Page 89 of Eternal Fire

The baby kicks again, as if agreeing with us. Tamsin groans, shifting to find a more comfortable position, and I rearrange myself to accommodate her. It’s a dance we’ve perfected over the past months—her growing belly, my protective instincts, the constant negotiation of space and comfort.

“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” she asks.

“I think it’s ours.” I spread my fingers across her belly, feeling another kick. “That’s all that matters.”

“Diplomatic answer.”

“Strategic answer.” I smile against her hair. “I’ve learned that expressing preferences about such things only leads to trouble.”

“Coward.”

“Survivor.” I tighten my arms around her. “There’s a difference.”

Her laughter fades into comfortable silence. Outside our window, the Brotherhood fortress settles into nighttime quiet—or what passes for quiet now that children live within its walls. Somewhere, Drayke is probably still trying to convince the twins to stay in bed. Rurik is likely singing off-key lullabies to Ember. Zyphon is watching Nasyra sleep with the intensity of a dragon who spent centuries believing he’d never see her again.

Four brothers. Four mates. Three children with more on the way. A family none of us ever thought we’d have.

“I love you.” Tamsin’s voice is drowsy, already slipping toward sleep.

“I love you.” I press one last kiss to her temple. “Both of you. All of you. Every version of our future that includes you in it.”

She doesn’t answer. She’s already asleep, her breath evening out, her hand still resting over mine on her belly.

I don’t sleep. Not yet. I lie in the darkness with my mate in my arms and my child beneath my palm.

Tamsin taught me how to be alive again. She crashed into my life and refused to leave, burned through every wall I’d built, showed me that the things worth having are never safe. That love is dangerous and terrifying and absolutely, completely worth the risk.

I spent most of my life being frozen.

Now I’m finally alive.

And I wouldn’t trade a single moment of this warmth—this family, this love, this fire—for all the cold safety in the world.

THE END