Page 25 of Kiki

“So why do they fly?”

“They balance lift, gravity, thrust, and drag,” Ian blurted out. “And don’t ask me for details. I remember that from a science class a long time ago, so I hope it helps.”

I murmured what I already thought of as the magic words. “Lift. Gravity. Thrust. Drag.”

“Right.” He shrugged. “Do with it what you will.”

I considered the four things. Pictured what those would look like and how they might be building blocks in using the wind to take something off the ground. Pictured it over and over. Tried to think scientifically.

And then I heard a crack. “Neo!” Ian was the shouter, but he and Artimis both were darting toward the edge of the roof where my other mate had been casually leaning and where the plastic had shattered into sharp-edged pieces, and there was no Neo in sight. Time slowed down. I froze for a fraction of a second before following the others, passing them to perch on the edge of the rooftop and look down. He clung to the frame of a window floors below by one hand, and it didn’t take a genius to know what came next.

But it did take the daughter of a god to know what to do next. I lifted a foot and held it over the edge, Ian’s and Artimis’ roars of protest and fear ringing in my ears. They reached for me, endangering themselves, and I sent a puff of wind to push them back to safety before organizing a whirlwind and stepping onto it. It shouldn’t have worked, but I couldn’t doubt, couldn’t question, just rode it down to where my mate’s fingers were slipping from the bit of steel edging and before anything else bad could happen, I tilted my whirlwind to catch him up and rose to the rooftop again.

It couldn’t have been pleasant for Neo because unlike me, he was not standing on top of the wind but twirling in it. Slowly, but dizzying for sure. When we were over the roof, I let him down then hopped off myself. The wind dissipated, leaving me standing and my mates spilled across the rooftop.

I sat down on the grass and looked around me at the specimens of incredible masculinity all around me and began to laugh. Not only had I proven that I could, when necessary, control my power, but I’d found it to be useful. I’d saved my mates. All of them. And I couldn’t wait to tell my sisters about it. I truly felt worth to be one of them.

Epilogue

“That’s the last of it.” I looked around my dorm room. “But if I forgot something, you know where to find me.”

“Down the hall?” Dahlia sat on her bed, her new black silk sheets, a gift from my mates and I, looking so much more her style than anything she’d ever had before. She stood up and came over to hug me. “But it won’t be the same.”

“You’ll find your mates one day.”

She laughed. “Plural? I’d settle for one that I really liked. But I have other plans, an education to finish and a career that I haven’t decided on yet to begin. I’ll be fine. And I’m so happy for you. Now, I can hear them waiting for you out in the hallway.”

Indeed, they were speaking loudly enough for us to hear although not make out the words. “I’m very glad to be moving in with them, but I’ll miss you. Even if I do see you around every day. You were and are my first best friend. For life, okay?”

“Absolutely. If you can find time to hang out with me as a newly mated woman with a big family.”

“Isn’t that the strangest thing? Can you imagine? I walked in the doors here alone and now I have so much family and everything.”

She walked me to the door and hugged me again. Then I opened it and walked into the embrace of my mates. My father was out there somewhere, I had a feeling, and I hoped he would make himself known. Tell us why he had acted the player and if there was indeed a good reason for it. But for now, we had each other and our mates and, as my sisters said, had made our peace with it.

Asking for more than Fate had gifted me would be greedy. I’d accept all this love and never call it settling. But if you do want to meet us, Daddy, come on ahead. You have a lot to answer for, but if you’re lucky, we’ll love you as much as we love each other and our mates.

And who could pass up a chance like that?