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Combing his fingers through his hair, he sighed. Now was as good a time as any to present what he’d been working on. “Come here, dear one.”
Andromeda lowered her picture and approached.
Reaching into his pocket, Pollux procured the small pendant he’d fashioned as a conduit for Kassandra’s single golden tear. In the past two weeks, he’d lost sleep over dozens of experiments, and to be fair, success had been an explosive event this morning…
While Alexios had been out and Andromeda had been at school, he’d tested the small piece of his mate’s power by dropping his glamour among humans.
He’d gone back to the coffee shop.
He’d ordered a chai.
No one wet themselves, which was a major improvement in light of past experiments he’d conducted.
The same barista who had given him her number last time hadn’t seemed so eager this time…but…for someone of Andromeda’s size with fewer years of fear in her veins the talisman should work completely.
She would have, after not even three years, what he had been searching for all his life.
Lifting the chain, Pollux clasped it around Andromeda’s neck and let the sparkling charm fall against her pink polo.
“Is it my birthday already?” she asked as she touched the strong compound he’d used to contain and enhance the power.
“What?”
“Mrs. Role told me that humans give presents on birthdays.”
He arched a brow. “How quaint. Your date of existence is in February.” He tapped the surface and felt the hum of Kassandra’s magic within. “This, dear one, is a charm that contains the cure I’ve been searching for.”
Andromeda straightened, dropped her eyes to the pendant, and stared. “W…what?”
“As Willow would say, it turns off the fear factor. This is a fragment of Kassandra’s emotion, so it is a fragment of her will, which is what alters the space around her to create the safety she wants everyone near her to feel. Having this with you will be like being with her in person.”
Fingers shaking, Andromeda lifted the pendant. “It’s beautiful.”
It really was.
Her head whipped up, dark curls bouncing. “Where’s yours?”
His head shook. “There wasn’t enough for me.”
“What? Why not?” A shock went through her small body, and she fumbled for the clasp. “This one is yours, isn’t it, Daddy? I can’t. I can’t even think to borrow it.”
He stopped her, grasping her hands in his and drawing them away from the catch. “You can see me wearing this necklace? Really?”
Lips parted, she stared at him as dark tears gathered in her eyes.
Pollux lowered her hands to her sides, pushed her hair back, and kissed her forehead. “I made it for you. It’s only powerful enough to make me tolerable in front of those susceptible to what we are. For you, it should be the same as standing next to Kassandra. Sorry I have to sit this project out, but if Alexios’s friend Sephin makes the blueprint and Cael manages the instructions, I’m certain it won’t take more than a few hours.”
“Are you sure I can have this?” she whispered as a black tear slipped down her cheek. “This is what you’ve been wanting for centuries.”
He exhaled a laugh. “Don’t be foolish. I got what I’d been wanting for centuries almost three years ago now. I’ve been damaged already by the nature of my existence. It’s my job to make sure you don’t have to face the same pain. What I’ve wanted for centuries, dear one, is a place to call home and a family to fill it.”
Alexios swore. “This is sickeningly sweet. Should I take your drawing on ahead to Sephin while you two finish up being adorable?” He extended one gloved hand.
“Jealous?” Andromeda stuck her tongue out.
“Is it not obvious I want a sparkly necklace, too?”
Pollux heaved a sigh. “Would you like me to update your enchanted cuff links so they sparkle?”
