by G. R. Lyons
“Why don't you go ask her?” Graeden suggested.
The boy thought for a moment, then ran over to where Zhadeyn sat on the couch, climbed up into her lap, and put his arms around her neck as he looked up at her.
“Hi, I'm Elli,” he said.
“Hi, Elli,” Zhadeyn replied, fighting a smile.
“Do you like my daddy?”
Zhadeyn looked over at Graeden, smiling at him with her eyes, then said, “Yes, I like your daddy very much.”
“Then will you be my mommy?”
Graeden put a hand to his mouth as he saw Zhadeyn's eyes fill with restrained tears.
“I would love to be your mommy,” she said.
“Yay!”
Elli hugged her tightly, and Zhadeyn hugged him back, squeezing her eyes shut as a tear ran down her cheek. Graeden got up and went to sit beside her, putting an arm around her as Elli turned around and sat across their laps.
“Elli?”
“Yes, Daddy?”
“How would you like to come live here with Mommy and Daddy?”
His eyes went wide. “Really? Can I?” Then his smile wavered, and he asked, “But what about Mrs. Newar? She'll be lonely.”
“Oh, no, sweetie,” Mrs. Newar said, coming toward the group. “I'll be just fine. There will be lots of other little boys and girls like you to keep me company. And you can still come see me if your daddy says it's alright.”
A few minutes later, Mrs. Newar said goodbye to the group, Graeden thanking her profusely for everything she'd done, and making arrangements to have Elli's things moved later. Graeden went back to his family, smiling without restraint at all the happiness in the room.
“Well, this is fun.”
Graeden looked up at the sound of the strange voice and started, blinking at the sight of a woman standing beside his grandfather, a woman who hadn't been there a moment before.
“Ah, I was wondering if you were here,” his grandfather said, reaching up and patting the woman's hand where it rested on his shoulder.
“Hawk, how many times do I have to tell you?” the woman asked with a laugh, plopping down onto Benash's lap. “I'm always here. Just didn't want to interrupt, that's all–” She cut off as she looked around the room and stopped with her eyes on Graeden, raising an eyebrow. She nudged Benash in the ribs and said, “Well, would you look at that. I think he can finally see me.”
Graeden stared as everyone turned to look at him.
“Daddy, who's that?” Elli asked, tugging on his sleeve.
The woman vanished from her place and reappeared right before them, crouching down to the boy's level.
“I'm Vorena, the family ghost,” the woman said, giving him a smile as she reached out to pinch his cheek. “I'm surprised you can see me. Your daddy couldn't until just now.”
She glanced over at Graeden with amusement in her eyes. Graeden stared at her, shaking his head, and tried to think of something to say.
“Daddy doesn't believe in ghosts or magic,” the boy said, reaching out and giggling as his hand passed right through her. “Huh, Daddy?”
Graeden looked at him, blinked, and looked back at the ghost.
“I sure do now,” he said. He shook his head, sitting back with a laugh. “Guess I just needed to learn to be more open-minded.”
Zhadeyn covered a laugh when he looked at her, and the ghost reached out to ruffle Graeden's hair before returning to Benash's side.
“Now I bet you really don't want the Gateway,” Benash said, patting Vorena's leg and looking across at Graeden. “After what you all went through over there, I can't imagine you wanting–”
“Actually, Granddad,” Graeden said, looking at Zhadeyn and then back at him, “I think…I'd be honored to take it over someday.”
“Are you sure about that?” his grandfather asked.
Graeden nodded. “Tanas is…not a wonderful place,” he said, seeing his grandfather cringe and nod. “But the Gateway…I think it would be a good place for Elli to know as he grows up. And if we're lucky enough to save a few more refugees if they find their way through…” He paused, shrugging. “Even better. Get people out of that living hell.”
“Thank you, Grae,” his grandfather said, the ghost also giving him a grateful nod.
“Now all I need is a baby sister!” Elli announced before anyone else could say anything.
Everyone laughed, and Graeden glanced over at Zhadeyn. She gave him a strange look, and Graeden opened his mind to her, following along as she pulled his awareness down to her womb.
He watched as a newly-fertilized egg began to split and grow.
Graeden pulled back and stared at her, seeing the joy and relief on her face.
“Well, Elli,” Graeden said, clearing his throat and putting his arms around his family, “looks like you'll be getting your wish.”
Silence filled the room for a moment before Saira shrieked, “Are you pregnant?”
Then it was utter chaos of noise, the room full of laughter and tears as the family celebrated all this good news.
Graeden shared embraces and handshakes all around, then stood back and just looked at his family, thinking that finally—finally—life was as it should be.
Chapter 38
Seven months later…
GRAEDEN LOCKED up his office and ran to the elevator, wanting to get home as soon as possible to enjoy his lunch break with his family. He rode the elevator up to the eighth floor, where they'd moved to have a more sensible apartment, with a room for Elli, a room for the adults, and a small nursery prepared for the coming baby.
He walked inside and shut the door, thinking the apartment was oddly quiet.
Across the living room, he found Zhadeyn sitting in a rocking recliner, fast asleep with her head to one side. When he stepped around the chair to face her, he found Elli draped across her swollen belly, drooling on her shoulder as he snored.
Graeden stood there, watching them, completely at a loss for words.
Zhadeyn stirred and tightened her arms around Elli as she woke, blinking a few times before she looked up at Graeden.
Hi, she said with a smile.
Hi.
He bent down to kiss her, then stood back again, unable to stop smiling at the scene.
