and his fully-formed body. All fingers and toes were present and accounted for. But as soon as the water touched him, our son opened his eyes and shrieked in protest. A pair of tiny, dark wings unfurled from his back and flapped weakly as the crowd around us cheered.
“Hey!” I snarled. “You Demons better not be watching me give birth!”
Everyone who wasn't my husband or a god of healing backed up.
“Vervain.” Teharon grinned widely as he held up another little boy.
Viper helped me sit up higher against Azrael and I reached eagerly for my son. He was the size of my palm and utterly still. His little face was scowling and covered in blood. Azrael washed him clean as he had his brother but still, the baby refused to open his eyes or cry. I gathered him against my chest as his brother continued to wail, and stroked the thatch of dark hair on his head, knowing exactly who I held. I wept in joy and relief as midnight wings shivered into existence beneath my son. I stroked their sleek feathers and bent down to kiss his forehead. When I lifted my head, a pair of brilliant green eyes were staring up at me.
I gasped. Not because I was shocked by their color—which exactly matched the eyes of the Faerie God—but because they were the perfect shade. The correct shade. I had met our sons in another future and in that future, they both had green eyes—this exact shade of green. I had never wondered where that color had come from—green is said to be a mutation—but now, I knew. Maybe the Ring of Remembrance had been right. Maybe this was why my star had failed to act immediately. These boys had never been meant to be born as gods. At least, not only as gods.
Dominic blinked his fey green eyes at me and smiled.
Chapter Fifty-Three
My sons were born premature but not as premature as I'd thought. Over two months had passed since Azrael and I had become the Faerie God and Goddess. That doesn't sound like nearly enough time for babies to grow but when you add their god magic to the wild faerie magic, it speeds things up a bit. In addition to that, Azrael had pushed even more power into them when he healed them, forcing their little bodies to grow until they were able to survive outside of the womb.
I was worried about Azrael, despite his little show of control, but then he tucked our sons into my arms and lifted me in his.
Az looked at our family and friends and said, “Let's go home.”
Just like that, the Faerie God abandoned his citadel and I knew I had my husband back.
Cries of “Mama!” welcomed me home and I started sobbing again, thinking of how I'd left my children to join the faerie freak show. But children are resilient creatures and they had been through worse with me than a couple of months of separation. I suppose that shouldn't have made me feel better but it did. Plus, they hadn't been alone; they'd had the rest of our huge family to look after them. And one of them knew for certain that I'd be back. Brevyn had kept the other kids, and even some of the adults, from panicking.
When Azrael set me on my feet and I crouched down to show my children their new brothers, they gathered around us with excitement and affection, stroking the boys' feathers and faces gently.
After they were swaddled and fed, the newborns were passed around the crowd that had gathered at Pride Palace. Sebastian had settled into a sleepy-eyed calm like his brother and the little Angel-Faeries stared up at Demons who cooed and coddled the new Princes of Hell with nearly ridiculous amounts of joy. And yes, Dominic and Sebastian were considered princes, even though they were a son of a prince because they were technically in line for the throne of Hell. Also, because Lucifer said so.
Holly, who had been waiting at Pride Palace for Luke and Azrael to return, wept blissfully as she held her grandchildren for the first time. She had hoped to get her husband back in one piece and her son back as himself but in addition to that, she got two babies. She couldn't have been happier. Lucifer was beyond pleased as well, having saved his son and witnessed the birth of his grandsons in a single day.
My mother, who was still ensconced at