Shine (Mageri Series: Book 5)

by Dannika Dark

  “His frustration is a heavy scent on my tongue,” Logan agreed. “I lost my mate and her unborn child—I know exactly what that kind of loss is capable of doing to a man. Be prepared, Silver. If the delivery does not go well, it will affect him profoundly. The grief and rage will become a dark place that only he can bring himself out of. I would not feel right with you living in this house with him.”

  “He’s my Ghuardian; I couldn’t abandon him.”

  “Perhaps this would work out for the best. We could get a place of our own and Justus would have his home here. I don’t want there to be a dark influence on your life, Silver. That’s exactly what is moving through this room, and it’s suffocating my senses. It’s a foul, earthy scent that will quickly consume him. He may be a respectable male who has spent his life working for HALO and doing what is just, but never underestimate the power of grief. It led me to some dark places.”

  I lowered my head, leaning against Logan. Justus had once told me that not all endings are happy, and he was right. A happy ending was an oxymoron. My heart sank as I realized life was throwing another unexpected curveball.

  The lift descended and Levi held a pitcher in one hand and large steaming jug in the other. “Who needs all the damn water?” He eyed Justus with caution and his nose twitched as he set them down. Logan got up and hauled them to the bedroom.

  Levi sat to my left and patted my knee. “Are you holding up?”

  “No.”

  He put his right arm around me and I leaned into him. “Nothing bad is gonna happen. Women have babies all the time. Trust me. Once the bun is out of the oven, everything will be back to normal. Well, except you’ll be changing a lot of poopy diapers and Justus will probably be slaving away, bringing her pancakes in bed,” he said with a chuckle.

  I laughed softly against his chest. “Justus can’t cook. He’d burn those bad boys.”

  “Maybe I’ll stick around and cook the Levi breakfast special.”

  “Now I’m afraid.”

  He pinched my arm a little. “Hey, now. My waffles will make you weep tears. True story. I’ve seen it happen.”

  When he reached around and pressed my cheeks into a smile with his rough hands, I knocked his arm away and felt guilty for laughing. Guilty, because when I did, Justus glared at me over his shoulder.

  “Nothing to worry about,” Levi continued. “When all this is over, we’re going to move into a big-ass apartment building so none of us will be apart. Sadie’s excited because she won’t have to live with any of us and gets her own space. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with living with me. Finn turned out okay.”

  “Aside from the fact he’s now belching and leaving his laundry all over the floor, he’s absolutely normal. You definitely worked your magic in making him a Cross brother.”

  “If it passes the smell test, then there’s no point in putting it in a hamper. I don’t even own one of those things.”

  I leaned away and looked up at him. “I’m willing to put down money that you’re going to end up meeting a guy who’s a neat freak. Then what?”

  Levi shrugged. “Then he’ll pick up my dirty shorts.”

  “He may not want to touch those shorts with a pair of rubber gloves doused in alcohol.”

  “Then he’ll have to see my way of doing things.”

  “He might seek comfort in another man’s arms. Someone with a big… hamper.”

  Levi belted out a gravelly laugh. “Silver, you’ve already planned my mating and divorce.”

  Logan appeared from the hall and everyone tensed. Justus lowered his sword and wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead. Logan’s blond hair was disheveled and he rubbed his cheek thoughtfully as he kept a watchful eye on Justus. Logan looked incredibly tall and formidable, still carrying himself in a way that would make any stranger question his intent.

  He walked in my direction and gave me an imperceptible shake of his head.

  Something was wrong.

  The sword clanged on the concrete as Justus threw it down and stalked toward the bedroom. I waited for the sound of him opening the door but heard nothing.

  Page’s feral scream made my hair stand on end. There was agony and pain in that cry, enough that Levi covered his face and rubbed his hands angrily, fingernails scraping through his hair.

  Logan squatted down and wiped his face. “It doesn’t look good.”

  “What’s happening?”

  I inhaled deeply to catch my breath and leaned forward, gripping his knee.

