Chapter 410
Athena
The backyard was full of chaos–the beautiful, loud, messy kind
of chaos that came from having a joint first birthday party for twins.
I stood on the back porch, watching the scene unfold before me
with a smile that felt permanently fixed on my face. Colorful balloons
bobbed in the October breeze, tied to every available surface.
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Two high chairs sat at the head of a long table decorated with
streamers and a banner that read “Happy 1st Birthday Adrian &
Arianna!” in glittering letters.
The guest list had gotten completely out of hand, of course. What had started as “just family” had expanded to include both packs, close friends, and apparently half the town. But looking at all these people who loved our children, I couldn’t bring myself to regret a single
invitation.
“Mama!” Arianna called from where she was cruising along the
edge of the play fence, her chubby hands gripping the bars. “Mama,
up!”
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I moved toward her, but Tristan got there first, scooping our
daughter into his arms and blowing a raspberry on her belly that
made her shriek with laughter.
“Daddy’s got you, princess,” he said, settling her on his hip.
Adrian sat inside the play fence, surrounded by toys but more
interested in the grass that had somehow gotten inside with him. As I
watched, he carefully plucked a blade of grass and studied it with the
serious concentration that was so uniquely him.
The grass began to glow faintly where he held it.
I glanced around quickly, but no one else seemed to have noticed.
We’d gotten good at this over the past year–the subtle monitoring,
the careful interventions, the way we’d learned to redirect attention before anyone outside our immediate family witnessed something
they couldn’t explain.
Arianna’s gift had only grown stronger. She couldn’t walk past a plant without it perking up, reaching toward her like she was
sunshine itself. Our garden had become legendary in the neighborhood–everything grew bigger, healthier, more vibrant than
it had any right to,
We’d learned that she couldn’t control it yet. It simply happened,
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as natural as breathing. So we’d adapted. Taught her which plants
were okay to touch and which needed to be left alone. Made sure we
always had an excuse ready for why our houseplants were so
unusually healthy.
Adrian’s gift had been harder to identify at first. But over the
past few months, we’d realized he had an affinity for all living things,
not just plants.
Animals were drawn to him, calmed by his presence. And when
he touched something–anything–with intention, he could sense its
life force. Feel if it was healthy or struggling.
It was different from Arianna’s healing gift but complementary in
a way that seemed almost purposeful. Like the Moon Goddess had
given them abilities meant to work together.
“Athena, where do you want the cake?” Sarah called from the
kitchen doorway.
The cake. Of course.
“I’ll come help,” I said, carefully extracting the blade of grass
from Adrian’s hand, it immediately stopped glowing, and scooping
him up.
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In the kitchen, two elaborate cakes sat on the counter. Sarah had
outdone herself, one decorated with a garden theme for Arianna,
complete with edible flowers and butterflies. The other had a forest
scene for Adrian, with trees and woodland creatures.
“These are incredible,” I said, studying them. “Sarah, you didn’t
have to…”
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“I wanted to,” she interrupted firmly. “They’re my niece and
nephew. Their first birthday. Of course I went all out.”
“Well, they’re perfect.” I shifted Adrian to my other hip as he
reached for the cake. “Nice try, buddy. You’ll get some later.”
“Is Orion still on the grill?” Sarah asked.
“Last I checked, he and Derek were debating proper burger-
flipping technique.”
“So yes,” Sarah laughed. “I should probably rescue the food before
they burn everything.”
We carried the cakes outside together, placing them on a
separate table specifically set up for presents and desserts. The pile
of gifts was already enormous–apparently everyone we knew had
decided that twin babies needed twice as many presents.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
