Chapter 32 Flecks Of Starlight #2
Seri’s ear-piercing shriek sounded like a klaxon at a gulag. Ko choked on his coffee, silent laughter creasing the corners of his eyes. Cas snorted into his orange juice. And me? I stared at the warm slurry between my toes and contemplated the universe’s sense of humor.
But, hey, that’s the thing about three monsters living with a lunar witch and a dire wolf. Normal was never really on the menu to begin with.
#
When Kaori called just after breakfast, I’d half expected another lecture about “considering a visit, just to say hello.” Instead, she’d bypassed all that bullshit to remind Seri that tonight was a full moon, apparently the perfect time for “moon bathing.”
I’d snorted so hard that I choked, but Seri’s eyes had lit up like the Fourth of July.
Kaori, being a nephilim archivist and therefore a walking supernatural encyclopedia, had theorized that a lunar witch might recharge faster under direct moonlight. Even Cas, our resident skeptic, perked up at that, mumbling about solar witches and fire witches who could power up in the sun.
Which was how a trio of dhampir brothers found themselves sprawled out around their beloved on the gentle slope above the apple orchard at midnight, watching her literally try to commune with the moon like some kind of ethereal goddess.
“I’m pretty sure this is something straight out of a fantasy romance novel,” I drawled, trying to mask how much the sight of Seri laying there in nothing but her underwear was torturing me. “Next thing you know, we’ll be dancing naked around a bonfire or sacrificing small woodland creatures.”
None of us, not even Seri, believed her magical reservoir would just suddenly fill up from this little experiment, but after everything Arabesque had done to her, we were willing to try anything that might help her recover faster.
“Shut up, fireweed,” Ko muttered from where he was lying on his stomach, chin propped on his hands as he gazed at Seri with unconcealed admiration.
“Just saying if Kaori suggests blood rituals next, maybe we get a second opinion.”
“You know the queen wouldn’t suggest anything harmful to our girl.” Cas, sitting cross-legged on Seri’s other side, shot me a look that managed to be both amused and exasperated.
“Queen,” I snorted. “Still can’t believe Dad actually found a second beloved. A nephilim, no less.”
“This will work,” Seri murmured without opening her eyes.
She was laid out on her back, arms slightly extended from her sides, palms up like she was waiting for the moon to drop presents into them, if only the cloud cover would dissipate.
“I’m cold,” she complained after a few minutes, but made no move to sit up or cover herself.
“Told you this was a bad idea,” Cas said.
“No, you didn’t,” Ko countered. “You said the idea has merit.”
“Same thing.”
I rolled my eyes at them both.
“For the record, I’m fully in support of Seri wearing as little as possible, regardless of the magical benefits.”
That earned me a blind swat in my general direction, which I easily dodged.
She’d insisted on stripping down to her bra and panties to “absorb as much moonlight as possible,” supposedly.
The way she shivered, however, made it clear that the April night was colder than her enthusiasm had accounted for.
“You know,” I said conversationally, “if body heat helps, I could—”
“No, thanks, Zoodle.”
Cruor, she was beautiful lying there, nearly everything on display as flecks of starlight danced across her milky skin.
Then, it happened. The moon finally came out of the clouds and washed her in silver, turning her skin to luminous pearl.
The light seemed to caress her in a way that felt almost intimate, like it recognized her as its own.
I couldn’t blame it. Who wouldn’t want to touch every inch of her?
I’d never been the poetic type, but the words bubbled up in my throat, unbidden and honest.
“You look like you belong to the night,” I breathed. “Like the moon made you just for itself.”
Her eyes zipped open, surprise in her face. She wasn’t used to hearing that sort of thing from me. Hell, I wasn’t used to hearing that sort of thing from me, but I was trying. For her.
“Thank you, Zoodle,” she whispered, our eyes locking.
Then more happened. At first, I thought it was a trick of the light or my own lovesick imagination, but then Koa sat up sharply, eyes widening, and Cas went utterly still.
Nothing prepares you for seeing your wife go full glowstick.
And I’m not talking tipsy-at-a-rave neon.
