Chapter Fifteen

Time got away from me while Grant and I were fixing the bathroom drain. I didn't realize how many hours had passed until we were cleaning up and I got Nadine's text. I went into the hall and focused on our meeting place. A portal bloomed at my command, and Nadine stepped through.

"Everything okay?" I asked. "You were gone for a while. Everyone else is already back."

"Everything's fine," she said, but there was a hint of something in her tone I couldn't quite read. "I just had to do some shopping."

She held several bags in her hand. I recognized one from the pharmacy, but the other was a small gift bag.

A smile touched my lips. "My birthday isn"t until the end of the month."

Nadine beamed, and I knew she must be proud of whatever was in that bag. "Consider it an early birthday present."

My eyebrows shot up. "You want me to open it now?"

Nadine glanced to the bathroom, where Grant was shuffling around still cleaning up. She gestured to the door across the hall, which led to the library. "Let's go in here."

The library had become one of my most frequented rooms in the house. The books Hattie had given me lay in stacks on the desk, and the whiteboard we'd been gathering clues on stood in the corner. I'd cobbled it all back together after I'd practically torn the whole display apart a few months ago. It looked better now, but the clues weren't nearly as organized as before.

Nadine shut the door behind us. "You should sit down."

I followed her instructions and took the seat behind the desk, eyeing her curiously. Nadine set the gift bag in front of me. She knotted her hands together, but otherwise hid her expression. I had no idea what she had in store for me.

I pulled tissue paper out of the bag and set it aside. "You really didn't have to do this…"

My voice trailed off when I found what was inside. It was just a pen and a notepad—nothing special. I didn't understand what she was so excited about. I guess the pen was nice. It was a smooth black with silver accents.

"Oh," I realized. "For my journalism major. Makes sense. Thank you, Nad."

I hadn't finished my classes before we'd fled Octavia Falls, but one day when this was all over, I wanted to return to school and complete the required curriculum to get my journalism degree.

I started to stand to give her a hug, but she stopped me. "That's not all. You have to write with it."

I hesitated and sat back down. She wore a grin, like there was a lot more to this gift than she was telling me.

"Okay…" I placed the tip of the pen to the notepad. The pen moved beneath my fingers as if it had a mind of its own. I jumped back and dropped the pen, but it didn't fall to the table like I expected. It remained upright, scrawling a message across the paper as if a ghost were writing with it.

I glanced up to Nadine. "It's an enchanted pen."

Her smile widened. "I enchanted it myself. Watch."

I kept my eyes on the paper as the pen spelled out a message. I read it aloud. "Congratulations, you're going to be a…"

My heart stopped when the pen spelled out the final word. It made a stabbing motion on the exclamation point at the end of the sentence, then dropped to the table and rolled across it, as if it was never enchanted at all.

I barely noticed when the pen fell to the floor. All I could do was stare at the words on the notepad. The smooth lines blurred in front of me, and I blinked a few times before I read the words over again.

Congratulations, you're going to be a dad!

My thoughts became cloudy. This didn't seem real. Nadine and I had always used protection. I couldn't understand how this had happened.

By some miracle, it was happening.

Nadine and I hadn't talked much about having kids. It'd only come up a few times several years ago, when we thought the Reaper's Shadow curse would kill her. She'd said she wasn't sure she ever wanted kids, and she'd be happy without them. I'd agreed with her at the time.

But here we were in this moment, our future laid out in front of us, a future with children and a family of our own. In a single moment, everything had changed.

It was something we couldn't take back, and I didn't want to even if I could. This was the beginning of a brand new life together, and though our present was shrouded in darkness, our future was bright. I never realized how much I wanted it until now.

Excitement filled my bones at the thought of being a father. It was strange, because I always thought if I was going to be a dad, it'd be the scariest fucking thing in the whole world. And it was… but it came with an all-encompassing joy I hadn't expected.

We hadn't planned this, and this was the worst time to bring a child into this world, but none of that mattered. Nadine and I were going to be parents, and we'd figure out the rest together, no matter what happened.

