“We’re grateful to be safe. A lot’s been going on. I didn’t want to add something frivolous to the real issues.”
“Anything that causes you anxiety isn’t frivolous.”
She smiled, her heart full of his love. “Thank you.”
“Do you want to talk to the other mates? Or should we do the holidays ourselves?”
“Let me talk to them. Ever since we went to Dreagan for their holiday dinner last year, I’ve wanted to do something similar.”
Kyran laughed, his eyes crinkling. “Have at it, love. I’ll support you however you need.”
“If you’ll watch Breac, I’ll talk to the girls now.”
He didn’t release her, and his smile died. “There were other things you spoke about. Grave concerns you had regarding our son.”
“He’s still young. Maybe we don’t need to worry about them now.”
“River.”
She briefly squeezed her eyes closed. “I don’t know the answer, babe.”
“Do you want another child?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know,” she said in irritation. “That wasn’t what I meant.”
“I understand your apprehension about Breac being an only child and the only child on the realm. As for the magic part, that is something I can help you with.”
He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he held back. River shook her head. “Nope. If you made me talk, then you must, as well. Spill it.”
There was a hint of a smile before Kyran said, “I’d never thought about children, not once I became a Reaper. We were never supposed to love. After Erith changed her rules, I was too overjoyed to have found you to even think too much about what our future might hold.”
“Then we discovered I was pregnant.”
He nodded solemnly. “All while battling enemies.”
“We’re still contending with them.”
“We’re safe here. No one knows about this place.”
She glanced down at her hands that rested on his chest. “You might be stronger, faster, and more powerful than normal Fae, but you can still be killed. Every time you leave, I know the Others might find you and attack.”
“There will always be adversaries and danger. Erith chose me as one of her Reapers because of my skills. I don’t want to spend our lives worrying about what-ifs instead of being happy.”
River had to admit that he had a point. “What is it you want?”
“Another child with you. A little sister, perhaps, for Breac,” Kyran said with a smile.
She found her lips curving to match his. “As if I could ever refuse anything you want.”
“We’ll finish this conversation later. I’ll watch our son while you talk to the girls. Then, when you get back, we’re decorating the house. We should’ve done it weeks ago.”
He gave her a long, slow kiss before slapping her on the ass as she walked away. River glanced over her shoulder and winked at him as she left their house. She still couldn’t believe she had fallen in love with a Reaper. Being a Halfling—half-human, half-Fae—had made for a difficult life growing up. She didn’t belong in the Fae world because her blood was tainted. The human world only saw the beauty of a Fae and tried to exploit it. That’s why she had attempted to hide who she was. Not to mention, she had gotten the family’s gift. The ability to read ancient Fae languages. Something that only happened once a generation.
She learned not just of her family’s legacy but also how to defend herself. She’d had no choice but to become a warrior. River both hated and liked that she had Fae blood. Since Kyran, she had come to terms with who she was and how she could use it to help Death and the Reapers.
Her steps were light as she walked. Death’s realm was picturesque in every sense of the word. Every single place on the realm was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. She and Kyran had settled on a section of rolling hills near a loch. The minute he saw it, he just stopped and stared. He hadn’t had to say a word. It was clear he was taken by it. She had known immediately that this was where he wanted to have a home.
After he became a Reaper, he and the others had moved about constantly, setting up temporary quarters on Earth. He hadn’t had a real home in many centuries. Seeing how enamored he was with the location made it the perfect place for their home. The other Reapers found similar places.
Some were farther from the white tower that Erith and Cael used as their home, but she and Kyran were one of the closest to it. She didn’t have the ability to teleport as the Reapers did, so she had to walk. River enjoyed having the time to herself—and the exercise. She shivered slightly in the cool, damp air, deciding that before she did anything, she should speak to Erith. This was Death’s realm, after all.
Forty minutes later, River reached the white tower. She lifted her hand to knock, but the door opened before she got the chance. She found herself staring into Cael’s purple eyes. The once-Light Fae had previously been the leader of Kyran’s group of Reapers. After an altercation with one of his enemies where he nearly died—only to be saved by Erith’s magic—he’d been transformed into a god.
“River,” Cael greeted her with a smile. “What brings you to our door?”
“I was hoping I could talk with you and Erith.”
He stepped aside so she could enter. “Of course.”
River glanced up at the curving staircase that ran along one of the tower’s walls, all the way to the very top. She spotted Erith midway up, making her way down the steps. Her long, blue-black hair was in a loose plait over one shoulder. The petite goddess effortlessly glided down the steps in an all-black outfit that was a cross between Xena: Warrior Princess and Hela from Thor. Somehow, Erith pulled it off in only a manner that Death could.
“What can we do for you?” Erith asked when she reached the bottom.
River took a deep breath and said, “I’m missing some of the things we did on Earth. I was hoping to throw a holiday dinner like what Con and Rhi did at Dreagan. Just for us here,” she hastily added.
Erith’s lavender gaze briefly moved to Cael before she said, “I think that would be delightful. With everything we’ve been dealing with, I’m sorry to say I haven’t thought about what those of you who came here left behind.”
“You have our gratitude for opening your home to us. We might miss a few things from Earth, but that can be remedied.”
Cael walked to stand beside Erith. “I think a dinner party is just what we need.”
“Yes,” Erith said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
River understood. Their enemies had gotten powerful. Then there was the fact they chasing Xaneth—a royal Fae who had helped them. On top of that, Aisling had gone in search of him. Erith wasn’t just looking for one person now but two. All of that weighed heavily on her slim shoulders.
That’s when River realized that it wasn’t just her that needed a night to remember what they had. Erith did, too.
All of them did.
Chapter Two
River tugged the sleeves of her sweater over her hands as the brush of a cool breeze rushed by her. It was winter on the realm, but Erith had set her tower and the Fae doorway in a temperate area. It made for mild seasons. Though River had to admit, she missed the snowfall during the winter.