Twenty-Four

Archer

I watched as Lux fed the fae baby and hummed softly under his breath, a tiny smile on his lips. I felt like there was a balloon in my chest, and it kept growing bigger and bigger the longer I watched him. Instead of air, the balloon was filled with my love for this sweet, affectionate demon.

I'd never imagined I'd love someone as much as I loved Lux. Before I met him, I'd been content with the life I had. My plan had been to split my focus between Gunner and work, with no space leftover for anything else. But somehow, Lux had made room for himself in my life without making me compromise on either of my priorities. He'd situated himself in my life so completely that I could no longer imagine it without him, and I didn't want to.

Gunner babbled in my arms, his eyes on Lux and the baby as he waved his hands in the air. He either wanted to see the baby, or wanted to be the one in Lux's arms. Either way, Lux grinned as soon as he noticed Gunner's insistent waving, and made his way to us, joining me on the couch. His side pressed against mine, and I leaned into him, unwilling to allow even an inch of space between us.

After the excitement of last night, we'd gone to bed after Lux had magicked both the cribs into our room and put Gunner and the fae baby to sleep right by his bedside. He'd promised me that nothing would touch them, and I hadn't doubted him for a second. Despite everything, I'd slept deeply, secure in the knowledge that he'd keep the babies safe. I had a feeling he hadn't slept, though, which was why I'd taken today off so I could watch over all three of them.

Archer had contacted Artemus, who was the person who'd summoned Lux and asked him to stay in the human world. He was also the mate of a king, though he'd been human like me before. Sometimes, I still wondered if all of this was some big fever dream, but I never could've dreamed up someone as amazing as Lux.

Still, it was strange to think there were worlds other than this one, and that I was going to be meeting the ruler of one such world today. Archer had said Artemus and his two mates all ruled over Otherworld, and while only one of them had the title of king, they were all equally responsible for it.

"When do you think he will be here?" I asked, and Lux shrugged.

"It depends on if he's coming alone or not. If his mates decide to come with, they might be a bit longer."

Nodding, I smiled when Gunner reached over to grab the fae baby's hand, then tugged it to his mouth as the baby simply watched him. They were about the same age, but the fae baby was a lot calmer, as if his soul was much older than his body. Even if the magic had changed how he looked, I knew without a doubt I'd have known he wasn't my Gunner. Not that anyone would've believed me. Hell, even I would've thought I was going crazy.

Thank heavens Lux was here with me, or I would've lost Gunner twice over by now. First that stupid car crash, and then this.

"Oh, here he is," Lux murmured a moment before a knock appeared at the door. My brows shot up, and Lux shrugged as he got to his feet. "It's a summoning bond thing."

A strange sort of jealousy curled in my belly, but I shook it off. The bond he shared with this Artemus was nothing like a mate bond. I had absolutely no reason to be jealous.

Or so I thought until I got a good look at Artemus.

The man was, quite simply put, stunning. With long, golden brown hair framing his face and hanging down to his lower back, green eyes framed by black eyeliner that seemed to see more than what was on the surface, and a slim body that appeared to be all muscles, he looked like he belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine. Tattoos covered both his arms, mesmerizing patterns that I had to jerk my eyes away from.

Fuck, he was beautiful .

He also wasn't alone, I realized as my eyes slid to his companion. The man at his side was just a couple inches taller than him, but seemed to dominate the room as he stepped inside. His hazel eyes scanned the room, and his lips curved into a smile as he spotted Gunner. His messy black hair fell over his forehead, and he pushed the strands away distractedly as he murmured something to Artemus, making him smirk.

"Artemus, King Damien, thank you for coming," Lux said, dragging my gaze away from the couple. Wait, did he say 'king?' The king of Otherworld was in my home. Holy shit.

"This is my mate, Archer," Lux introduced, and I dipped my head in greeting, glad to have Gunner in my arms. "And his son, Gunner."

I realized suddenly that I didn't need a grand declaration of love to tell Lux how I felt. All I really needed were two words to tell him exactly how important he was to me. To us .

"Our son," I corrected gently, and Lux's eyes snapped to mine. I gave him a small smile, and he sucked in a breath, biting down hard on his lower lip as his eyes turned glassy. Maybe I shouldn't have said it when we had company...

"Calux. I'm so happy for you!" King Damien exclaimed, and Lux quickly swiped his finger under his eyes before turning to the others and grinning widely.

"Thank you, King Damien. Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

Artemus shook his head as they settled on the couch, his hand resting comfortably on Damien's thigh. They were clearly very close, and that made some of the jealousy stewing in my gut settle down.

I sat down in the armchair, while Lux picked up the fae baby from the crib before choosing to settle down on Gunner's playmat in front of me, his back pressed against my legs.

"We're fine, Calux. Can you tell us why you invited us over? You said it had something to do with the fae?" Artemus's eyes flicked to the fae baby as he asked. Clearly, he suspected it had something to do with the baby. Either that or he was wondering why the baby hadn't been introduced.