"Lucas, say something," Nadine begged softly.

I finally managed to tear my gaze from the paper. "You're pregnant?"

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she nodded eagerly. "Are you upset?"

"No! Not at all!" I shot out of my chair and wrapped her tightly in a hug. "This is great news!"

Nadine broke down in my arms, sobbing into my chest.

I gently stroked her hair. "Nad, what's wrong? You seemed so excited a moment ago."

"I am. That's why I'm crying. I'm so, so happy." She drew away and wiped her eyes. "That's not all, though. Lucas, it's twins!"

I willed myself to remain upright. Two babies! I could hardly believe my ears. I could've sworn time had stopped altogether. I had to pull her tighter into my arms to remind myself time was still moving forward.

"How did we…? We use protection every time…" I stammered.

"Condoms break, Lucas," she said gently. "We conceived the night of our wedding. It's funny, because Chloe blessed me with fertility in the bridal ceremony before the wedding."

It took several moments for me to process what she'd said. I could hardly believe this was happening. "How'd you find out? I want to know everything."

The sound of voices came from outside the door. Nadine shot a quick glance at it, and we heard footsteps shuffling down the hall.

"Maybe we should take a walk," Nadine suggested.

I took her hand, and we peered into the hallway. I didn't see anyone, but it definitely sounded like someone was snooping a moment ago. We went to the front door and pulled on our jackets, then headed outside.

It was chilly out, but I think we were both too overcome with emotion to care. I kept Nadine's hand in mine as we walked through the trees, following the same path to the stream where we had our wedding ceremony.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"I found out this morning. I thought I was getting sick, so I went to the clinic in Hok'evale, and they did a pregnancy test."

I got worried then. "What did the doctors say about your health? Is a pregnancy going to harm you?"

"They called it a high-support pregnancy, which means they'll be monitoring me closely," she said. "But they believe I have a good chance of delivering the babies safely. I trust my body with this, and I want to go through with it."

I relaxed and raked my fingers through my hair. "Wow. I can't believe it's happening so soon. I thought it'd be years… that we'd have more time to prepare."

Nadine slowed and turned to me. "You don't seem scared. It's not the reaction I expected."

I hadn't expected this reaction from myself, either. There were tons of reasons to be scared of becoming a dad—scared of how pregnancy might affect Nadine's body, scared of becoming like my father, scared of bringing a child into the world in the midst of the Miriamic Conflict, scared of being able to provide for them…

But none of that could compare to the great joy I felt when Nadine said we were going to become parents.

I took her hands in mine. "Of course I'm scared, Nad. We're in the middle of a war with the priestesses, and I don't know what that could mean for our family. But that doesn't mean I don't want to have a family with you at all. It's certainly unexpected, but I've become very familiar with fear, and I know that the only way through it is to face it."

"You're not scared of what world we're bringing these babies into?" she wondered. "We don't know what having children could mean. I can't battle against the priestesses when I'm pregnant, and when the babies are born, someone will always have to stay behind to take care of them."

The last thing I wanted was to put my wife or children in danger, but there was nothing we could do to back out of this. This was happening to us now, and all we could do was see it through to the end.

I squeezed Nadine's hands. "Children are born every day to all types of circumstances. Whatever happens, we'll do everything to protect our family, even if that means using the Oaken Wands to keep our babies safe."

Nadine drew a deep, calming breath. "It means everything to hear you say that. I can't believe we're going to be a family!"

She threw her arms around my neck, and I inhaled the rosey scent of her hair. I didn't know what the future held, and that scared the living daylights out of me. But I knew from the moment I saw those words on that paper that I wanted to be a dad, even if it was the most frightening thing I ever did. I didn't know if I was going to be a good dad or not, but I could sure as hell try to be the best father I was capable of.

I drew Nadine closer, and she rose to her toes to place her lips on mine. I relaxed into the kiss, gently lifting my hand to the back of her neck as she kissed me harder. I had to pull away to catch my breath.

"We're going to be a family," I whispered.

