Page 59 of Loving Nightmares
“Yes,” Damian said, his answer comforting me, “but you may be able to see for yourself. We want to show you something.”
“Yeah?” I perked up. “I thought you’d said something about that before I fell asleep, but I couldn’t remember completely.”
“We can go see it—once you eat,” Blackwell reminded me. I nearly pouted but instead decided to dig in. Until the first few bites, I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was. I finished nearlytwo plates as they talked aimlessly before I finally groaned, far too full to be comfortable.
“Okay, I literally can’t eat anymore,” I said. Blackwell and Ashur looked at my plates with scrutiny, but neither said anything, apparently happy enough. When Cy lifted me from the bench, I winced, my stomach gurgling uncomfortably.
“Did you eat too much?” Cy asked quietly, looking concerned.
“Maybe,” I murmured before shaking myself. “Let’s get some fresh air and see this little surprise.”
“Not very little,” Amun pointed out, only making me more excited.
The next five minutes—which seemed like forever, for the record—consisted of a walk in the drizzly weather as we went south towards the back of the institute’s property. A river created a natural border on one side, and on the other, hilly, rocky terrain went on for miles and miles. It was a beautiful area and wasn’t used very often.
“This is beautiful,” I said as we walked into a large clearing, a natural split in the trees revealing a grassy area that led straight to the riverbank.
“Beautiful enough to live in?” Razar asked, his voice warm.
“Live in?” I asked in surprise.
“We would have to build a house, of course,” Damian clarified.
“It’s far enough away to give us some privacy but still close enough that we won’t leave our home, not fully,” Zain said, and my smile only grew as he explained the thought they’d put into this.
“Wait, you’re serious? Like we would just build a house here? Just right in the middle of this clearing?”
“If you like it,” Blackwell rumbled, having walked further into the clearing, making me notice just how large it really was. I could imagine it, of course—easily. I mean, seriously, it was aperfect location, big enough that we would be able to make the space to fit us…and any future kids.
“I absolutely love it!” I squeaked. “Seriously, guys, I can imagine it—and it’s right by the river!”
“Which I admit is not as good as a garden…” Saint sighed dramatically. “But I can find a new place for the bodies.”
I flashed him a smile and shook my head, leaning into Amun, who’d appeared behind me. I looked at both him and Ashur, then all the others. “What about you guys? Do all of you like it? I want to make sure that if we build a home here, it’s somewhere we want to live…well, forever.”
“I love it,” Ashur said, his eyes sparkling. “I think there is enough space to be able to shift, and I can still feel connected to the earth here.”
“If you love it, then it’s what I want,” Cy agreed.
“Amun?” I asked curiously.
His eyes moved down to mine and warmed. “I’m just trying to figure out how fast we can build it.”
“We should start right away!” I spun out of Amun’s arms and walked into the clearing, spinning as I approached the center. I froze, tilting my head. “Wait…do any of us know how to build a house?”
Because I totally didn’t.
“Can’t be that hard, right?”
I honestly had no idea, but Zain’s comment spurred a massive conversation about what exactly we wanted to build, andmandid I have some ideas. I hadn’t even realized how many thoughts I had about what I wanted in a house until we were talking seriously about building one. Of course, it helped that there were other thoughts and considerations in my head, especially now that we were finally done with War.
While I didn’t know for sure, and wouldn’t for a little bit…I had a feeling this home would hold more than just the nine of us very soon.
23
BLACKWELL
3 weeks later…
