this path.

Tryp rolled his eyes, lifting the kitten onto his shoulders as he passed the bag over to Wren. “We got them a gift. It wasn’t Von, though she is definitely a gift,” he cooed at the small cat. She was definitely enamored with the Genii, and if she wasn’t curled up near the babies, she was usually with either Erus or Tryp.

Wren shook her head. “They can barely lift their heads; they don’t really need gifts,” she chastised gently, but her eyes were dancing.

She pulled out an absolute abundance of the pacifiers that they adored, which they also lost at an alarming rate. I wondered if some of the dogs hadn’t been stealing them away. Underneath those were a couple of board books, because Teron insisted reading was important, even at this young age. Lastly, there were three tiny stuffed axes.

Wren looked at Néit, raising an eyebrow. He just grinned back. “Just like Daddy’s, hmm?” she teased. “Thank you, guys. We love them. But you all are the best gifts they could have. This life filled with love and happiness is all we need.”

I leaned over and nuzzled her hair, breathing her in. These last five weeks had been bliss. The island was blockaded, thanks to some old Egyptian God, and even the Valkyries had taken the opportunity to relax a little. They were out by the pool now, laughing and swimming, though still on alert. I wondered if they’d ever had a day off in their eternal lives.

The village now had time to rebuild, and the residents had time to either leave, or come to terms with the insanity of having Gods in their midst. Some of the younger townspeople had suddenly become believers, and I appreciated the tiny power boost.

But more than that, I was happy to be normal. Slipping Emeric into the baby carrier on my chest, I stood. “We better get ready. Clio and Morrigan will be here soon, and the townspeople will start to gather outside the walls.”

We were celebrating. The first village-wide party we’d had in, well, nearly a century. It was a thank you from us—or maybe an apology. Demke was looking excited; years ago, we used to have a huge annual celebration in his honor, as well as one for the Goddess. They’d been some of the best days of our long lives, and although it was different now, that old thrill still buzzed around the group.

Erus stood and stretched. “I’ll go check the ward once more, make sure it’s strong so we can all relax.”

Demke stood as well, his hand reaching down to stroke Zale’s head, and then the long mahogany fall of Wren’s hair too. He looked at Cy. “We best go talk to the Valkyries and the pack about security for tonight’s event.”

It had been Cy’s suggestion that they pair up the Valkyries and some of the pack into teams. Now, most of the Valkyries had hound offsiders, and those offsiders were looking a little chunkier than the street dog waifishness they’d once had. I had a sneaking suspicion that some of them would find their way back to Asgard when this was all over.

Cy walked over to Wren, rubbing his face over the top of her head. He was touchy-feely, and you didn’t need to be one of the Fates to know that their destinies were tightly intertwined. Whatever history they had, they were keeping to themselves for now, and I was okay with that. I wasn’t like Teron and Demke,with their insatiable quest for knowledge and the need to know the hows and whys of all of life’s little mysteries. Wren knew, and she seemed happy with it, and that was good enough for me.

Emeric was now asleep against my chest, and I reached out for Bran. Néit stood and slipped him into place into the carrier. The sheer width of my chest meant I could babywear all three at once.

Wren slid Zale into the last spot, then leaned forward to kiss me softly. “Have I ever told you how sexy you look strapped with babies?”

I groaned deep in my chest. “Not today, you haven’t.”

“I’m starting to see the appeal of keeping you barefoot and laden with newborns,” she joked. “If only you could have the babies too.”

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