Page 127 of He Who Sleeps

"You could have done," he said with a smile. "It's not like I haven't heard it already. The matron isn't here yet?"

"Apparently she's with Kildare," Finn told him, clapping him on the back. "It's good to see you, brother."

"Likewise." Carter settled into a chair. "You look like shit. Aren't they letting you get any sleep around here?"

"You two could give anyone a complex," Finn sighed, shaking his head. "Maybe if little miss secretive here would just tell us what she knows, I might actually get a chance to have some sleep today."

“Napping with me,” she said proudly. “We haven’t really done that, have we?” she said to Finn. “But I suppose I could tell you,” she grinned. “Not only am I Order...I’m super special,” she teased.

“Spill it, sexy,” Emerson said. “Don’t be stingy or someone is going to spank you.”

“Really not a deterrent,” she said. “So, I, along with the rest of the girls in my house, are direct descendants to Estra, Gaia’s sister, which you know from the temple. But what you don’t know, and get this, Estra’s line was never intermingled with other Order families. The women were their own thing, because they only gave birth to women.”

“And now?” Emerson asked. “If we were to knock you up...just girls?”

She shook her head. “Matron Elise told me that our line was meant to be pure, like a failsafe. If we have kids, they will be the reemergence.” She giggled. “So if you guys knock me up, I can and will have boys, each the head of their own line of seven of the original thirteen.”

"And what about the others?" Easton asked while everyone else was still mulling over the issue of kids. "Order brothers have been single for as long as I've been part of The Order. Are they open to the idea of wives and devotions?"

“Yes, actually. Elise came to my house after my matron, Verna, passed. But she’s from Idaho, and that house has long been hoping for a return.” She looked to them. “Also, Idaho is where the mothers went. And the sisters.” She looked to Finn. “Your sister is there.”

"I was going to visit anyway when we get back, but that's a nice bonus reason," he said with a grin. "Thanks for asking about her."

“Some of the mothers are there, too. Some didn’t make it, but...” She looked to Leo. “Your mom is still there.”

"What?" Leo had gone pale. "I thought they sacrificed them? They told me she was dead."

Crossing the room, she took his hands in hers. “I asked Elise about that. She said your father, and the other fathers... they sent them to Idaho, and that they perpetuated the lie that they were dead to protect them, and you. She’s alive, and a matron in Idaho. Elise said she’s always been sad she lost you but...now you can reconnect? Talk about your dad?” she said hopefully.

"Are any of the others there?" Easton asked curiously. "I know mine's dead, but it would be nice for the rest of you guys to have some family."

“Not that I know of personally. Elise mentioned some of them passed due to complications but we can find out. Only reason we knew about Leo was I mentioned his name and she said his mother had photos of ‘her Leo’ in her rooms.”

“Well we should check it out when we go there,” Jack said. “What else?”

At that Petra grinned. “My friends are of the same bloodline as me, so...”

“So they could be devotions?”

She looked over to Bradley, who had been sitting on the floor, among two stacks of books. “Hi,” she said.

“Bradley,” he said. “Are you saying your friends could be devotions, too?” She nodded. “Excuse me,” he said ad walked out.

Jack laughed. “He’s going to go tell Damon.”

"So does that mean you're half-sisters? Cousins? Different branches?" Finn asked. "One of the things I've been curious about and Kildare couldn't answer is how we avoid inbreeding."

“Different branches of Gaia’s line, through Estra,” a woman said as she walked in. “Petra and the girls from the Ohio compound are all direct blood descendants to Estra. Estra, nor her line, ever mated with any from The Order, let alone any of the thirteen.” She looked to them. “All of their blood, her blood, is pure and the children from these women will be completely new lines into The Order.”

“Matron,” Emerson said. “It’s an honor.”

“It’s an honor to meet you all, paving the way for a better future. We are all in your debt, sons of the thirteen.”

"Just trying to do what's right." Was Finn blushing? "We're very glad you're here to help us. How are the women holding up? Understandably, they've been reluctant to speak to us much."

“They are...traumatized to say the least. We talked, they would like to leave here, as I’m sure you can understand this is a place of pain for them. I would like to suggest we bring them back to Ohio, to where Petra was raised. There is room, and it is a safe place, for healing.”

"Not to Idaho?" Carter was surprised by that but Finn nodded.

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