Saving the Fae (Daughter of Light #3) - Leia Stone Page 0,63

Castle. You and Liam should be the keepers of the tree. Raise your little one to respect the power of the crystals. It’s yours if you want it.”

I burst forward, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you, Mother.”

Her body stiffened against me at those three words. She’d been very frank in the beginning when she found out that I was raised, not knowing of her existence. She said I could call her whatever I wanted. I settled for The Queen or Dahlia, but just now, it felt so right to call her Mother. I decided right then and there I would never call her Mom. That was for the woman who raised me, but this woman, she deserved a special name too. She gave me life. She fought for me, for my mom, for our entire village, and then she was tricked into a sleep for twenty years.

My mom would always be my mom, but there was no reason I couldn’t have two.

We pulled away and both swiped at our eyes.

“I’ll only be a ten-minute flight away if you need help babysitting,” she said.

I nodded, smiling. The Tree of Life home was where the Queen had lain in slumber, where Liam killed Indra and experienced so many other things, but it was also the most important place to our people. And the Queen was right. With her full remodel, it wasn’t the same. The room where she used to slumber was now an indoor-outdoor Jacuzzi room. It was time to breathe new memories into that place.

We hugged once more and then parted ways. I made it to the tiny tree home I shared with Liam just in time. Elle, Jasper, Trissa, Cam, Liam’s brothers, everyone was assembled to go through the portal.

“You’re late, woman!” Elle called out. She looked so beautiful in her pale pink dress and tan heels.

“Sorry!” I ran to catch up, shoving the key into my pocket. I’d tell Liam about it all tomorrow. Tonight was Elle’s night.

When I got up to the group, Liam pulled me into his arms and kissed me long and deep.

“Gross,” Cain said. He was eight now, and his comment only made Liam and me grin.

“I missed you.” Liam pulled my hair away from my face, and the little brothers started to make fake retching noises.

We twisted the handle on the door to our home counter-clockwise and then opened it, activating the portal. Then, we all stepped through to his mother’s Wyoming ranch.

“Hey!” Liam’s mom was at the stove when we walked in. The house smelled amazing, rich, and fragrant. The long fifteen-person table was set up with tealights, and a bunch of fondue pots had been set out with different melted cheeses, small soft pretzel bites, and then melted chocolates with marshmallows. It was amazing. She went all out.

“Ohmygod!” Elle rushed the words together. “This is so beautiful.”

Liam’s mother smiled, “Only the best for my kids,” she told Elle and Cam. It was well-known that Cam was considered one of her boys now, too, like a son to her.

She’d found a job in town teaching at a preschool, and she loved it. She was one of those natural mothers. All of her boys pressed in on her and squeezed her into a giant hug, causing her to laugh and nearly stumble over. It was sad they only got to see her for a few hours every day, but it was the only way to keep everyone healthy.

When she pulled away, she gestured to a table that was tucked back along the far wall. “Champagne for the adults!”

Elle squealed and ran to the back, starting to pass them out. Jasper took two and downed them both before taking a third. He’d taken residence over a pristine twenty-acre plot in Spring, and the Queen had officially named him a Lord, at his request, of course. We all teased him endlessly, calling him Lord Jasper any chance we got.

Trissa grabbed a glass of champagne and started to hand one to Liam’s mom when I panicked. What would I say when someone offered me one? I loved champagne, especially with strawberries, and this was my best friend’s engagement, why would I not celebrate with—

“Lily! Cheers.” Elle handed me a glass.

I grabbed it, slightly wide-eyed, but recovered quickly. “Cheers!” We clinked glasses and I let mine rest at my waist without taking a sip while Elle drank hers. I looked around the room nervously, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” she said loudly, causing a few people to stop their conversation and stare.

I gave her a nervous laugh. “Just… not feeling it tonight,” I lied.

Her mouth hung open. “Lily! Why aren’t you drinking?” she shouted louder. “Ohmygod! Are you pregnant?”

The entire room fell silent. I looked up and found Liam’s gaze. He was frozen, eyes like burning embers.

I turned to my bestie. “I didn’t want to ruin your special night.”

She shrieked like a wild animal and attacked me with a hug, causing the champagne to spill on my dress. “Lily!” Her joy brought tears to my eyes, and then everyone started clapping. When Elle pulled away from me, Liam was there.

“Lily? Are you?” His gaze was smoldering.

I swallowed hard, nodding. “I think we’re going to need a bigger house.”

With a grin, he swooped me up into his arms and lifted me into the air, holding the back of my legs so that I was flush against him.

“I’m going to be a dad!”

The joy in the room was palpable. Liam’s mom, Trissa, Jasper, everyone came to give their congratulations, and I hugged each one of them, feeling happier than ever.

Only later, on the porch when we were looking at the tree Mara was buried under, did I finally have a private moment alone with Liam.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he said, running his finger along my bottom lip.

I grinned and then looked back at the tree. “Liam?”

“Yes, my love?”

“If it’s a girl, I want to name her Mara.”

He smiled, and it lit up his whole face. “I think that’s perfect.”

When he pulled me into his arms for a kiss, I’d never felt so happy and complete in all my life.

The End

If you liked this series you might also like my newest release Shifter Island.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to everyone who loved Liam and Lily, they were so fun to write. A special thank you to my ARC team who stepped in to find any last minute errors. I love you guys! To Dawn and Kate, my editors, thank you for finding all the big mistakes that I seem to have so many of LOL. Muah!