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“Excuse me?”
“Babies. We pop those out like rabbits. It’s the god’s essence in our souls.” He tapped his chest. “The more demigods there are, the stronger they become. Thebiggerour population, the easier that is. It’s rare to come across an only child like me and you.”
I had no clue what to say.
“We do have contraceptive potions, of course, but, uh, I don’t have one on me.” He flicked to his pack. “I wasn’t expecting when I crossed to the mortal world... that there’d be you.”
My toes curled on the sheets, riding the goose bumps that rippled down my body. I liked the regret in his voice as much as I loved the longing.
“I’m sorry,” he said, and man did he sound it. “I’m sure mortals have means of preventing pregnancy too, but it won’t work. Not for us. I wanted you to know so that you can decide what we do next.”
I slid my hand closer, lacing our fingers together. “Thank you, Alex. I appreciate you telling me. It’s one of the reasons I feel safe with you. You’re honest with me. I haven’t had that in a while.” I lay down and he did too, stretching out next to me. “Seems like there’s a lot I still need to learn about this world and about myself. I want to do this right too, so if it’s okay...”
“It’s more than okay, Aella.”
We gazed at each other across the pillow—nose brushes and the minty sweetness of our soft pants mingling in the scant distance between us.
Alex pressed our clasped hands to his heart. “Are there things you still want to learn about me too?”
“Everything.”
He grinned in time with me. “That’s good because I want to learn everything about you too. Like why carry around those dangerous dell cones?”
“That is the cutest mispronunciation of cell phones ever, and just so you know, they usually don’t bite.”
“Want to know who does bite? Nymphs. Normally, they like men, but this tree nymph, in particular, didn’t take too well to me turning her down.” He lifted his arm, flashing an angry-looking bite mark on his bicep. “Took five guards to get her off me. She bit all of them too.”
“Oh my gosh,” I cried. “Why does it look like it’s still healing?”
“Because it happened three days ago.”
“A horny tree nymph took a bite out of you on your birthday?” Giggles leaked through my lips. “You have to be kidding.”
“I wish I was. Apparently she’d been waiting for me to come of age. She thought I was waiting for her too.”
I lost it. “An obsessive, violent tree nymph is pretty bad, but it doesn’t beat my birthday monster story. I win for worst birthday of all.”
“Whoa, hold on. You still haven’t heard about my fifth birthday when monsters attacked the city, and I discovered my power for the first time by exploding a Nemean lion... all over me. I cried, and peed myself, and cried some more.”
“Oh no, poor baby,” I cried, clapping my hand over my mouth. “What is with them and birthdays?”
“It’s vindictive, right? I mean, they don’t have to hate us that much. Let us have one day off.”
“All right, tell me about your best birthday now. I bet I’ll have you beat for that too.”
“Oooh, so it’s a challenge you’re after,” he crowed. “How about this? When I was seven, I...”
We talked, laughed, and traded stories all night. I wanted to kiss him so many times but didn’t, not trusting myself to keep control when his lips were on mine. But even though it wasn’t sex, what we shared was just as intimate.
After months of being dismissed, lied to, ignored, and called crazy, I pretty much stopped talking to everyone about anything real. My mandated therapy sessions were spent with me doodling in my dream journal and tuning out another person telling me I was delusional—albeit in a calm, nonjudgmental voice.
Laughing, joking, and talking with a cute guy who didn’t question my sanity was normal. I missed that more than almost anything else.Normal.
I didn’t know what time it was when we finally passed out in an exhausted sleep—throats hoarse and cheeks aching. The next thing I was aware of was the sunlight streaming through the tiny, frosted window above the bed—casting its glow on our tangled feet.
Sitting up, I gazed down at Alex. It should’ve been illegal for a guy who was already sinfully gorgeous to look even more heart-stopping with tousled bed hair and pillow lines on his cheek. It made me want to smooth them away, so I did.
Alex’s eyes fluttered open. He smiled.