  He held his hands stiffly up to his face and pressed his index fingers against the bridge of his nose, rubbing the corners of his eyes. “There’s blood. Adam can’t do anything to help her until the child is born. He doesn’t want to risk hurting the baby with his energy. They’re forcing her to push hard to get it out. Adam said she refused pain medication early on, so there’s nothing they can do to comfort her.”

  Another scream echoed in the hall and tears stung my eyes. I launched to my feet and Logan gripped my hand. I snapped it away and met Justus in the hall. He had his arms folded tightly against his body and his forehead resting against the wall.

  I came up behind him and held his shoulders, leaning against his strong back. He’d lost control of his Thermal abilities and the heat radiated off him. We could hear Adam shouting to push, and Elsa saying something unintelligible. Page’s screams weakened and it suddenly became eerily quiet.

  My heart quickened and Justus stepped away from the wall. I could visibly see his heartbeat against the fabric of his shirt. Logan came up behind us but kept his distance.

  We continued to stare at the door and heard the sound of slapping. Other than that, it remained quiet.

  No chatter. No screaming. No crying.

  Silence.

  There are times in life when the most jarring sound is silence. I backed away from Justus when I felt his energy swell. Page’s pregnancy had gone too fast; her body hadn’t had enough time to adjust to carrying a baby to full term.

  “She’ll be fine,” Levi whispered again, this time his voice uncertain. I felt his hand smooth over my back and I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  I heard the quick sound of skin rubbing against skin and the sound of objects tapping against a metal tray. Minutes ticked by.

  When I glanced at Logan, he lowered his head solemnly.

  The doorknob turned and Elsa appeared. Her puffy hair fell in messy strands from a loose bun that once held it. She lifted the end of her long shirt and bent forward to wipe the sweat from her face. “There were complications,” she began. “Once the bleeding started, I couldn’t stop it.”

  I heard the sound of Justus’s heavy breaths.

  Elsa rubbed her eye with the palm of her hand and I could hear a faint trace of distress in her voice. “Page is all right, but the baby… I’m afraid the baby didn’t survive.”

  It felt like a sledgehammer to my heart.

  “Adam was able to heal Page and she’s resting. I’m going to give her fluids due to the blood loss… and I’ll administer sedatives. She’s going to be upset. Mothers should never have to bury their children. If she wants to hold it before I take it away, then it’s up to her. It might be better if she didn’t lay eyes on it; that’s something you can never erase from your memory.”

  A chill ran up my spine when I thought I heard the haunting sound of a baby’s cry. Had I imagined it? Elsa cocked her head and we heard it again.

  She swung open the door and Adam faced away from us, leaning over the end of the bed. Elsa moved beside him and we stood frozen at the door. I reactively gripped Justus’s arm and felt paralyzed when I saw the bloody towels wadded up in the trash. Page looked ghostly and her eyes blinked open as she struggled to lean forward and look.

  The Relic was working on the baby, clearing its airway and grabbing a swaddling blanket. We couldn’t see anything, but Adam peered over his shoulder and had a wide, excited grin.

  Finally, we heard the screeching wail of
an angry infant. My God, what a set of lungs!

  Elsa lifted the tiny bundle and carried it to the other side of the bed, placing it in Page’s arms.

  Adam strolled up with a grin I didn’t think he’d ever be able to erase.

  “Stubborn,” he said. “Just like you, Justus.”

  I turned around and picked up Max, who had wandered in and was slinking around our legs. After giving him a kiss on the ear, I handed him to Logan. “Let’s leave them alone.”

  Chapter 34

  The Relic moved about the room, discarding the bloody towels and sterilizing her equipment. Justus felt his heart finally slowing down, and relief consumed him. Adam helped set up the IV line so Page would regain her strength—she’d almost died. Adam had been able to heal her internal injuries, but she was weak from the blood loss and they didn’t have any available for a transfusion. The Relic rolled her eyes when Justus asked her to go get some.

