Pure Destiny (PureDark Ones #12) - Aja James Page 0,18

folks. Unstable crazy Destroyer in the bathroom. Let’s not do anything to rile her further. Wouldn’t want to bring on a premature Apocalypse.

Amazingly, Sophia snorted at the thought.

Most certainly Rain wouldn’t have said these words, probably wouldn’t have thought them either. They reminded Sophia so much of Erebu. It’s as if he was talking to her in her head.

And just like that, her imagination of his morbid humor diffused the tension building within her.

When she looked into a large piece of broken mirror that stubbornly clung to its frame, she saw that her face was pale again, her eyes returning to their normal warm brown.

“I’m okay now, Rain,” Sophia murmured, feeling even more drained of energy, dragging her feet as she slowly shuffled out of the bathroom.

Rain gently grasped her arm to steady her as she walked, and she didn’t mind the touch. She felt ready to collapse like a dead-weight sack of potatoes.

Unsurprisingly, Valerius awaited them within the main area. He always sensed when his Mate needed him. All of the Mated males did, their connection to their other half profoundly powerful.

But surprisingly, Tal, Ishtar and Benjamin were there too.

The boy rushed forth and grabbed hold of Sophia’s other arm, less supporting her weight, more offering comfort.

“You don’t look so good, Sophie,” he boomed in his boy-loud voice, getting right to the point.

“Did you have dinner yet? Has your friend had dinner yet? I brought some in my wagon. We can eat together.”

“What are you doing here, Benji?” Sophia croaked, and cleared her throat.

Not that she wasn’t glad to see him, but what just happened in the bathroom had been a close call. Besides, if he’d come a while earlier, Sophia hadn’t exactly been in a “position” to host the precocious eight-year-old while she’d been lying on top of a naked Paladin.

While they’d been connected in the most intimate way.

“I sensed a disturbance in the Balance,” it was Tal-Telal who answered, uncannily piercing Sophia where she stood with his blind eyes.

“Ishtar, Benjamin and I happened to be near. My instincts told me to bring him. His presence seems to calm you.”

It did indeed.

None of them understood it, but everyone noticed how Benji could soothe Sophia’s inner demon whenever it reared its ugly head. It was true when a group of them traveled to the Middle East over the summer, and it was true when they first brought Dalair back to the Shield.

Benji was somehow her antidote. But it didn’t lessen Sophia’s fear for his safety, the safety of the rest of the Shield and the city at large.

“I’m like your lamby blanket,” Benji chirped, grinning wide.

Sophia felt the corners of her own lips lift in response. The boy was simply irresistible. Her favorite little human in the world.

“Lamby blanket?” she echoed.

“You know, my baby blanket that I still have and sleep with. It always makes me feel better.”

This was said without reservation or embarrassment. Any other eight-year-old might have long since given up anything that reminded others of their baby stage, but Benji retained his purity and innocence, while often exuding the insight and wisdom of a very old soul.

Sophia prayed he would always be this way. He embodied everything good, bright and joyful in the world.

“You mean the ratty one that used to be white and fluffy and is now gray and frayed? The one you drag around on the floor and wipe your nose on?” she teased, feeling unaccountably light, her physical strength returning.

Benji made a face at her.

“I still love it. And it still makes me happy. Just because something is a little worn doesn’t mean it lost its value.”

Said the eight-year-old going on eighty. Or Eight thousand.

But then he added, “And just so we’re clear, I’d prefer that you didn’t drag me around the floor and wipe your nose on me. But I wouldn’t mind being squeezed. I have an infinite supply of hugs and kisses.”

Sophia chuckled and beckoned, “C’mere, you. I have your squeeze right here.”

Obediently, he allowed her to enfold him in her arms and hug him tight, and he clung to her waist like a barnacle.

Benji and Ishtar gave the best hugs, especially when his grandmother (Sophia’s mind still boggled at the idea) took her elderly, plump Estelle Martin form.

“Dinner will wait,” Valerius spoke up in his low, rumbling voice.

Sophia hadn’t even noticed when Rain left her side to join her Mate. The tiny healer now stood slightly beside, slightly in front of, her warrior. Though he didn’t touch her, it was