have her life planned out. I refuse to let my daughter be used as some kind of pawn in the fucked-up game of the universe. Her life is what she chooses to make of it. In thirty years if she comes to me and tells me she wants to be one of the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse, then I will write her a cover letter addressed to the Devil himself. But until then, the only thing she is, is our daughter. That is her job.”
Max stood up, understanding in her eyes. “Of course, Ryker. She will always be our daughter. No matter what fate has in store for her. I’m sure Tanda isn’t planning to step down anytime soon –”
Ryker cut her off, unable to believe his ears. “Are you seriously okay with this?” he could see that she was, and he rushed on to speak before she could answer and piss him off further. “Of course, you are. I mean, only you, Max. Only you could spawn the next fucking Grim Reaper!”
Max recoiled as if he had slapped her, her face becoming an expressionless mask. She then turned and left the room without a further word.
“Fuck!” Ryker yelled, yanking on his hair, and looking around for something to throw.
“Ryker –” Mordecai began.
“Don’t. Seriously, Mordecai. Just … don’t.” Then he fled.
Chapter Three
Max moved as fast as she dared to considering how her balance was affected by the weight of her belly. Tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks as Ryker’s words replayed inside her head. She didn’t realise where she had been headed until she stopped and found herself in the nursery. She and Ryker, with the input of everyone in her Order, had decided to go with a sky theme for their baby’s room. Each wall depicted a different view of the sky, from fluffy clouds and sunbeams, to a dark and stormy day filled with lightning. The night sky took up the better part of two walls and was densely filled with stars, planets and galaxies. A cute moon lightshade hung from the centre of the room, and the plain white furniture was the perfect complement to the busyness of the walls. Max had spent hours designing and painting the walls herself. It was perfect.
The sight of all the perfection made her cry harder and she clung to the numerous pairs of arms that suddenly wrapped around her. Cali, Diana, Lark, Beyden, Darius, and Axel stroked her hair, patted her back and held her close as she cried herself out. Nobody said anything. Nobody asked why. And nobody tried to find out by peeking via the Order link.
Eventually, Max pulled back, mustering a smile when Beyden used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe her face. “Tell us,” he said.
And so, she did.
“The thing is, I agree with Ryker. Hell, I’m proud of him for standing up to my parents. I know what he’s like – his temper is like a flashfire that strikes hot but burns itself out quickly. I figured I would give him some time to think about everything,” Max said, looking at all the nodding heads. They were now standing around her in a semi-circle as she sat in the rocker. “But the way he said that last part, about it being typical for me to spawn the Grim Reaper? I didn’t know he felt that way about me.”
“What way?” Darius asked, looking ready to do some damage to his Captain.
Max looked down at her hands, unable to look any of them in the eyes as she responded. “Like I was a burden. Like I deliberately cause chaos to everyone’s lives. Like I want all this crap to follow me around; life on the streets, the chade attacks, disrupting the council, causing a civil war, blowing myself up, making a baby destined to reap souls.”
“Max, he doesn’t think that. Nobody thinks that,” Diana assured her.
Max shook her head. “You didn’t hear him. It wasn’t the words he said, it was the tone.”
“Max, Ryker loves you more than anything else in the whole world. You should have seen him when he thought you were dead. He simply stopped existing. His heart continued to beat, and air filled his lungs, but he was a dead man walking.” Lark paused, reaching out and placing a hand on Max’s bump. “And now he has this. This little girl who he loves just as much. This little girl who is fragile and can’t fight her own battles yet. He