  Justus stood to the side, allowing the Relic to work diligently. He watched Page’s brown eyes as they soaked in every inch of that baby. Page cradled the infant in her arms, stroking his soft hair with her right hand.

  “I’ll leave you two alone for a minute, and then I’ll be back to check on the baby and finish up in here,” the Relic said. She didn’t seem aware that Justus was the father. How could she? It was impossible for a Mage to have a child.

  Until now.

  Adam followed behind her and the door closed.

  “Come see,” Page said, inviting him closer.

  She’d never looked more radiant. A fresh sheet had been draped over the bed and the baby was swaddled in a thin white blanket that showed the top of his head.

  “Pull the chair over so you can sit down,” she said, pointing toward the wall.

  Justus robotically dragged the chair to the edge of the bed and took a seat. “He’s alive?”

  “No,” she replied.

  His heart plummeted in his chest.

  Page smiled. “But she’s alive. It’s a girl.”

  “I thought I’d lost you both,” he said in an exhale.

  “Justus?”

  He looked up and an angelic smile lit up her face. “She’s got your hair.” Page brushed her fingers across the baby’s scalp. “She’s a blond-haired beauty.” Then her eyes flashed at him. “If you’re going to reject her because she’s not a boy…”

  “Page, be silent. You need rest and I want to hold my child.”

  Justus took the tiny infant and turned her around in his large hands.

  “Hold the back of her head for support,” Page instructed.

  She was so small and delicate—Justus realized this was the first baby he’d ever held, and it made him nervous. Her pudgy nose and puckered lips made his heart beat fast. He could see Page in her newly carved features—he could see himself. In his arms, he held a mirror of their love. Justus quickly began to strip away the blanket.

  “What are you doing?” Page asked, moving to sit up. “She’ll get cold.”

  “I want to see her.”

  He set the baby on the bed and pulled the blanket away, counting each of her fingers before kissing her palms. She started to shake and cry, and as much as he wanted to comfort her, that sound filled him with fatherly pride.

  Life.

  His child.

  He counted the tiny toes on her right foot and kissed the sole. When he moved to the left foot, he blanched.

  “What’s wrong?” Page sat up and leaned over, concern splashed across her face. “Justus, what’s wrong?”

  How could this be? His heart picked up a frantic beat and he felt the blood rush out of his head.

  “Justus, what is it? You’re scaring me,” she said, gripping his arm.

  On the sole of his little girl’s foot was a mark.

  A Creator’s mark.

  Not his mark, because when the first spark goes into a Mage and they become immortal through energy and light, a rare few receive the gift of a Creator. Each newly born Creator carries a mark that is unique from the one that created them. It’s distinct so that their progeny will inherit that same symbol. No two Creators share the same mark, so it’s easy to track a Mage’s lineage.

  He rubbed the pad of his thumb across the baby’s foot—as if he could wipe it away.

  “She’s a Mage,” he breathed.

  “What?”

  His eyes glazed over. “She has a Creator’s mark.”

  “Maybe it’s a birthmark. Babies are born with those all the time.”

  He shook his head. “Look at it. The markings are distinct and not the same coloring.”

  No wonder he had felt a swell of energy from Page during her pregnancy. Now that the baby was born, he could sense her energy was different.

  Page held the baby’s fingers and sighed thoughtfully. “She’s so pretty.”

  “Will she grow?” Justus hesitated, fear slicing through him at the implications.

  Page spoke in a knowing voice. “Yes, she’ll grow. She grew inside me and she’ll continue to grow. She’s part of us both—Mage and Relic. If I put on my Relic hat, then I’m guessing her growth rate will slow down as the years go by. A Mage’s core light is what keeps you immortal and hers is too weak, being so young. When she reaches full maturity and her light is the strongest it will get, she’ll probably stop aging and become one hundred percent Mage, just like her father. I just wonder how much of my knowledge she has in her, if any.”