Gunner reached up to grab my chin, and I turned my attention to him, keeping an ear on the conversation as Lux started explaining what'd happened last night.

Lux

I recounted the events of last night as Artemus and King Damien listened with rapt attention. Once I was done, I settled back, smiling slightly when I felt a small hand curl into my hair, tugging at the strands. Gunner couldn't actually hurt me, but Archer still admonished him softly, untangling my hair from his tiny fist as Artemus and King Damien digested what I'd said.

"I can't believe the fae tried to do that. They have to know there's no way changelings would be able to pass as human now, not when there are X-rays, MRIs, and all those human tests. Hell, even a blood test would reveal something was wrong," King Damien said, and I had to agree.

"Well, the fae haven't ventured into the human world in a while. Maybe they don't realize how much it has changed," Artemus suggested, his eyes far away as he searched inward. As part of his new powers, he'd received a veritable library's worth of historical data that now resided in his mind, and I could tell he was searching through it for any clues that might help.

"We should talk to Tharion and Celeste," the king suggested, and I agreed. They were two of the most powerful beings in the world, and they might be able to get to the root of this, especially with their fae past.

"Until we can figure something out, could you take care of him, Calux?" Artemus asked, and I almost nodded. It wasn't like they could take the baby to Otherworld, so he'd be safer here with us. But I couldn't decide that alone.

I glanced back at Archer, and Gunner took the opportunity to lean forward and grab my nose. Smiling, Archer nodded, then removed Gunner's hand from my nose. For a little guy, he had quite the firm grip.

"We'll keep him safe," I promised, and the Otherworlders both smiled.

"Thank you, both of you," King Damien said, and I shook my head. He had absolutely nothing to thank me for. If he and his mates hadn't decided to send us demons to the human world, it might've taken me decades to find Archer.

"It's our pleasure," I assured him, glancing down at the baby. "Um, doesn't he look a lot like Tharion?" Tharion and his sibling both had similar russet skin and sparkling green eyes, and I wondered if this baby belonged to their family. I didn't know if they were royalty, but it would make sense if they were considering how good they were at their current jobs.

"He does, doesn't he? He might just be a descendant of Tharion. A great-great something grandchild of one of his other siblings, maybe," the king mused, and I shrugged, not caring either way. All I cared about was that this baby stayed safe and that Artemus and King Damien were able to safely return him home.

"What will you do if it turns out he isn't wanted back home?" I couldn't imagine sending him back knowing he wasn't wanted. I didn't want him to grow up without love.

"If that happens..." Artemus trailed off, clearly searching for an idea.

"The Mistvale clan," Damien suggested, and Artemus nodded quickly.

I knew of the Mistvale clan, and while I'd never met any of them, I had visited the town a few times on Artemus's orders to check that everything was okay. They'd already homed a few supe kids there, and I had a feeling this baby would be welcomed with open arms if they took him there.

"Or we could adopt him," Archer murmured, the first words he'd spoken since the discussion started.

Hearing his voice reminded me of what he'd said before. I'd been trying not to think about it because I was in real danger of turning into a blubbering mess if I did, so I pushed the thought aside and focused on what he'd said, which wasn't much better.

"You'd want to?" I asked, gazing back at him. I was quite certain I had hearts in my eyes as I stared up at him, and that the king and Artemus were watching us avidly, but I didn't care. I wanted them to know how much I loved this human, and how much his words meant to me.

"Yeah," Archer said softly, reaching out to cup my cheek. "I would."

Turning my head, I pressed a kiss to his palm before facing forward and meeting Artemus's penetrating gaze. "If they don't want him back, we'll adopt him."

Artemus smiled, then gave me a nod. "That's good to hear. He'll be lucky to have both of you. We'll talk to Tharion and then set up a meeting with the fae. We'll be back with news as soon as possible."

King Damien and Artemus didn't stay for long after that, and once they were gone, Archer and I returned to the living room, slumping on the couch side by side.

Now that I had a moment to breathe, Archer's words earlier rushed to the forefront of my mind. Turning just my head, I watched him as he made a face at Gunner, a smile quirking my lips. God, I loved him so much.

"I love you too," I said in a low voice, because that's what he'd said earlier when he'd called Gunner our son.

With just two words, he'd told me everything I needed to hear. He'd told me he loved me, that he wanted me to be a part of this family. That he never wanted me to leave. That Archer and Gunner were mine just as surely as I was theirs.

Archer's face brightened, a wide smile spreading across his lips, and Gunner cheered as Archer leaned closer and pressed his lips to mine.

"I love you so very much, my dear demon."

"Baaa!" Gunner added, not to be left behind, and my heart filled with so much joy I wondered if it'd ever be able to beat regularly again. Hell, who needed a regular heartbeat anyway?