Nadine laid her head on my chest. "I can't wait."

I took her hand again, and we continued walking. The forest was quiet, and it was really nice to be alone with her. "Have you thought of any names?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. Do you have any ideas?"

"I honestly never gave it much thought," I admitted. "I always figured one day I might be a dad, but I never stopped to think of what that might look like."

"It will be great," Nadine said dreamily. "I'll sing our babies to sleep at night, and you'll toss them in the air and tickle them to make them laugh. I'll bake cookies with them, and when they're old enough, you'll teach them how to ride a bike. We'll sit on our front porch and watch them play in the yard. You'll write them poems, and I'll read them books. We'll take them to school together, and we'll watch their powers awaken during their Evoking Ceremonies."

I smiled at the wonderful image she'd painted for us. "How many kids do you think we'll have in total?"

"Three," she answered automatically. "One more, after the twins."

Comfort settled in my chest. "Three is perfect."

Everything she said sounded so magical. I wanted to believe in our future so badly. But for that future to happen, we had to obtain the remaining Oaken Wands and bring an end to the Miriamic Conflict—and we had to do it before our babies were born. I wasn't going to let our babies be born into a world that could hurt them.

We had less than nine months to prepare, and I swore on my own soul everything would be different nine months from now.

"How do you want to tell everyone?" I asked.

"Let's just do it," Nadine said. "They're going to find out sooner than later. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be able to keep this a secret."

"We'll get everyone together and tell them all at once," I suggested.

We turned and headed back toward the house. I opened the front door for Nadine, and she stopped in her tracks.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" A chorus of cheers broke out as we stepped inside.

Everyone was gathered in the living room. Streamers from Nadine's bridal shower had been haphazardly twisted around the room, like it'd been decorated in a hurry. Miles threw shredded pieces of paper in the air, and the confetti rained down on us.

"Uh… what's this?" I asked carefully. They couldn't know we were pregnant already, unless Nadine mentioned something to someone before coming to me. I shot her a quick glance, and she looked as confused as I was.

Before anyone could answer my question, Nadine narrowed her eyes at Talia. "You had a vision, didn't you?"

Talia shook her head and pointed her finger at Miles. "It wasn't me!"

"Miles, you were eavesdropping!" I accused. It must've been his footsteps we heard outside the library earlier.

"I didn't mean to!" he insisted. "I was just walking by. We heard the good news and had to throw you a celebration. Congratulations, you're going to be parents!"

Miles threw his arms around Nadine, and she hugged him back.

"I guess we don't have to tell them," she said to me when he finally drew away.

Verla approached Nadine. She wore a kind smile, until she pulled Nadine into a hug, and the smile disappeared from her face completely. She looked worried, though it was clear she didn't want Nadine to notice.

"Is this what you want?" I heard her whisper.

"Yes," Nadine replied.

Verla drew away, plastering on a smile again. "Then I'm very happy for you both. You'll make wonderful parents. We're all here to help you every step of the way."

"Thank you," I told her.

Professor Warren shook my hand firmly. "Congratulations, Lucas. This kid is going to have one hell of a dad."

"Kids," I corrected, and I couldn't help but smile. "We're having twins. I sure hope I can be the best dad possible for them."

"Can the babies call me Uncle Grant?" Grant asked.

"They won't have a choice," I teased. "You're already a brother to me."

Grant went to shake my hand, but I yanked on his arm and pulled him into a hug. He squeezed me tightly, then clapped me on the back while he choked back tears.

"That means I'm Auntie Tal," Talia said brightly as she squeezed Nadine into a hug, before practically jumping into my arms.

Onyx hugged Nadine next. "Congratulations to both of you."

Mandy jumped up and down as she came in to hug us both. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, everyone," Nadine said with a big smile. "We really are excited."

The whole room seemed to glow a brighter color than ever before. It was really nice to have everyone's support. I wasn't sure how they'd take the news.

I noticed one person hadn't said anything. Chloe sat on the couch, staring into the fireplace. She looked deep in thought.

