RAVEN

A YEAR LATER…

I check on the twins. We have a stroller, but Maddy likes to put them in a twin shoulder-strap carrier. They are heavy. How she carries them around is beyond me. So, I ask to hold them for a while. She unstraps the contraption and passes them to me.

It’s a two-man job with two babies. We have a handful. But Maddy is such a trooper.

The handful in my arms threatens everyone’s peace—we are at a wedding. A double wedding, actually.

Archer and Katura, Kai and Callie decided to get married on the same day. It would’ve sounded eccentric before the Change, but these days, they only have one parent among the four of them—Alex Ortiz. It wasn’t just a two bros’ decision. The girls were excited about the double wedding, too.

So, here we are, at the beach, the ocean sparkling in the midday sun. For today, the football-field-sized sandy area was transformed into a flower garden with several hundred chairs lined up in front of a small wedding gazebo. There are more guests than the area can fill.

It sounds like a simple wedding, but it’s not.

Number one, giant fireworks tonight will probably be seen from the mainland.

Two, there is yacht-hopping tomorrow and the day after. Yep. Six yachts. Hundreds of guests. Who wants to bet that things will get out of control? Exactly…

Three? That’s the big one, the one we are the proudest of. There is a weekend wedding celebration for Port Mrei at Archer’s expense. Music bands. Food stalls. Carnival rides. A traveling circus from the mainland. Yes, it’s a lot more lavish than what Archer organized when Maddy and I got married. And Port Mrei has been talking about it for weeks.

Everyone is excited about the wedding, but I still can’t process my own happiness. I have three kids, Sonny and the twins. How did the universe bless me with so much? Most importantly, Sonny got his wish for a sister, and Tsariuk got his for a grandson. Sometimes, the universe listens.

I put my hands under both of my twins’ feet. There’s little Olya—Ollie. Little hands, raven hair, cute face. My blood, my DNA, her eyes. I hope they don’t change. I want Ollie to have Maddy’s eyes when she grows up.

Mathew Junior has an adorable little chestnut mohawk and sharp features. He stomps his little foot against my other palm in protest. He’s half-asleep, but the little guy demands attention.

Mathew Junior—Maddy insisted on the name. Junior rearranges his little mouth into a pout, so freaking precious that, suddenly, it’s hard to breathe as emotions flood me. I really need to get used to this. But how do you get used to the idea that something so precious was born out of me , my sins? Maybe Maddy’s character overrides them.

Ollie strains her entire body in an attempt to cry.

Oh, no.

Axavier, who sits in the row in front of us, turns around and looks at the babies over the sunglasses on the tip of his nose. His eyes flick to me with mild reproach.

“Chill,” I say, knowing that it irritates people when crying babies are around. But the wedding couples were absolutely okay with this. In fact, they laughed about it. Archer said, “You’ll be my favorite guest. Raven and the babies.” They tease me about it, fuckers. Wait until they have their own.

Ollie produces a short sharp screech, then stills. Sonny next to me leans to look into her face and wiggles his fingers in front of her.

Axavier turns away, murmuring, “Next thing you know, they will start wailing during the ceremony?—”

He keeps talking when a big, heavy hand lands on his shoulder, thick fingers tightening.

It’s Aleksei, sitting on Sonny’s other side. Aleksei leans over so close to Axavier that his white fedora almost touches Axavier’s head. “Is there a problem?” he asks in the accent that, I feel, he intentionally exaggerates for bigger impact.

Axavier shakes his head and sinks into his chair.

Aleksei lets go and tugs at the flaps of his white tuxedo then lifts his sunglasses and winks at Sonny next to him.

Sonny responds with his signature wink, with both eyes and his mouth crooked to one side. He’s wearing a white kid’s fedora, which he was adamant about getting when he saw Aleksei’s the other day.

Ollie and Junior both squeak as if in triumph. Aleksei gives them an approving glance and proudly leans back in his chair.

A dozen of his guards are standing in various positions at a distance. Archer insisted that they back away from the actual ceremony. Zion is safe, but Aleksei has too many enemies worldwide.

I catch Maddy’s quick smile. She kisses my shoulder and rubs her palm on my thigh.

We legally signed Sonny’s adoption papers the day we got married, only a month after I proposed. The wedding was at the local chapel in Port Mrei. It was supposed to be a small ceremony, with just her father, Sonny, Archer and Katura, Kai and Callie, Ali, Bo, Guff, and Mac. Yes, Mac left the mainland for the first time in years. He only agreed to be flown to Zion after Maddy declared that it wouldn’t be right to get married without him here.