Seri lit up like someone had bottled moonlight and shotgunned it through her pores.
Koa choked on the grass stalk he’d been chewing.
Cas’ hands turned his stainless steel water bottle into a modern art sculpture. And me? I forgot how to breathe.
The moon had nothing on her. She was the whole damn solar system right there in plain cotton undies.
She was literally, actually emitting light, soft and silvery, from beneath her skin.
It wasn’t bright enough to illuminate the hillside or anything, but it was unmistakable, like moonlight had somehow gotten trapped inside her and was now shining outward.
My eyes stung with tears to look at her.
“Stop staring,” she mumbled, cheeks blazing pink.
“Can’t. Our moonbeam’s a moonbeam.” The words escaped me before I could catch them. “Never seen magic like you, baby.”
Koa shot me a smirk, but his eyes were soft with wonder as he reached forward. Delicately, almost reverently, he ran a blade of grass from her collar bones to her navel. The light seemed to ripple in the wake of his touch, like he’d disturbed the surface of a luminous pool.
Seri squirmed, fussing, “I have enough goosebumps as it is!”
“I could give you even more,” Koa growled, his voice dropping to that register that always made her blush.
“You’re getting too cold, little wife,” Cas intervened. “Your arms and face exposed would be sufficient for this experiment.” He turned to me with narrowed eyes. “Give her your hoodie.”
“What?” I scowled. “No way. Look at her! She’s like a living nightlight!”
“And she’s freezing. Hoodie. Now.”
“Ten more minutes,” Seri pleaded. Her glow intensified, the moon doing a mic drop moment across the orchard, and shadows scattered like roaches. “I can feel it like static under my skin.”
I inched closer, drawn against all self-preservation instincts. My thumb brushed her ankle. Night’s teeth! Cas was right, as usual. She was the equivalent of an ice cube.
“Zane! I’m—”
“Freezing.” I shrugged out of my second-favorite hoodie, the red one with “Bite Me” emblazoned across the chest in vampire-bait letters. Steve, if you wanted to know, was currently framed to preserve Seri’s scent on him.
“I’m fine, really—”
“You’re a popsicle,” I interrupted her protests, kneeling beside her. “And while I personally find the whole teeth-chattering thing adorable and the hard nipples provocative, frostbite is probably counterproductive to your recovery.”
“It’s almost fifty degrees. Frostbite isn’t possible,” she argued and tried to resist as I held the hoodie open for her.
Ko, my bro, helped out and launched a sneak attack on the bottoms of her feet. She squealed, jerking away from his tickling fingers and directly into my waiting arms. I took full advantage, slipping the hoodie over her head while she was distracted.
Not to be outdone, Cas darted in and licked the insides of her knees, a move so unexpected and intimate that Seri dissolved into helpless giggles.
“That’s cheating!” she gasped between bouts of laughter, struggling half-heartedly as I pulled the hoodie down her torso, trapping her arms at her sides. “I look ridiculous.”
“You look ours.” The confession slipped out, raw and stupid. Ko’s eyebrow arched. Cas coughed into his fist. Brumster howled at the moon like a furry Greek chorus. To cover my drivel, I quickly quipped, “All’s fair in love and hoodie warfare.”
Her hair still shimmered with captured moonlight, and her face, flushed with laughter and bathed in silver, was the most exquisite thing I’d ever seen.
When she finally settled, curled up in my oversized hoodie with her bare legs still stretched out to catch the moonlight, she turned her attention to Cas with a familiar determined set to her jaw.
“This reminds me of what I said at breakfast about cosseting.” She poked his chest with one finger.
“This isn’t cosseting.” Cas raised an eyebrow, unruffled. “This is preventing hypothermia.”
“And while I’m on the subject,” she continued, ignoring him, “I want you to train me.”
That got all of our attention.
“Train you?” Ko repeated, his shoulders tensing. “For what?”
“Just self-defense. All of you said you would teach me your specialties when you had the time, and since you’re technically still on your honeymoon and not taking jobs, I think you have more than enough time on your hands.”
