Nine

Lux

On our way back home from the park, we decided to take the long way since neither of us were quite ready to leave the warm sunshine yet.

The houses were all in a wide circle around the park, and as we passed each house, I wondered about its story. Who were the people who lived here? What did they do? Were they good people? Or would they find themselves burning in the Chasm in a few decades?

A sound caught my ear, a weird screech, and I stopped walking, which made Archer stop, his grip on Gunner's stroller tightening reflexively.

"Lux, what's wrong?"

Before I could answer, a car came barreling around the corner, and in the split second it took me to realize it was going to crash straight into Gunner and Archer, I slid between them, taking the full force of the car against my front and stopping it in its tracks.

Of course then I realized what I'd done, so I quickly magicked away the massive dent, acting like the car had just stopped on its own as I whirled around to check on Gunner and Archer.

"Are you okay?" My eyes shot from Archer to Gunner.

Gunner was crying, but it looked like it was mostly from shock, while Archer was staring at me with his mouth open in a silent gasp. I couldn't see or smell blood on either of them, and now that I knew they were okay, I stalked toward the car.

I almost ripped off the driver's side door in my anger, then glared at the woman inside. She was probably in her mid-twenties, and she still had her phone in her hand, a text screen open.

So many curse words fought to spill free, but I swallowed them all down as I glared at the woman. She looked to be in shock herself, but right then I had no mercy for her.

"Do you have any idea what you almost did?" I growled, and she jumped, her wide eyes flashing to me. "There's a baby over there. A baby you almost crushed under your car because you couldn't wait two bloody minutes to send that text!"

"Lux," Archer called from close by, but I ignored him, wishing I could punish this woman somehow. I wasn't allowed to hurt humans, though. It was the one condition of living in the human world, the only order I'd been given.

"Lux," Archer repeated, his hand clamping down on my arm, and I pulled away from the woman, turning to look at him.

Archer didn't look as shocked anymore, and I watched as he pulled me back and faced down the woman himself.

"Jessica, right? You live in 22A?"

Jessica nodded, her big blue eyes wide and teary. "I'm so sorry, Archer."

"I can't forgive you, not for this," Archer said with a shake of his head. "I'm sure you're shook up. I want you to remember this, okay? Always remember it, and make sure you put your phone away before you start driving. No text or video or anything is as important as someone's life."

I wondered how Archer could be so calm in a situation like this. I was boiling with rage, and yet he was calmer than ever.

Jessica nodded shakily, and Archer stepped back, taking me with him.

Reaching into the stroller, he picked up a now quiet Gunner, cradling him against his chest. Gunner hid his face in the crook of Archer's neck, and he exhaled shakily.

That was when I realized it. Archer wasn't calm. He was just pretending, for Gunner's sake, and maybe for my sake too.

Jessica drove off after another mumbled sorry—she hadn't been hurt since I'd used my magic to protect her, again, because of my orders and not because I wanted to—and Archer and I quietly made our way home, Gunner still pressed to Archer's chest.

I'd vowed to myself that I would protect these two with my life, but I'd never expected danger to be so close to home. I'd kept them safe, but I wished they'd never had to face something so scary at all, especially Archer.

Gunner probably wouldn't remember this moment, but Archer would. I hoped he wouldn't blame himself, because the only person at fault here was the lady who had been driving and texting at the same time. I'd never understood the human need to always be connected with someone, and this weird impatience they all seemed to possess. What mighty horror could've befallen her if she'd just waited until she was home to text?

When we arrived at home, I unlocked the door, and Archer walked inside, murmuring softly to Gunner. I had a feeling those two wouldn't be separating the rest of the day, and I completely understood that.

If I was closer to them, if I was Archer's partner instead of an employee, I'd have pulled them both into a hug too, and held on for as long as I could. I wanted to fuck the consequences and do it anyway, since I felt shaky all over, and I barely held myself back as I stashed the stroller and the picnic basket.

Trashing the sandwich wraps and putting Gunner's empty bottle in the sink, I returned to the living room to find Archer on the couch, Gunner now lying across his arms with his head leaning against Archer's shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Settling on the couch, I turned to face the two, unable to keep my eyes off them for more than a second without panicking.

Archer sighed, then shook his head, worry lining his face. "I'm not. How could I be? I bought this house because this neighborhood is supposed to be safe. I thought it'd be a good place for a kid. And now..."

Reaching out, I squeezed his arm, pulling away when my heart begged me to let the touch linger.

"It was an accident. No one could've predicted it."