“You can’t stand me up like this, Mac,” I said, guilt-tripping him. So he agreed.

Then Marlow asked if he could come with Ray-Ray. So did Bishop, Ortiz, Candy, Nilanski, and a dozen other people who called and invited themselves. And when Aleksei Tsariuk flew to Zion for the ceremony, of course we ended up having a dozen guards around the chapel and another dozen around the city.

Aleksei—he insists I call him that—had warned me before the wedding. “Do you know the implications of being my son-in-law?”

I didn’t need the psych speech, but he gave one anyway, concluding with, “You ever do anything to hurt Milena?—”

“Point taken,” I interrupted. “I believe I don’t have to prove myself.”

He smiled. “You are my family now, Raven. Remember that. No way out of it.”

Yeah, so that cut-throat accent now belongs to my father-in-law. And I generally dismiss his senseless threats like the one when he found out that his daughter wanted to take my last name. We made a compromise. Now Maddy is Milena Tsariuk-Levi. She still prefers Maddy around her friends. Mayflower is just for me.

Archer insisted on organizing a festival for the Port Mrei residents in lieu of the events. And because Sonny asked, and that was his celebration, too, there was a giant party for all the kids in Port Mrei and the Children’s House.

So, there’s that, a new thing—an orphanage, though we don’t call it that. Callie and Maddy are in charge of family placement and psychological evaluations. Archer is still doing the DNA testing for all Port Mrei residents, matching some of the lost children to their parents, if there are any. Gen-Alpha is pouring a lot of money into Port Mrei to rebuild the community. It’s about time we understood that to build a good company we need to build a safe place for its people.

I suppose that’s how others change us. I used to say, “Fuck you,” to this world. Until Maddy. This world? It’s ours. I want to see it bloom, grow rich and prosperous. Because I want children to grow up smiling. Anger makes you want to burn everything in your wake. Love is like flowers. It needs care, water, and sun. I like flowers a lot.

Back to Sonny. He heard everyone joking about Papa Tsariuk, the nickname Aleksei had acquired on this island. When we signed the adoption papers, he walked up to Aleksei after our wedding and said straight-faced, “I suppose you are my grandfather.”

“Oh, yeah? I suppose so.”

“You are my second one.”

Tsariuk stared him down.

“After Mac,” Sonny said, having spent the last two days taking Mac around the island and showing him everything.

Mac heard the comment and chuckled. Aleksei started a discussion with him about non-profits. Sometime later, Aleksei already offered his support for Mac’s social programs. In no time, Mac will become a new Dalai Lama. Aleksei will boast about yet another charity. But that, my friends, is how the world works. Sometimes, clean money is stored in bank accounts and in secured vaults while the dirty money goes around solving the world’s problems.

And then there’s my wife.

Maddy…

How did I deserve this?

Oh, yeah, I rarely go to my alcove. The sound of the ocean is beautiful but it's missing the sound of her voice. I prefer falling asleep and waking up to see her face. Also, smelling burnt batter at seven in the freaking morning because Sonny is learning to make pancakes. God, I really do hate breakfast, but I'll never tell him that.

I never went out much, but I do now, because turns out Maddy is still a party girl. I love watching her dress up. She likes pretty clothes, heels, makeup, dancing. And she is magnetic on the dance floor.

Kat approached me at Marlow’s party last month. "Raven, I would've never thought that you would get the hottest, richest, and most important girl on this island, or, actually, in the Northern Hemisphere.”

“Looks like you got the hottest, richest, most important guy. In the Southern one.”

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm lucky."

“So am I,” I murmured, my eyes on Maddy. “So am I.”

Maddy, well, she is a lover, yes. And she is a fighter, the quiet one, who fights without a weapon. Most of all, she is a kidnapper. She is, my Maddy. She kidnapped my mind first. Then my heart. And suddenly, I look around and don't recognize the world I live in. It used to be a desert. Now it's vibrant. I used to despise it. Now, I want to find a way to make it better. I used to slash and cut and burn anything that stood in my way. Now I want to heal those around me. People fascinate me. Because most of them wear masks, and when you rip those off, most have a chance for redemption. I want to show them they do. There are stories beneath all those scars, pain behind the smiling eyes, but also so much hidden goodness even in those who brandish weapons in front of you. I should know. I did that once.

Wishful kindness, you see? Maddy taught me that.

When someone tells you that you are worthless, don't listen. They are wrong. There is one person out there, just one, who will tell you that you are worth everything to them. And that one person is all that matters.

A kingdom requires an army. Love? Just two people who would trade a kingdom for each other.

Who said that? I did. See? There's hope for all of us.