“I’d rather have you on my hands,” I teased, waggling my eyebrows, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew this wasn’t a joking matter, not to her.
“I’m serious,” she insisted, the glow beneath her skin intensifying with her emotion. “I want to know how to defend myself. I’m not a monster hunter and never will be, but I still want to prepare myself, especially after everything we’ve been through and what we know is coming.”
The memory of finding her flashed through my mind. Magic depleted, arm infected, ankle dislocated, bruises everywhere.
I exchanged a look with my brothers. Having spent our entire lives together, we could read each other’s thoughts with nothing more than a glance long before I came into my telepathic abilities. Now, a trio of blinks, our oldest silent communication, followed by tiny nods.
We understood where she was coming from.
How could we not? The three of us had sought the same thing when we agreed to an arranged marriage to escape Lucian’s machinations.
We’d be the worst hypocrites if we said no.
Still, the idea of deliberately putting her in harm’s way, even in controlled training sessions, made something uncomfortable twist in my gut.
“Of course, beloved,” Ko finally said. “We’ll teach you everything we can.”
I expected relief, maybe gratitude. I did not expect Seri to launch herself at Ko with such force that she knocked him flat on his back, covering his face with enthusiastic kisses.
My jaw dropped as I watched our little witch shower affection on my brother with complete abandon.
“Hey! How come he gets all the kisses? It’s my hoodie!”
Ko shot me a smug look over Seri’s curls, the bastard.
Brumsy chose that moment to trot over from whatever he’d been doing, probably hunting for those little black jelly beans he seemed to think rabbits left just for him.
His nose twitching with curiosity, he observed my open-mouthed indignation and sniffed my face, clearly wondering what was happening.
Alpha Fun sad? Want kiss?
“Not from you,” I muttered.
Too late. He was already pushing his muzzle closer, investigating my mouth with obvious interest. Probably smelling my beef jerky post-dinner snack, the little glutton. I grabbed him around the middle and wrestled him to the ground.
“You want smooches, Brum-Brum? Well, come and get ’em!”
He wriggled in delight, his tongue darting out to lick whatever part of me he could reach, which, unfortunately, turned out to be my hair.
His slobbery attention styled it into a vertical tower that would have made an 80s punk rocker proud.
I caught Cas smiling. A real smile, too, not the usual flicker at the corner of his lips. Worth it.
“He’s saying you need a haircut,” Cas snickered.
“Me? What about you?” I pointedly stared at his waist-long blond locks. The man was one leather jacket away from looking like a Viking metal guitarist.
“Don’t even think about it, Zoodle!” Seri abandoned Ko to launch herself at me, tackling me to the ground beside Brummy.
Well, I let her think she was tackling me. In reality, I collapsed backward with theatrical flair, careful to cradle her against me so she wouldn’t get hurt in the process. Her borrowed hoodie rode up as she straddled my stomach, exposing all of those pale thighs again and making my throat go dry.
“His hair is off-limits!” She flopped down on me.
“But mine is fair game?” I challenged, reaching up to twirl one of her spiral curls around my finger.
“Obviously.”
“Double standard,” Ko called from where he still lay sprawled on the grass, looking up at the stars with his head pillowed on his hands.
“Triple standard.” Cas stretched out beside us, completely relaxed and, for the first time in a week, I felt like I could breathe again.
Lying there on the hillside, surrounded by the people I loved most in the world, I marveled at what my life had become.
Brum-Brum bursting into murder zoomies at unexpected moments.
Ko making everything a competition, from who could last longest to who could make Seri blush hardest. Cas constantly suppressing the urge to commit homicide every time Ko or I acted like unhinged children with his dire, “I have killed for less. Do not test me.” Seri being a literal queen and somehow loving every single second of it.
She was always like, “You guys are the worst, and I love you,” or, “You’re all stupid. Now let’s go cuddle.”
And then there was me. Just being pure goblin energy twenty-four seven, pushing buttons and boundaries because that’s what middle brothers do best. My bizarre, beautiful, makeshift ‘ohana, glowing under the midnight moon.
What wasn’t to love, right?
End of Book Two