Epilogue #2
Son. The word was on repeat in my mind. It had been ever since I’d first laid eyes on him and realized who he was to Riley.
He was utterly perfect. A piece of my mate and also half warlock.
His magic was easy to sense. He could be powerful with training.
At the moment, his power was overwhelming for his tiny system, but as he grew, it would be easier for him to handle. He had me here to guide him.
Oscar went ahead of me into the house I shared with Riley and Corbin. Before Riley arrived in my life, the house had been lonely. Now it was full of life and joy. My favorite time of day was coming home to my family.
I greeted Cor with a hug and Riley with a kiss. Riley was helping Corbin with a painting. “I’m painting us for the fridge!” Cor said proudly, puffing out his chest. There was something off about him. A lack of his usual energy. I felt his forehead. It was fine, so I dismissed it.
“Just going to get ready for dinner. Do you need me to do anything?” I asked Riley.
“Nah, I just need to change my shirt. Oh, I’ve ordered their pizza. It’ll be here soon.”
I was just leaving the bedroom, ready for dinner, when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Corbin yelled as he sprinted for the door.
He struggled to open it, so I helped him and handed Rayna her tip as she gave me the box.
All her attention was on our little boy.
“Can I touch your wings?” He had been working up the courage to ask her.
“Of course! Maybe one day I can take you flying.” Rayna caught my expression.
“Not high, of course! Plus, you could be a bird, couldn’t you?
” I winced. We knew Corbin had a few forms, but none of them had flight so far.
“Anyway, I’d better get going. Lots of deliveries to do, and of course Keifer is nowhere to be found. Bye!”
Corbin said nothing about flying, which had alarm bells ringing. He just followed me into the kitchen and sat in his chair.
“We better get going if we’re going to make that reservation.
” Riley looked gorgeous in an emerald?green shirt under a black waistcoat.
We were matched in height, but his legs looked so long in his black tailored pants.
He hugged Oscar, and kissed Corbin on the head before taking my hand and towing me to the door.
“Have a good night! See you in a couple of hours.”
The restaurant was busy. This early table was the only one they had free.
While Riley could leave Greyhaven now, he hadn’t wanted to go to another town for dinner with Corbin at home.
Both of us preferred to be close by in case he needed us, especially since this was our first date night after taking him home.
“Did Cor seem off to you at all?” I asked him over our main course. The worry had been at the back of my mind all day. I just couldn’t ignore it anymore.
“A little.” Riley laughed. “Look at us. Barely parents and already this is all we talk about. Are you sure this is what you want?”
Alarmed, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“We could still be mated if Corbin and I lived elsewhere. We could date and let things progress at a slower pace.”
“Where’s this coming from, Riley?” It didn’t feel like this was something he wanted. The bond held some doubt, but it was hollow.
“A parent at the school heard Corbin talking about us. They made some comments about me dumping a lot of responsibility on you.” He didn’t meet my eyes.
I took his hand and squeezed it. “It’s everything I didn’t know I wanted. Honestly, I think Corbin’s a gift from the fates. You make me so happy and he just makes it… I dunno… just more, y’know?”
“Yeah.” Riley smiled, a dimple popping in his cheek. “We would have been fine just the two of us. Corbin just makes it better. Ties us closer, I think.”
“Exactly.”
We lapsed into silence before we both tried to speak over each other. “Want to get this to go and head home?” Riley asked.
“So much! You read my mind.”
Within minutes, we were on our way home. Riley got a call when we were a block away. “Riley, Corbin isn’t well, he’s running a fever. What should I do? He’s not going to have a seizure, is he?”
I took the phone from Riley and wrapped an arm around him. “No, he went to the wards yesterday. He’s probably caught a cold. There’s medicine in our bathroom cabinet, but remember, you have healing magic, Oscar. Everything’s fine.”
“No! I can’t use magic on him. What if I hurt him?”
“You’re going to be a healer, Os. Sometimes you have to hurt to heal. Not this time, though. Just seek out what’s wrong and we’ll be home in a minute.”
“But your dinner!” The poor guy was panicking, much like Riley was. He was almost running, trying to get home faster.
“We were nearly home anyway. Both of us felt something off with him. Sorry we asked you to babysit when we weren’t sure he was okay.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s Valentine’s Day and you’re so new.” We entered the house, going straight to the living room where Corbin was looking pale and sweaty. Oscar hung up and flung the phone onto the couch. “Oh, thank the goddess!”
“Daddy? Baba?”
Riley kneeled in front of Corbin. “We’re here. Let’s get you fixed up.”
With me watching, Oscar checked him over. He’d been covering healing in his classes, so he knew what to do. I got that it was different working on someone you cared about, though. “Hmmm, I think it’s just a virus. I could help with the fever, but I think it needs to burn itself out.”
Riley looked at me for my opinion. “I think we should just stick with the medicine we have. We stocked up on things after that last virus that hit the school.”
“Well, okay. I’m going to get out of your hair. See you in the morning?” I nodded and led Oscar out.
When I came back, Riley was feeding Corbin the medicine and tucking him under a blanket on the sofa. I took the food to the kitchen, put it on plates, and headed back to my guys. “Here.” I handed Riley his plate and silverware. He thanked me and settled in to eat with Cor between us.
“Movie on?” Corbin asked sleepily. He was resting against Riley, the remote in his little hand.
Riley hit the button for the movie. Within minutes, Corbin was asleep.
It might not have been the romantic night we had planned, yet this Valentine’s Day had been the best one I’d ever had.
I leaned over our son to kiss Riley’s cheek. “How about a do?over when Pax and Fen get back?”
He smiled. “Hopefully it won’t take Pax much longer to convince Fen we need him here.”
“Don’t worry, I might not know your brother well, but I know he won’t give up until he gets what he wants.
“Like you, you mean?” Riley grinned, his eyes lit with happiness.
“I had to convince you somehow. As soon as I saw you, I just knew you were going to change my life.”
“And you saved mine.”
“I’d do it all again, just to end up here with everything I ever wanted. I love you, Riley.”
“Love you too.”
The end.