"I know. But that somehow makes it even worse, doesn't it? That no matter what I do, I can't protect Gunner from everything."

Archer

Despite having Gunner in my arms, my heart was still thundering in my chest. It'd been so close.

If Lux hadn't reacted when he had...

I wasn't sure if it was adrenaline or the shock of the incident, but for a moment I'd heard the crash, heard the screeching of metal and seen the hood of the car crumple.

The car had crashed right into Lux, or so it'd looked like. But then I'd blinked, and the car looked good as ever, and Lux was just standing there, hand raised, as if Jessica had just hit the brakes right before she crashed into us.

But if she'd hit the brakes, then why had the airbags deployed?

Shaking my head, I buried my nose in Gunner's curls and breathed in some of that calming baby scent, hoping it would slow down my racing heart.

Lux's eyes were flickering between me and Gunner, and it was clear he'd been shaken by the whole incident too. I still wasn't quite sure exactly what had happened, but I knew one thing for sure. When the car had been headed for me and Gunner, Lux had stepped in the way. I didn't know why he thought that would save us, but he'd done it to protect us. Our minds reacted in different ways when faced with life-or-death situations, but Lux's reaction had been to protect us.

Lux had only been working here for four weeks. Did he really care so deeply about Gunner already? People rarely risked their lives for a paycheck, and I didn't think Lux had done it because he needed the job. He'd simply reacted, as if protecting Gunner and me was the most natural thing in the world to him.

I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something, that the car had crashed into Lux. The rational part of me said that was impossible, that Lux would be dead or heavily injured if that'd happened.

But I'd seen it happen, if only for a split second. Or had I imagined it? Had my panicked brain come up with the scenario? I'd never hallucinated before, but there was a first time for everything, right? People were known to do and experience some crazy things when they were terrified.

"Would you like some tea?"

I blinked, glancing up at Lux and then staring for a long moment before his question clicked.

"Ah, yes please."

Nodding, he got to his feet, then grabbed the baby monitor on his way out the room, telling me he was still freaking out inside too.

Things like this weren't supposed to happen in real life. I mean, you read about them in the papers, and you said thank fuck no one got hurt, or if they did, you were grateful it wasn't you, and then went about your day. You never expected you'd be in a situation like that, not until you were smack dab in the middle of it.

Pulling my phone out one-handed, I texted Jerry that I wouldn't be able to come to work for a few days. It was Saturday, so I had tomorrow off, but I knew there was no way I'd be able to leave Gunner for any length of time, not for his health but mine. I knew without a shadow of a doubt now that Lux would do anything to keep Gunner safe, but until my heart calmed the fuck down, I wasn't going anywhere.

Lux returned with two cups of tea and a plate of cookies, placing them on the table before eyeing Gunner.

"I think you should put him in his crib for a bit," Lux suggested, and I glanced down at Gunner. He was dozing away without a care in the world, the earlier scare already forgotten. I wished I could be as carefree as him.

Silently, I got to my feet and walked over to the crib, laying him down and then running my finger down his cheek before placing my palm on his chest and feeling his heart beat steadily.

Gunner is okay , I assured myself. He's safe, and he's healthy, and nothing happened to him. The car stopped before it could ever touch him.

Whatever happened today, the bottom line was that I knew now that I could trust Lux with Gunner implicitly. Whatever his reasons, Lux would rather die than see Gunner hurt, and that meant more to me than words could describe.

Returning to the couch, I settled a little farther from the corner than I usually would, which brought me closer to Lux. It was probably the closest we'd ever sat except the picnic earlier, and as Lux glanced over at me, I could tell he'd noticed.

Picking up a tea cup, he held it out to me, and I took it from him, my fingers lingering against his.

His lips curved just a little as he picked up his own tea and took a sip, humming softly.

The tea was warm, sweet, and exactly what I'd needed to calm down a little. It slid down my throat without effort, warming me up from the inside, and I sighed as I felt my muscles finally starting to relax.

"That was..." I shook my head, unable to find the right words to describe the experience.

"Crazy. Unfathomable. Life-changing," Lux offered, and I chuckled roughly.

"I'll say. I guess it would make for a great 'first job' story for you someday down the line," I said, trying to find some speck of humor in the whole thing so I wouldn't go back to freaking out.

Lux gazed at me for a long moment, then shook his head, taking another sip of his tea. "I don't really want to think about the day this job will be over."

I watched Lux, wondering what exactly he meant by that. Did he just mean that he'd grown attached to Gunner and would miss him? Or was there more to it?

Or maybe, I felt like there was more to it simply because I wanted there to be.