who itched to get down. Blane set him on the floor, and we watched as Fury crawled to Zander, moving to stand while holding on to him.
“Hi, Fury,” Zander said, pushing his cheek against Fury’s mouth, causing it to open, and he began sucking on Zander’s cheek. The entire room laughed while Zander made a displeased face but held still, allowing Fury to give him big, sloppy kisses. “Thanks,” he stated, wiping it off when Fury moved to Kahleena and Ristan and cooed, making sounds while he tugged at Kahleena’s hair.
Kahleena didn’t complain when Fury pulled hard, wrapping her arm around him before she kissed his forehead. “Little Fury, I love you too,” she sniffed, holding him closer while Cade surveyed the room silently from Ryder’s lap. The moment Fury started toward Cade, Kahleena stood up and held her hands out for Phoenix. Ciara set her tiny mewling infant daughter in Kahleena’s arms, and she gazed down at the babe. “She’s so tiny.”
“You used to be that tiny,” I whispered, fighting the tears that flooded my vision as the reality of what was happening hit me. I’d lost their childhood because of the danger they’d been in, and now I would lose everything else. “You were this tiny little thing with huge golden eyes that never cried or complained. You just stared up at everyone with this look as if you’d known them forever.”
“But I was just born, like Nix.” Kahleena leaned over, kissing Phoenix’s forehead before allowing Ciara to take her back. Kahleena’s tiny arms wrapped around Ciara’s legs, and she smiled at me. Hugging her aunt tightly, she peered up and watched as Ciara righted the babe in her arms carefully.
“Nix, huh?” I asked.
“It’s what we will call her when she is older. She won’t enjoy being called a firebird, and will wish to be called Nix instead,” Kahleena shrugged as if it was no big deal as she released Ciara’s leg. “Ciara will have a lot of babies by then, and Nix will be one of many.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, smiling.
“Because I’ve seen the future,” Kahleena said innocently with a faraway look, as if she was pulling up visions she’d seen. “It’s both happy and sad.”
The entire room went silent as everyone looked at Kahleena like she’d just told them the sun had exploded, but by tomorrow morning, a new one would shine in its place. A shiver rippled up my spine, my throat tightened, and my stomach clenched with unease.
“You’ve seen the future?” I asked, lips trembling. Kahleena looked around the room, smiling as tears filled her pretty amber eyes.
“You will all be sad, but you’ll be okay. Those who die shall remain dead. You cannot change it, which will make you very sad, mommy. Those stars were only meant to shine for a while, but they are burning out. New stars will come to take their place. Grandma promised me.”
“Which grandma?” I asked thickly.
“Your mommy, she’s everywhere, in all of us. More so in me, because I make her smile,” she shrugged. “She says I am like you were, and full of curious questions.” Kahleena’s head cocked to the side, and her smile glowed before she straightened with a soft shrug of her shoulders. “It’s time to go; the gates will close soon.”
“Kahleena,” I whispered, pulling her into my arms. “What else did Danu say?”
“She said nothing is certain. Chosen destinies do not shape our lives. The path we choose to follow determines our destinies, shaped by the choices we make in the moment. Choose the right choices, mommy. Don’t make angry ones, because those are ones you will get wrong. She said to tell you that her love wasn’t wrong. Her love was beautiful. It was beautiful enough to create an entire world, to mirror how her soul felt. Whatever that means—and oh, you have to forgive him. You have to forgive daddy for what he will do because without forgiveness, you won’t win.” She shrugged in my hold. “Oh yeah, and she said good job for fixing daddy.”