“I have noticed your appreciation. Well, I am glad we have made it official. It is definitely nice to have the wedding under our belts so that things can now proceed without getting attention.”
“What things?” He was suspicious.
“I don’t know. A family, little people, that kind of thing.”
He winked. “You mean children?”
“Well, we will start with one and go from there.” She smirked.
“Can we start now?”
“Not on the dance floor. We have guests, and this evening is their chance to see us together looking pretty. We have tonight and every other after that. I will always come home to you.” She smiled and stroked his cheek.
He kissed her palm and twirled her around the floor. The party was just getting started.
Epilogue
She was a little unnerved as she woke from her post-labour nap and found a room filled with fey and four nervous shifters.
“Hey guys. Way to sneak up on a sleeping lady.” She moved around, and Ashko helped her to sit up. “Where is the baby?”
Her mom was standing with her back to the crowd, and she turned and gratefully walked over with the little bundle of warmth in her arms. “Here she is. They were getting grabby.”
Ashko nodded and stroked Berry’s cheek. “Every birth is a huge deal, and they want to bestow blessings on the baby.”
“Leedara. Her name is Leedara.”
A smiled went through the fey and the shifters alike.
Ashko looked at his dark-haired daughter and whispered, “Why are they getting so excited? Leedara is a fey name.”
“It is a family name. I have five ancestors named Leedara, and she is going to carry on that tradition.” She smiled down at the small face with the rosebud lips.
She looked to Ashko and grinned. “She looks like you with my mouth.”
He laughed and stroked the fuzzy, little head. “I was never this tiny.”
The fey started to queue up, and Berry settled her baby on her lap, across her thighs. She watched the fey carefully as they put small objects around the baby and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Cousins, great uncles and one great, great aunt were there to greet little Leedara. She glowed with the magic that they were giving her, and Berry leaned against Ashko.
“We did good.”
He chuckled. “We definitely did. She’s beautiful.”
“And with all this fey power, she might have a chance to lean toward your family more than mine.” She chuckled.
“Not with your side offering to take her to the shore every other day. They will give time and not power. It will tell.”
She sighed and let his great, great aunt hold the baby. The elder fey teared up as her hands shook. “She’s so beautiful.”
A diamond-bright tear cruised down the elegant and pale cheek as she held the little one. The tear struck Leedara’s hand and turned into a solid stone.
“Sorry about that.”
Great Aunt Hrema took the diamond and set it with the other gifts.
Berry looked from her family—bright and excited—to his family—dark but hopeful—and settled back against the pillows for some more rest with her husband at her side.
The seers had predicted a large family for them, and today, that prediction got off the ground.
Author’s Note
Sorry for the delays. There have been distractions beyond my control, and now that I am back at home for the summer, I hope to get back onto a regular schedule.
Thanks for enjoying the Crossroads. I hope you continue to in the future.
Thanks for reading,
Zenina Masters
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
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