I approached her. "I guess we have you to thank. You blessed us with fertility on our wedding day."

Chloe lifted her gaze to mine, but her eyes weren't filled with the brightness of everyone else in the room. She looked worried—no, terrified.

"I didn't mean it like this," Chloe stated in a wavering tone.

The room went silent as all eyes turned to her. I couldn't figure out why she wasn't happy like the rest of us.

"I'm glad you're all happy, but I'm doing the math, and something isn't adding up," Chloe said. "Or rather, it adds up too well."

I furrowed my brow. "What are you talking about?"

Chloe stood and faced Nadine. "When you got married, you suffered a great loss. That's the second stage of the Reaper's Shadow curse, isn't it?"

All the blood drained from Nadine's face. I stumbled back a few steps, placing myself between Nadine and Chloe, as if I could shield my wife from this.

"You aren't saying what I think you are," I demanded.

Chloe swallowed audibly. "I think the Reaper's Shadow curse is still active. You didn't break it; you just thought you did. Which means if you have a baby…"

"It will kill me," Nadine finished in a whisper.

The room went dead silent. Nadine slowly sank onto the couch as she processed the realization.

The Reaper's Shadow curse had been cast over two-hundred years ago by the son of a Reaper's Apprentice named Samael Davis. He was an evil warlock who had killed his mother, which cast a curse upon all lovers of any future Reaper's Apprentices. Those lovers were known as the Reaper's Shadow. If a reaper fell in love and showed it physically through intimacy, the Reaper's Shadow would suffer a great illness. If the couple got married, the Reaper's Shadow would experience a great tragedy.

And if the couple reached the third and final stage and had children… that child was destined to kill its mother.

The Reaper's Shadow curse was over, though. I had discovered the names of all the women who had suffered the curse before. Nadine and I found their graves in the cemetery at Octavia Falls, and she had siphoned the curse from their bones and broken the spell. It was the only reason Nadine and I were able to get married. Otherwise, we'd have never gone forward with our marriage knowing Nadine would suffer a tragedy?—

My thoughts cut off when I realized Chloe was right. Nadine had suffered a great tragedy the night we were married.

My head spun. No fucking way was this happening.

My hands balled into fists. "Helena dying on the night of our wedding was a coincidence. Nadine broke the Reaper's Shadow curse."

Nadine placed her hand over her belly protectively. "Maybe I didn't—not completely. You said it yourself before I broke the curse, Lucas. If I had tried to just break the curse on myself, it wouldn't work, only delay the consequences. I dissipated some of the curse's magic that night in the cemetery, but if we missed just one of the women affected by this curse, then I never broke it fully. All I did was weaken it for a while."

"Let's not rush to conclusions," Warren stated diplomatically. "We can't be sure this curse is still active."

Nadine's eyes glazed over with terror. "I think we can."

"No," I insisted. "We broke it."

She swallowed hard. "I thought we did, but I'm feeling with my magic just now… I'm so used to being cursed that I didn't realize…"

"What are you saying?" I demanded.

"Chloe's right." Nadine's voice cracked. "There's still a bit of the Reaper's Shadow curse left inside of me. If I carry the babies to term?—"

"Don't say it," I interrupted. I began pacing around the room frantically. "I found all those women connected to Reaper's Apprentices. We found the graves of the Reaper's Shadows. You broke their curses. You ended up in the hospital by breaking this curse."

"I broke some of the magic, but that doesn't make the curse obsolete," Nadine replied. "Those other women are dead. I pulled the curse from their bodies. It's over for them. But I'm still living, which means if the curse is still active, it will always find me. I can delay it—I can transform the magic inside of me into something else over and over again, but as long as someone's body is still out there holding on to this curse, it's never going to end for me. We missed a Reaper's Shadow. If I'm going to make it through this, we have to find her grave and break the curse on her bones, so that this magic can't affect me ever again. It's not going to end until I end it for every Reaper's Shadow who ever lived."

