Page 36 of House of Kallan
Almost as if they were afraid she’d disappear if they didn’t see her.
“Do you really think there’s a family that would take us all together?”
“I do, but you know what? That’s not something you need to even think about for a while. The more we learn about your babies, the easier it’ll be to find the correct family for you. We want to watch them grow for a few months.”
Suzanne sighed and nodded. Gently, she turned the baby overin her lap, tucking his wings under him. She smiled down. “I named them,” she said, glancing up at me. “This is Hawk.” She pointed to the one in front of her to the right and moved left. “Falcon, Peregrine, and Drake.”
“Birds,” I said.
She laughed. “I think their wings are just… breathtaking. I really wanted them to always remember that they’re not human if they change to look like us.”
I wanted to tell her that it’s not something any of us forget. At our very core, we know we’re different from humans. No matter how similar we may appear, we’re not at all alike. I kept this to myself because it wasn’t important for today.
We chatted for a little while longer, talking about the babies and about the families. She told me more of what the man with wings explained to her and I answered whatever questions I could.
Suzanne was truly a remarkable person. From the moment she was brought to Haven, her attitude was always positive and trusting. Like she knew in her very soul that she was safe. I was remarkably impressed with her ability to love her children. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in her. It was simply unconditional love.
Leaving her, I headed to Lydia. Her door was ajar, so I peeked in to find that she was playing with Tate. There was a round glass pool of water and Lydia was moving around it, dropping to peer into the side and Tate would swim up to her.
She cheered for him, placing her hand on the glass.
The smile that seemed to be permanently on her face was such an improvement from a few weeks ago. And the way she grinned at Tate when he’d smile underwater was all sorts of feel good.
I knocked when she stood straight up again. Lydia grinned. “Hey, Miss Tatum. Come in. We’re just messing around.”
She reached over the side of the pool and offered her hands to Tate. His little tentacles came out of the water and wrappedaround her so she could pick him up. She brought him straight to her chest and cuddled him.
“I’m so proud of you,” I said.
Her cheeks flushed as she grabbed a towel and a mister on her way to join me on the couch. “Why?”
“Thinking about how much you’ve grown in the past month is incredible. You’re very strong and so incredibly brave.”
Lydia bowed her head. “I wasn’t at first, though.”
“That doesn’t matter. Look how much you love Tate now. I’m willing to bet you loved him when he was first born too. You were just scared, which no one at all could blame you for.”
She sighed and adjusted Tate in her arms. “I might need more of that bravery you’re talking about.” Lydia looked up at me and I could see fear in her eyes once more. “Miss Taylour set up a meeting for a family in a few days.” She chewed the inside of her cheek for a minute. “I know it’s important and I definitely want to do everything I can to give Tate the best chance at living a carefree childhood, but… I guess I’m just nervous to be surrounded by monsters.”
“You know,” I said, nudging her with my elbow, “you’re surrounded by monsters here too.”
Lydia laughed. “I know. But this is different. I’m in a big complex. A professional one. These are strangers. And before you say it, I know that most of the people in this building are strangers. But… I’ll be in their home. By myself. Surrounded by men who are monsters.”
“Would you prefer women?”
She made a face and then laughed. “I guess their gender doesn’t matter now that you ask that.”
“I get it. Your instinct is definitely to be more wary of men than women. It’s just the world you live in. But I promise you, monsters are different. Okay, not all monsters. But we wouldn’t allow any ofthose kindsof monsters to come anywhere near this organization.”
“Yeah, I know. I really do. I’m also a little excited. Mostly for Tate, because he’ll be around people like him, you know?”
I nodded. “I get that. No matter what it is about you that makes you feel different from those around you, it can be a very isolating experience and definitely color your life for years to come. That’s something that both supernaturals and nonsupernaturals have in common. We’re as much a product of our environment as we are our genetics.”
Lydia nodded. “You know, I can’t even swim.” She laughed, shaking her head. “I feel like this is kind of ironic that I’d have a water-based monster bestowed upon me.”
“I’m sure the family that takes you in will teach you if you’re so inclined to learn,” I assured her.
“Once, I would have said ‘no way.’ But now I have a reason to want to learn. I might not ever be able to breathe underwater, but I don’t want the water to separate me from Tate.”
