Page 109 of Midnight Truth
Rage blew air through his lips and nodded. “Do you know how many boys I’m going to have to threaten to kill?”
I laughed, a tired but joyous snicker that felt like sunshine. Rage pulled a box from behind his back then and handed it to me. “Sorry it took so long. The castle jeweler had to source the gems and—”
“Rage.” I gasped as I looked down at the box. He’d mentioned commissioning a crown for me, but I’d thought it was a joke. Everyone affectionately called me Queen Nai, but I never thought…
I flipped the clasp and opened the lid.
Mother Mage.
The most beautiful crown I’d ever seen lay nestled in sumptuous black velvet. The platinum circlet was shaped like a woven vine, dotted with green emeralds shaped like leaves. Four giant pink sapphire hearts resided, tangled in the vine, two on either side of a full-moon diamond that glittered in the very center of the crown. My throat constricted as I trailed my fingers over the four heart-shaped gems.
“For our Midnight girls?” I croaked.
Rage nodded, pulling the crown out and putting it on my head. “The second we found out, I called the jeweler.”
“Oh, Rage—”
Before I could tell him what a wonderful girl dad he’d be, and how thoughtful this gift was, the door opened, and Honor, Noble, and Justice walked in, each carrying soft plushie pink toys for the girls. Noble also held flowers for me.
“Congrats, Mama Midnight. Sweet crown.” Noble kissed my cheek and set the flowers down before turning to look at his newborn nieces.
“Four princesses.” Justice whistled and then gave Rage a look of mock terror. “We’ll need to put bars on all the windows in the castle.”
Rage grinned, sliding off the bed to hug his brother. Then he walked over to introduce his brothers to their nieces.
It took some time for Julian to become Honor in my head. He acted like Honor. He talked like him too, but his face was Julian … until a couple of months passed. Now, he was just Honor.
Of course, he was the last one to join the group on the other side of the room. Leaning down, Honor placed a kiss on my cheek. “My mom can’t wait to visit. She’s thrilled and knitting away like a madwoman. She said to tell you she’ll be over later with your dad.”
I nodded and thanked him, and then sank back into the pillows, looking on from the hospital bed to the four bassinets as each Midnight brother picked up one of my daughters and started to coo and shush and love on them.
This moment right here waseverything. My heart swelled with joy—
A wet sound ripped through the room, and Noble gasped. “Mine just pooped!”
His eyes widened, and he held Charity out like she was a bomb about to explode.
I laughed.
“Uhh, I think mine’s hiccupping.” Justice looked slightly less terrified as Honesty’s little body jerked with each hiccup.
“Hush, mine’s asleep,” Honor brushed a soft finger across Harmony’s forehead.
Rage chuckled, handing me little Reyna so that he could take Charity from Noble and change her diaper. When we found out we were having quad girls, I wanted to keep the tradition going of virtuous names, but I also had to honor my best friend’s clan and my shield. So, Charity, Honesty, Harmony, and Reyna were going to have some pretty amazing names to live up to—and amazing family support too.
I grinned.
One thing I’d learned was life was sure to be complicated, messy, challenging, and amazing, but I wouldn’t want to do all ofthiscraziness without my Midnight boys, my friends, and my family.
The End