I raked my fingers through my hair. "That brings up another issue. This curse was originally cast by a child of the Reaper's Apprentice. If the stories are true, Samael killed his mother because he was born with a darkness his father passed down."

"I don't believe that," Nadine argued. "Your magic isn't dark—there's no darkness for you to pass down. People aren't born with darkness inside of them. Darkness is something we create, and we can also create our own light to outshine it. We don't know what happened to Samael growing up, or why he killed his mother and cast this curse. But I know damn well that's not going to be our kid."

"The curse still poses a great risk," Verla insisted. She kept her voice calm, but the look in her eyes told me she was terrified for Nadine's safety. "We don't know the timeline in which a Reaper's Shadow child might kill their mother. This could happen during childbirth."

My insides felt like they were on fire. This couldn't be happening. "Talia, use the Seer Wand to look into our future. What's going to happen? How do we stop it?"

Talia hesitated. "I'm not a prophet. I can't foresee your destiny."

"Give us something." I begged.

"I can try…" she said warily. "Visions aren't for sure, though. Even with the Seer Wand, I can only get a possible future and see the path you've already chosen. You can still change it."

"Then let's see what our future holds, so that we can make the right decision," I insisted.

Talia looked to Nadine for permission. Everyone just stood there. Nobody was doing anything. It was driving me fucking mad.

Finally, Nadine nodded. "Let's see where we currently stand."

I sat beside Nadine and wrapped her in my arms. Talia withdrew the Seer Wand and knelt at Nadine's side. She took Nadine's hand in hers, and the end of the Oaken Wand began to glow.

Her eyes darted back and forth behind her lids. "I can sense a powerful curse. The details are fuzzy."

"So we do still have to break this curse. We never finished the job," Nadine said calmly.

I didn't know how she remained so calm. I was freaking out.

"What about the birth?" I demanded. "Is Nadine going to be all right?"

"Are the babies going to be okay?" Nadine added.

Talia furrowed her brow, like her visions were difficult to decipher. She remained steady, though, so the visions couldn't be too strong. We needed a clear answer. I feared we couldn't go forward with this if we weren't certain of the outcome.

"I see Nadine holding a baby," Talia started, but she paused, as if still deciphering the visions. "Lucas is holding the other."

A wave of relief washed over me, but almost immediately, my stomach clenched. "Is everyone okay?"

If Talia saw Nadine holding our babies, then that meant she would survive the birth… but we didn't know how long she'd have after.

Talia grimaced, like there were visions that weren't easy to swallow. "I can't be sure what's happening, because it's more of a feeling than anything. There are a lot of variables, and you can still change your path. What I do know is that whatever you do, you're not going to be able to avoid at least one horrible fate."

I felt as if a black hole had opened up in my stomach. It was obvious what Talia meant. If the babies were born, Nadine would die. The only way to prevent that was an equally horrible tragedy. It wasn't a decision anyone should ever be asked to make.

"You may need to consider termination," Verla practically choked out. It was clearly difficult for her to even suggest it, but someone had to. "It's a horrible fate for your children, but it may be the only way to save Nadine's life."

Less than an hour ago, I thought our lives were just beginning. Termination had never even crossed my mind. Now I was almost certain it was our only choice.

"That's the last thing I want," Nadine said bitterly, like she couldn't believe Verla would suggest it.

"Maybe I'm misinterpreting the vision," Talia said quickly. "You both looked very happy holding your sons."

The room shared a collective gasp. Tears beaded in the corners of my eyes, and Nadine reached out for me.

"We—we're going to have baby boys?" I stammered.

Talia threw her hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the surprise."

Tears fell down Nadine's cheeks. "You didn't ruin anything. Did you see anything else?"

Talia shook her head. "That was it. Just know, this wasn't a prophecy; Seer visions aren't written in stone. It's up to you guys to use this information wisely. One of the first rules in my Seer classes is that if we have the ability to look into the future, we use it sparingly. Don't ask me to keep looking, or things will change. I do know one thing. Whatever you decide, you need to stick with it, no matter what else comes up."

