Page 116 of Wicked Wicche
Mom rubbed my back.“He knows you—the ring is proof of that—and he loves you.It’s a wonderous thing to be known and loved.”
I nodded.“It is.”
“Okay,” Mom said.“We’re kidnapping your employee.We may or may not bring her back.”
Declan gave me a kiss and went home.He had baby furniture to work on.
The café did brisk business, which was fine.It kept me from worrying about what my mom and aunts were cooking up.
When Hester returned, she looked lighter and happier than I’d seen her for quite some time.She’d always grieve her daughter Pearl, but some of the crushing sadness was lifting.
“If anyone needs me,” I told her, “I’ll be in the studio.”
“Okay, sweetheart.You should try to take a nap, if you can.”
I thought about it and realized she was right.I was exhausted.Nodding, I waved and slipped through the door to the studio.I flicked my fingers, blocking the light from the windows, kicked off my shoes, pulled a blanket over me, and lay down on the couch.In what felt like no time at all, I was out.
Quinn and I are sitting on the floor of the gallery nursery.Her little baby curls stick out in every direction from her head, looking like she was recently awakened from a nap.We’re in the center of a soft rug.Quinn sits with the unsteadiness of one who’s only recently mastered sitting.At any moment, she could topple over.
Currently, she’s grinning at me while she gums the tentacle of her squishy octopus toy.The door behind me opens.Everyone but Declan knocks first, so Quinn and I turn toward the door, smiling.
It’s not Declan.My dad walks in.“Hello, daughter.”He beams down at Quinn, reaching for her.Quinn puts her hands up.She knows and loves her grandpa.“She looks exactly like you did at this age, even the curls sprouting from her head like a sea anemone.”
He’s wearing a cardigan, which will never not be funny to me.Quinn may be a baby, but she knows the drill.As soon as he picks her up, she reaches for his pocket, though her little arms are too short.
“Is this what you want?”he asks, holding out a small, perfect strawberry for her.
She claps her hands, dropping the octopus, which I catch.
He places the berry in her tiny hand, and she begins to mash it in her mouth, still grinning at him.
“Emrys tells me her swimming lessons are going well.Next time, I will come and work with her myself.”
“She’d love that,” I tell him.
I sense something else in the room with us and pop to my feet.
“Relax, child.”The soft, lilting voice has my heart racing.
The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life steps around my very tall father, her eyes on Quinn.“She’s perfect,” Gloriana, the fae queen, says.
“Of course she is,” Dad responds easily, though his whole body has tensed, like he’s turned a corner and run into a rabid dog.
Dad’s eyes widen as they shoot to me, and Gloriana gives me an annoyed look.
“I’m hardly a rabid dog.I was complimenting your daughter.”She shakes her head, her focus back on Quinn as I try to lock down my thoughts hard.
“Okay,” I reply.“But you got the most beautiful woman ever part too, right?”
She shrugs a delicate shoulder, running a finger over Quinn’s chubby arm.“She doesn’t have your vision-filled skin?”
My hands are clutched tight.“She doesn’t seem to, no.”
“Good,” Gloriana says.“That’s one vulnerability taken care of.”She turns to me.“Has she shifted?”
I shake my head again.
Gloriana studies me a moment, rummaging around in my mind, and says, “Ah, good.You’ve seen that she will.”She turns back to Quinn.“Yes.This little one will prove to be just perfect.”
My racing heart drops to my stomach.What does she have planned for my child?
