Page 20 of House of Kallan
“Shoot,” I said.
She began with the six orphans and the families they were looking to set them up with. The idea was to find complete families for the orphans especially. They already didn’t have a parental bond and needed the stability of a settled household. The least number of disruptions within their parental unit would be beneficial.
We went over the six candidate houses and discussed theirapplications and which children would be heading to each in detail.
But I was more anxious to get to the mother/child pairs.
“First, I think we have a great match for Neven, the six-month-old possible mythic, and his mother Asherah. House of Falke.” Her gaze met mine. “Are you familiar with them?”
I shook my head.
Giving me a single nod, Taylour continued. “There are six mythical monsters. While they’re looking for a wife to complete their family, they’re happy to put their search on hold to take the time to work with Asherah and Neven.”
“Do we have a plan for how long they’ll be staying there and whether they’ll be… uh, reintroduced into their normal, nonsupernatural society or not?” I asked.
Taylour shook her head. “Honestly, we can’t force the issue one way or the other. These are people. Keeping them hostage within our world is only barely a step up from what they’d already been through. But we’re hoping that they’ll recognize that the children really need to remain within this world. Connected to families with monsters like them.”
“I suppose it’s fortunate that the world knows we exist now,” I said.
She sighed and shook her head. “That’s not really reassuring. We’re just going to have to monitor the situation closely with each individual.”
“Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to sidetrack us. Keep going.”
Taylour nodded. “The Falkes are a strong family with a wide array of species—two aqrabuamelu—a bonded pair—an ahuizotl, wondjina, hecatonchires, and a typhon. Two of which remain home all the time—one works remotely, and the other is a very happily proclaimed kept man.”
I chuckled. Taylour grinned.
“I’ve spoken to them extensively. The next step would be to introduce mother and child to the family in a controlled environment. Here, preferably.”
“Okay, let’s do that. The second family?”
“House of Leven is a very strong, powerful family of magical monsters. Three witches, a berserk, a paladin, druid, exorcist, necromancer, diviner, and a mage. We have a couple different magical families to choose from, but this one has the widest array of magical species. All we know about little Mazikeen is that she’s got magic in her blood. Being surrounded so thoroughly by different kinds of magic should help draw it out and have it settle.”
I nodded. “That sounds beneficial. I just wonder if being surrounded by so many monsters will be too overwhelming for Honor.”
Taylour sighed. “I know. There’s a very fine line between finding the best placement for the child and not sending the mother into a constant panic. I think the best we can do is introduce them and see how Honor feels. I will say that the Levens live on an enormous property with three different houses that they occupy. Yes, this family lives between three houses. I think that will help Honor settle a little.”
“Three houses,” I mused, shaking my head.
Taylour chuckled. “Honestly, there are some days I’d like a second house. And I only have four husbands.”
“Maybe just a bigger house?” I suggested.
She grinned. “Yeah, possibly. But anyway, do you have any concerns with these placements?”
I shook my head. “No. But I think this is going to be trial and error for a while. I hate that we will no doubt have to put these women through a program that isn’t tried and true after what they’ve already suffered through.”
“I know. However, I’ve kind of rigged the system to work along the lines of the matching program. Interests. Values. Lifestyles. To some extent, I took into consideration the compatibility of the mother and the family in question, both individually and as a group. Then I used the bot to suggest to me their best options. I feel confident about the matches. But likeyou, it’s the entire process after the matching that we’re going to have to wade through until we perfect it. I’m sorry to say that it’s going to take time.”
“We just have to trust that this is going to work out,” I said and then thought back to Tyrus. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask Taylour her opinion, but for some reason, I held it back.
Maybe there was a part of me that wanted to believe that Tyrus and his family would be a good fit and I didn’t want to be told otherwise. I could only imagine the hell that would cause. I believed Tyrus when he said he wasn’t going to allow himself to be separated from Bael.
After our meeting ended, I headed back out to make my rounds. Thinking of Bael made me want to check in on them, not that I had any doubts as to how I’d find him. Tucked into Tyrus’s arms and being taken care of as if he were a tiny royal.
I was moving too quickly, not paying attention, and by the time I realized there was someone in front of me, I was on top of them. Before I could stop the collision, I ran straight into a hard body. His hands gripped my arms to keep me from falling on my face. I wasn’t sure who I was expecting, but I could feel their divine soul like a warm breeze all around my body. Sighing, I raised my eyes and my breath caught.
My soul shivered, almost visibly, as the world around me looked like it was filled with vibrations for a minute. Everything trembled and blurred. Everything except this man. I knew the moment I saw him that he was mine. Everything about him assured me of that fact.