"Perhaps we should leave Nadine and Lucas to make that decision in private," Verla suggested, before turning to us. "Please consider what I said. We can't lose you, Nadine."

Nadine gaped at her and couldn't respond. I quickly said, "We'll talk about it."

Nobody else really knew what to say, and it made me really uncomfortable. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I took Nadine's hand and led her upstairs. We sat on the bed, and neither of us said anything for a long time as we tried to process what we'd learned.

Finally, I spoke, though my throat closed up around my words. "We need to talk about what Verla said. If the babies live, that means you won't."

Nadine stared into the distance and shook her head, like she wasn't convinced. "We don't know that for sure. A horrible fate could mean anything, not necessarily death."

"But we know death is a part of the Reaper's Shadow curse," I pointed out. "I know you want to give life to these babies, but in doing so, you're asking me to raise these children on my own. I would do it in a heartbeat if I had to, but I don't want to make that choice willingly. It isn't right to raise the twins without their mother."

"There's a third option," Nadine insisted. "If we find the Reaper's Shadow we missed, I can break the curse for good. Then this tragedy Talia is seeing won't come to pass at all."

"Where are we going to find this information?" I asked hopelessly. "I dug through all the coven records to find the Reaper's Shadow women the first time. I've been through every document the coven has on Reaper's Apprentices. I searched marriage documents and birth certificates. If we missed someone, the information isn't there. We don't have much time to make this decision. We could run out of time."

"Talia has the Seer Wand," Nadine pointed out. "It might help us track down what we missed."

"And if the information is warded or magically guarded in some way, then what?" I asked. "The Wands are powerful, but if we don't know where we're looking, they could prove useless. The Reaper's Shadow women died because they loved men like me."

I'd come to terms with my gift, but being the Reaper's Apprentice really fucking sucked right now if it meant choosing between my wife and my children.

"It was their choice out of love, and my choice, too," Nadine said. "We have to at least try to break the curse, because I'm giving birth to these babies one way or another. I don't know the outcome, but I know intuitively that we have to go through with this. I already decided this morning at the clinic that I'm not giving up like they wanted me to."

"Excuse me?" I balked.

Nadine frowned. "The doctor I talked to was a jerk. He said I couldn't have a baby because I'm sick. He wanted me to schedule an abortion."

The word made my stomach clench. "You're not even willing to consider it?"

Truth be told, I didn't want to think about it either, but I feared we had no choice.

"Aborting our babies isn't going to break this curse," Nadine said. "The doctor I talked to was fired, and then I spoke with Luana. She said because my lupus is under control, my odds of delivering a healthy baby are good. I just need to be monitored closely."

"That doesn't change what Talia said. Whatever you do, you're not going to be able to avoid at least one horrible fate," I repeated. "That sure sounds like we have to choose between you or the babies."

"Or we can break the curse, and the babies and I both survive," Nadine suggested. "We still face a horrible fate, even if we don't know what that is, but at least it gives us a chance."

"Is that a path we're willing to take, if we have to gamble on the outcome?"

She hesitated. "I'm not sure."

Tears welled in my eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

"Lucas…" she started.

"I know," I said quickly. "I could lose you. I'd survive. But I don't want to live a life without you. If we don't break this curse before the babies are born, there's no telling when the final stage completes. Ultimately, I know it's your choice."

"I don't want it to be just my choice," Nadine said softly. "I want to keep the babies, but I also want us to make this decision together."

I placed my hand on her belly, and the conflict warring inside of me grew. "I want these babies, too. But if we move forward with this pregnancy, there has to be conditions. We can give ourselves a few more weeks, but we have to make a decision before you're ten weeks along. The doctors won't agree to the procedure after that."

"That's right after Christmas," Nadine said.

I nodded. "If we haven't broken the curse by then, we need to terminate. We can't wait longer than that."

Nadine sniffled. "Okay. We'll give ourselves until Christmas, and if we don't break the curse by then, we'll have to face the alternative."

