“Oh, God,” I groaned, bracing for impact because if I was launched through the opening of the tunnel at the same speed I was currently traveling, my landing was going to be painful. I squeezed my eyes shut and curled myself into a ball, bracing for impact.
If I’d just been sucked into Asgard or some such shit, then by God, Chris Hemsworth better be at the end of this thing.
I felt myself torpedo through the opening like a T-shirt ball shot out of a cannon gun at a football game. Screaming, I covered my arms over my head and then landed on hard dirt with a surprised umph.
Wow. That had been unpleasant but not the worst thing I’d ever experienced. I was still alive. Definitely good news. At least, I’m pretty sure I was still alive. I blinked at the dirt roadway under me.
Um, Toto, I thought. I’ve a feeling we’re not on Royal Street anymore.
“What…?” Pushing upright, I lifted my head and looked around. “What just happened?”
The hordes of police and protestors were gone. The buildings and entire city; totally disappeared. The only thing I found myself looking at was a miniature log cabin, like something Abraham Lincoln had been born in. Even stranger was the horse tied to a hitching post by the front door.
“Are you okay?” an accented voice asked—kind of an Australian accent, like Hemsworth Australian, maybe.
I whirled and gaped at the man before me. He had dark hair that was pulled back into a stubby ponytail at the base of his nape.
Like something straight out of a Renaissance fair, he wore short tight pants that cupped strong, muscled thighs and ended just where high black boots began. His shirt had puffy sleeves over the biceps but became tight again from his elbow to the wrists, and it was cinched at the waist with a thick belt that had a legitimate freaking sword hanging from it.
“Oh my good God.” I blinked at his attire once before lifting my shocked gaze to his face.
Tall and stately, his jaw was strong and angular, eyes a pale blue, and cheek pitted with a deep dimple when he tried to send me a comforting smile and reached out a hand. “Let me help you up.”
I blinked at his hand, then lifted my gaze back to his handsome face. “Well, you’re not Thor,” I realized bluntly. “But you’ll definitely do.”
Epilogue
Quilla
Four Moon Cycles Months Later
I woke on a comfortable mattress with the fluffiest pillow cushioning my head. The thin sheet on top of me was also the softest I’d ever felt, inducing me to groan in delight and give a refreshed stretch under the covers.
Still on Earth, I realized with a smile.
Opening my eyes, I blinked up at the ceiling fan slowly oscillating above me. The smell of hot apples spiced with cinnamon coaxed me into sitting up and glancing around the empty bedroom. Indigo must’ve been cooking again. He was becoming a pro at making pies.
Tossing off the blanket, I scooted from the bed and hummed appreciatively when my bare toes sank into plush carpet. This was the life, I decided. No hard bedrolls to contend with, no bugs to worry about crawling all over me on the ground, indoor plumbing everywhere, and electrically controlled temperatures galore. Who could ask for more?
Eager to find my true love to share it all with, I left the room and wandered down the hall, only to pause in the opening of the living room. With a smile, I rested my shoulder against the wooden framework and studied the sexy man stretched across the couch in the center of the room as he watched a movie in blue jeans, a T-shirt, and bare feet.
Damn, he looked good in Earth clothes.
He’d become quite a film buff in the past few weeks, too. I teased him about turning into a couch potato, but whenever I did, he only yanked me down on the sofa with him and curled his arms around me from behind so he could nibble on my ear and force me to watch the rest of his video with him.
“Indiana Jones?” I guessed, stepping into the room.
He jumped at my voice, then sat up with a smile as I approached. “I think Bison was right,” he announced. “I am an Indiana Jones. Or…” He paused thoughtfully for a moment. “At least, like, an early ancestor of his.”
I laughed and crawled onto his lap when he opened his arms to receive me.
“How was your nap?” he asked, running his hand over the short locks covering my head. He was growing obsessed with playing with the handful of curls I was getting.
“It was nice,” I answered. “But I’m beginning to feel lazy. I should—”
“Keep resting as much as you need to,” he interrupted, setting a finger over my lips as he warningly lifted an eyebrow. “The doctor said to get all the sleep you can. The first trimester can be particularly trying.”
I shook my head as I gazed at his striking features. “Look at you,” I had to murmur in amusement as I stroked his jaw. “Sounding all earthling-like and medically savvy.”
Grinning, he snagged my hand and kissed the knuckles. “The only thing I miss about the Outer Realms right now is not being able to heal you with a kiss.”
Not only had my magically sealed womb become open for business when we’d come to Earth, but true love’s kiss stopped being a thing here too. That had been a particularly hard pill for Indigo to swallow, especially after I had gotten pregnant. He wanted to heal me with his lips as soon as the baby was born and realizing he couldn’t hadn’t sat well with him.
“You never know,” I answered on a shrug. “We may be sucked back there before it’s born.”
I set my hand over my stomach, worrying about that very prospect. When we had realized our amulets were missing after arriving on Earth, we’d been wondering when we’d be forced to return.
My surprise pregnancy had only amped up our concerns.
Would the baby be born here, before we were sucked away? And if that were the case, would it never be able to see us in the Outer Realms, always stuck here with Taiki and Melaina? And would it be better for the child if that did happen, even though we’d probably only get to see it half a year at a time? If that.
Or would it be born in the Outer Realms and forced to take on the Graykey curse with me? Would it even make it to birth if we were sucked back to the Outer Realms before it arrived? Or would my magically sealed womb try to reject it?
So many questions and not enough possible good outcomes.
We didn’t know what would happen. But we typically tried to avoid such conversations, already prepared to deal with whatever fate decided to unfold.
Indigo slid his hand over mine, and we cradled our unborn child together for a moment, the silence growing thick between us.
“We’ll be okay,” he assured me, kissing my temple. “All three of us. I can feel it.”
I nodded and glanced around, noticing the freshly baked pie sitting on the table in the dining area. “Were you waiting on me before taste testing this batch?”
“Of course.” Hitting pause on the movie, he slid me off his lap and stood, then snagged my hand as he pulled me up to my feet and led me to the table. “I can’t go eating pie alone, now can I?”
I smiled and sat when he pulled out a chair for me. “You just like to wait until I take the first bite to make sure I don’t toss up my accounts before you try it,” I teased.