  Justus leaned forward and kissed the mark on the bottom of the tiny foot. He began to have visions of his daughter growing up strong and fearless—a warrior as well as a beautiful creature who was as intelligent as her mother and as noble as her father.

  After wrapping up the little bundle, he lifted her into his arms and cuddled her close against his neck. She was warm and soft, so light he was afraid to take both hands off her.

  “Should we name her? I was expecting a little boy,” Page said with a short laugh. “I have all these blue booties and hats. Oh, lordy. Poor little girl.”

  Justus sat in the chair beside Page, smelling the baby’s soft head and pressing kisses to it.

  Page tapped her nose thinking. “What about Elsa? We could name her after the Relic. Or maybe Tara. How about Winnie? I had three top boy names picked out and now—”

  “I’ve chosen a name,” Justus announced.

  “Oh, you have?” Page said. “No discussion about this? It seems like I should have a little input, given I pushed her out of my body.”

  He loved that woman’s attitude. Justus smiled and held the baby in front of him, watching her yawn and wiggle around.

  “Months ago, you told me men never gave you flowers. It’s why I began sending you orchids. They’re delicate flowers, but it seems you didn’t find them pleasing. In a conversation we had in your kitchen, you said offhandedly that no man had ever given you a rose.”

  “A rose with baby’s breath,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t like those little weed things.”

  Justus held out the infant, placing her gently in Page’s arms. “I’ve chosen the name Rose. I want to be the first and only man to give you a Rose. I can do little about the baby’s breath; it comes with the package. Je t'aime, Mon Ange.”

  Page tucked the infant in her left arm, brushing her finger over her chubby little cheek. “Rose,” she whispered. “Rose De Gradi.”

  “No,” he interrupted. Justus had inherited the name of his Creator because that was the tradition. But Rose was a Creator and could keep her own name. He didn’t want her to have Marco’s name. “I give her the name Rose, but she’ll take La Croix as her surname.”

  Page smiled with uncertainty. “Are you sure?”

  He brushed a long strand of bangs away from her face as she kept watching him with those beautiful doe eyes. Justus looked down at the baby and his voice deepened to a serious tone. “Rose La Croix, daughter of Justus and Page, you’re going to become a remarkable woman someday.”

  Something had been bothering Jus
tus and he wrung his hands nervously. He took a deep breath. “Would you consider becoming a Mage?”

  Page continued stroking the baby’s head. “I would. I want to stay with you for as long as I can. If Rose will become immortal, which I’m certain she will be, I want to be there to help her with all the questions she’ll have in life.”

  “I’ll call Novis,” Justus said, rising to his feet.

  “Wait a second!” she exclaimed. “I need to get my girlish figure back. Why don’t you give me a year or two? Unless you have a problem with older women…”

  Justus belted out a laugh. He might have been changed over when he was twenty-seven, but by no means was she the older woman in this situation.

  “I’m serious, Justus. If I’m going to be immortal, then I need to get rid of all this baby flab and you’re going to help me train. Don’t laugh at me. I mean it.”

  He smothered his grin. If it were his choice, he would turn her that very night, just as she was.

  “She’s a Creator,” Page marveled. “I wonder if in five years she’ll have the ability to give the first spark to someone else. Wouldn’t that be something to have my own child become my Creator?”

  Justus shook his head. “We’ll talk to Novis and get his advice. She’ll need guidance on how to use her gift. I am honored you would choose this life, Page. I will wait for as long as you need.”

  Page wiped her brown hair away from her eyes and smiled. “Can you call the Relic in? We need to finish a few things in here and I’m going to need some sleep.”

  Justus had experienced a mix of fear, loss, and elation all in one evening. He pressed a soft kiss to Page’s forehead, stroking her cheek and slowly pulling away. He took a minute to soak in the moment—to photograph it in his head. This was the moment his life had changed and the gratitude he felt for the fates was immense. He’d spent years feeling his purpose in life wasn’t family or love, but honor and justice. Putting men away and upholding the laws. Now he was beginning to see he could have it all.

  In small moments.