I wrapped Nadine in my arms and drew her close. My tears fell into her hair as I thought of the heartbreak that lay before us. Something occurred to me just then.

"It is along this path that she will face her greatest joy and her greatest pain," I whispered.

Nadine drew away from me. "What did you say?"

I furrowed my brow as the pieces came falling into place. "It's something Santos said the night Hattie and I summoned him. He asked if I was sure I wanted to save you from the demon's spell, because as he put it, It is along this path that she will face her greatest joy and her greatest pain."

"I already lost my grandmother, and that's the greatest pain I can imagine," Nadine said. "If at the end of this we have our baby boys, then they will be our greatest joy."

When she said that, it was like a huge weight had lifted off both our shoulders. These boys would be our greatest joy, no matter what happened.

"Why didn't you ever tell me what Santos said?" she asked.

"I didn't want you to expect suffering," I admitted. "I didn't want you to feel like you didn't have a choice, because your destiny wasn't written yet."

Nadine drew a deep breath and snuggled close to me again. "I don't know what our true destinies are, but I know we're supposed to be together, and I know we're meant to be a family—all of us. We're going to break the curse, and we're going to be a family, Lucas."

Nadine couldn't know the future, but when she said that, my fear began to subside. We'd fought greater odds before; we could do it again.

She touched her belly again, and I placed my hand on top of hers. Joy filled my heart. Nadine was right about that. Whatever we were meant to do, being parents was the most important destiny of all.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into all this," I whispered.

"You mean getting me pregnant? Lucas, that's not something to be sorry about."

"No, I mean the Reaper's Shadow curse. There's nothing that could stop me from being with you, but I'm sorry you were cursed to do it. I wish I could've found a way to break the curse before we ever got together."

"We can't change the past," Nadine said. "And there's nothing you could've done differently. No one can break this curse but me."

"I could've kept it in my pants," I teased. It felt good to joke with her, because the rest of this had felt so heavy. I didn't want that for us. This should be the happiest time of our lives.

Nadine chuckled. "I'm the one who gave you oral and ended up with kidney failure. We got intimate, so I got sick."

"Do you really think it happened that way?" I wondered.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I think I would've ended up with kidney failure whether I was cursed or not."

I stroked her hair. "I wish I could've given you a better experience. We spent so much time trying to rationalize what we were doing so that we wouldn't trigger the curse. I wish we hadn't had to worry so much."

"You gave me the best experience," Nadine argued. "We took things slow, and that's okay. What a fucking stupid curse anyway. Sex is just a concept, and we never should've had to rationalize any of it in the first place. I'm sick of feeling as if our love has brought destruction. I don't want to believe that anymore."

"This curse nearly broke us, and it never should've had a hold on us in the first place," I agreed. "No one else should get a say in our relationship, certainly not some guy who lived two-hundred years ago. I hate that this caused so much hurt and shame. I want to heal that part of us together and move forward without fear of hurting each other anymore."

Nadine offered a smile. "I'd love nothing more than that. That starts with acknowledging that we aren't at fault. We didn't do anything wrong."

My eyes scanned her beautiful features. "You're right. All we did was love each other deeply, and that shouldn't be a curse."

She shook her head. "Never."

Desperate wanting overcame me, and I placed my hand on the back of her neck as I pulled her close. Nadine grabbed my hip, drawing me into her. We melted together as passion surged through the kiss. Our hands roamed each other's bodies as our pulses quickened in sync.

"I can't believe I put two babies in you," I said between breaths. "It's so fucking sexy."

Nadine kissed me again, heaving breaths as she drew away. "So sexy. Maybe you could remind me how you did it."

I laughed playfully as I dipped my hand into her pants and squeezed her ass. "Is it safe? I don't want to hurt the babies."

Nadine patted her stomach. "They're safe in here. Everything else is free game."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Everything?"

A wide smile spread across her face. "Are you willing to try something new with me?"

She was going to be the mother of my children. Honestly, Nadine could do anything to me right now and I'd lay here and let her.

I nodded eagerly. "Anything."