Page 39 of Twisted Gift

My eyes widen, my chest swirling with a mix of excitement and anxiety—the two are often hard to tell apart these days. “Okay.”

He flashes his usual, charming grin. “Should I book a stripper? I’m sure I could find a dancing police officer or something.”

“Yeah, consider yourselfuninvited.”

He pouts. “Oh, please. It isn’t a party without yours truly.”

“You know, I think we’d manage.”

“I’m going,” he insists.

I slide off the barstool, zip up my jacket, and meet his gaze. “I’m serious, Nik. No funny shit. Okay?”

His expression smooths as he raises his hand. “Scout’s honor.”

Nikolai behaving in a room full of people—specifically with women—would be a miracle. I’m not counting on it, not with his zest for romancing anything with boobs.Was he always like this?It’s not something I’m about to come out and ask him, but it does have me curious especially after his comment about fae being able to get humans pregnant.

Despite my better judgment, I say, “The other day, when you were talking about humans and fae... you were speaking from experience, weren’t you?”

His brows furrow as a muscle ticks along his jaw. It makes my chest feel tight, makes me want to reach for him and apologize for bringing it up, but before I can move, he clears his throat.

“I had a son,” he whispers.

My heart lurches. “What?”

His brows tug closer. “It was a long time ago.” He scratches the back of his neck, glancing away from me for several beats before he continues. “Her name was Layla. She was so captivating, so genuine. She was human, and she knew I wasn’t. I fell in love with her the moment we met. I knew I wanted to be with her forever, however long that would be for us. Forever came too fast.”

My mind is reeling. “What happened?”

“She died,” he says, “giving birth to our son.”

Hot tears burn my eyes. “Nik...” I can’t form adequate words to express how horrible I feel. I shouldn’t have brought it up.

“He survived one week in the hospital, but he just couldn’t live without his mother. Sometimes, I wonder howImanaged to live after she died.” He swallows hard, clenching his jaw as if he’s trying not to cry.

“What happened?” I whisper.

He scratches the back of his neck, looking down. “The doctors wanted us to stay in the hospital to make sure we were stable after losing Layla. One morning, I’d left the room to get a coffee, and his heart stopped. There was no warning. Nothing that gave me time to prepare for losing my son days after I’d lost my best friend.”

I reach for him, taking his hands in mine and squeezing them. “I’m so sorry, Nik. I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad. Like I said, it was a long time ago.” Nikolai rubs his hands down his face and clears his throat again. “I’m sorry, Aurora, I—”

“No,” I cut him off, gripping his hands tighter. “There’s nothing—you don’t need to apologize.” I tug on his hands until he looks at me. “Okay?”

He nods, forcing a bit of a smile, making my stomach plummet. I’ve never seen Nikolai like this—sad, vulnerable. It makes me want to hug him, so I do. He stiffens when I let go of his hands and wrap my arms around his waist, but he hugs me back, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“Thank you,” he mumbles.

I sniffle, willing the tears to recede. “Of course.”

Nikolai pulls back, and this time the smile he tosses me is real. “C’mon, gorgeous. Let’s go stop a war.”

10

There’s a half hour until angry and scared light and dark fae fill the pub. That means I have a half hour to get my shit together, put on a brave, authoritative face, and convince people who hate each other to stop killing one another.No sweat.

After clearing a space in the center of the room and filling it with as many chairs as we have, Nikolai and I sit at the bar, waiting for everyone to arrive. With each tick of the clock on the wall behind us, I struggle to get my breathing under control. Nikolai looks relaxed, as usual, but my blood pressure must be skyrocketing. This is a big deal. This meeting is going to change fae history forever.It’s fine. I’m fine. No matter how many times I chant it in my head, my hands won’t stop shaking. Tonighthasto go well, but it has the potential to go very wrong. How could the light fae—the people I’m now responsible for—ever stop being the enemy of my friends? Of the person I love? I want time to figure out my future with Tristan—I don’t want this war to make the decision for me.

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