Page 17 of Broken Rejected Mate

“Plus,” Kira goes on, “I had so many meals stocked up from before I had the boys, and this one needed to come out of the deep freeze.”

“The boys?” I ask, eyes widening. “You-you and Dorian?”

Kira’s eyes go soft. “Yes, I know it’s weird. Believe me, he’s making up for being such a tool in high school. So far, he’s even given me two beautiful babies as reparations.”

She laughs, and a moment later, I’m watching as she scrolls through photos on her phone, showing me the twins as tiny little, wrinkled things. I watch as they fill out, lift their heads, give their first gummy smiles.

“Are they around six months?” I ask, eyes darting to Kira, who’s still smiling at her phone.

“Yes!” she says, beaming. “Lots of people think they’re younger than that, but they’re just small for their age. What about yours?”

“Eight,” I say, hoping it’s quiet enough that Sarina doesn’t hear. Luckily, she doesn’t—too absorbed in the food in front of her, the abandoned magazine she’s flipping through, eyes drinking in the photos and articles.

That girl will read anything.

Lowering her voice, Kira says, “Dorian is working on sending that message now. But I wanted to ask—is there anything else you girls need? If I get Sarina’s measurements, I could make a few dresses for her. We also have a thrift store—”

I’m already shaking my head. “No, Kira, that’s so kind, but it’s too much.”

“Please,” she says, taking my hand in hers, and I’m so shocked at the contact that I forget to pull away. Her eyes meet mine. “I’ve done nothing but nurse, burp, change and sleep for the past six months. I would love a project.”

I bite my tongue, but call Sarina over. She asks Kira a million questions as she takes her measurements, and Kira asks for her favorite colors.

Then, just before she goes, Kira stops, eyes lingering on me for a long moment. Even without magic, I can tell she wants to ask about Emin and I, and I will her not to.

“Veva,” she finally says. “Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?”

“Actually,” I laugh, glancing at my daughter. “Would you mind helping us get our hands on a library card?”

Kira’s eyes light up. “I’d love to. Let’s plan to go first thing tomorrow, okay?”

“Library card?” Sarina is listening now, her eyes wide and bright on me. For the first time, I feel a pang of regret about the way I’ve chosen to raise her.

The camp has taught her community, resilience, but there are a lot of things about this type of life that would be good for her, too. With her love of reading, the library will be like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Sure,” Kira smiles, her hand on the door. “You can even get your own, Sarina.”

After Kira leaves, that idea hovers in the air. Sarina having her own card—having endless access to books like that.

I get the deep, bone-sure feeling that Sarina and I are setting off in a different direction now, that her mind is always going to be a bit different after this experience.

But I don’t have the energy to work it out, don’t have the willpower to think it through. The only thing I can do, after the door shuts behind Kira, closing out the sunshine and plunging our motel room back into darkness, is sleep.

Except not even a minute later, Kira is knocking again.

“One second,” I say, peeling myself up off the bed.

She must have forgotten to take her dish with her. I grab it from the table, walk past Sarina, and open the door.

Chapter 10 - Emin

“We should do this more often,” Aidan says, his body folded in half as he ties his shoes. I stare at him, wondering how in the world he has the energy for this—I’m older than him by at least five years, but he shouldn’t have such a jump on me when it comes to recuperating after a training session.

“I think I’m getting old,” I laugh, and Aidan blinks.

“You’re like, barely thirty, right?” he shakes his head, then waves his hand at me. “Maybe you just need to train more.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

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