Zhadeyn nodded toward Elli and told Graeden, He said it was too cold in here, and insisted on helping me keep the baby warm.
Graeden breathed a laugh, trying to keep it quiet so as not to wake his son. He went to the kitchen and put together something for lunch, and Elli woke just about the time it was ready.
“Gods, you have incredible timing for food, kiddo,” Graeden said with a laugh.
They ate lunch together, then Elli went off to his room to work on a drawing, Zhadeyn did the dishes, and Graeden sat down at his desk to work on files for a few minutes.
“I got your notes transferred over,” Zhadeyn called from the kitchen.
“Oh, wow,” Graeden said, looking at the files all filled in from patients he'd seen that morning. “Thank you. I wasn't sure you'd have the time.”
“I like practicing,” she said, wiping her hands on a towel. “These devices are amazing. So much better than writing everything out by hand.”
Graeden took her hand, kissed the back of it, then watched her with a smile as she went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.
Turning back to his desk, he scanned through his list of patients, finding the one he needed, then stopped as he passed a familiar name. He stared at the name for a moment, thinking, then mentally put aside the work he'd planned on doing and opened that file instead.
“Deyn?”
“Yes, honey?”
She came back from the kitchen, setting the towel aside, and leaned against his desk. Graeden tossed the file from his desk computer to his tablet, and turned it around to hand it to her.
“What do you make of that?”
Zhadeyn looked at the notes on the screen, then flipped through to the pictures of the surgical record, fina
lly getting the hang of using the technology that had once been so strange to her. She tilted her head to one side, studying the images, then looked back at Graeden.
“Is it possible?” he asked.
She took a deep breath and blew it out in a huff. “If he's Agori, no, but…”
“I think he's actually Ceynesian by birth.”
“Hmmm. It's possible. Depends on how easily his mind can be accessed.”
“But if you can access it…” He paused, and waved at the screen. “I mean, since it's already healed…”
Zhadeyn shrugged it off. “That's easy. You just tell the body to destroy the skin cells you don't want, so they're out of the way and leave room for the new bones and muscles to regenerate.”
“So, as long as he's not full Agori, as long as his mind can be accessed, it's possible.”
“Definitely.”
Graeden nodded.
“I'm going to go check on Elli,” Zhadeyn said, handing back the tablet and squeezing his hand.
“I'll be right there. I just want to make a quick call.”
Zhadeyn gave him a smile and wandered off to Elli's room as Graeden turned back to his desk screen, brought up the video call function, and input the patient's phone number.
It beeped a few times, then the video feed went live as the call was answered.
“Hello, you've reached–” the patient answered, then stopped and narrowed his eyes. “Oh. You.”
Graeden saw the man reach toward the screen as though to end the call, but Graeden called out, “Mr. Stromos, wait, please.”
“I thought I made it very clear I was done with you,” Vesad Stromos growled.
“Yes, Mr. Stromos, I understand that–”
“Goodbye, Dr. Crawford.”
“–but I think I may have a solution for you.”
Mr. Stromos paused with his hand halfway to the screen.
“A little late, don't you think?” he said, angrily waving his right hand, his last two fingers nonexistent.
“I understand your frustration, but just…hear me out, alright? There is a chance—a small chance, but a chance nonetheless—that you can get your fingers back.”
The man blinked at him a few times.
“Very well. You have my attention.”
Graeden took a breath and charged on.
“It's highly experimental, and may require quite a lot of effort on your part, and–”
“Dr. Crawford,” Stromos said, waving a hand to cut him off. “I will try anything. Anything. Please, for the gods' sakes. Give me my career back. I'll try anything you suggest.”
Graeden looked at him, tapping his fingers on the edge of his desk, and sat forward.
“What I'm about to suggest is very unconventional, but I've seen it work firsthand, so I know it's possible if the conditions are right. Mr. Stromos…”
The former pianist stared at him eagerly, and Graeden looked back at him with a smile.
“I hope that you can keep an open mind…”
Thank you for reading! To get access to the latest updates, behind-the-scenes peeks, cover reveals, new releases, and more, be sure to sign up for the newsletter!
http://eepurl.com/gkxvbz
For more information on the world of the Shifting Isles, be sure to check out
grlyonsauthor.com
Want more from the series? Be sure to check out Book 4 of the Shifting Isles series, Broken:
As an orphan, Daivid Thaton only wants one thing: to find his birth parents, and ask why they abandoned him. Theft and fraud aid his search, but at a cost: His employment is tenuous, his debts are huge, and his fiancée doesn't fully trust him. Daivid has done a lot of bad or questionable things, but there are some lines even he won't cross.
When an accident leaves Daivid paralyzed, his search must come to an end. Even worse, his condition brings two people back into his life, people he was desperately trying to avoid: Sasha Crawford, who he'd nearly killed, and Sam Shyford, who was once his best friend.
Between Sam and Sasha, one holds the key to his past, while the other can give him a future, but first Daivid will have to cross a line from which there is no return.
Available here: https://amzn.to/2G0RMnr
Books by G.R. Lyons
Lethean Trilogy
(Paranormal M/F Romance)
The Lethean
Uncommonly Strong
Hale and Farewell
Shifting Isles Series
(Fantasy/Paranormal)
The Prisoner
S.P.I.R.I.T. Division
Return to Tanas
Broken
The Five-Hour Wife
Betrayal
Addiction
Blindsighted
Libertas
(More to come!)
Matchmakers
(Gay Romance)
Second Chances
Second Drafts
Second Place
Matchmakers (complete trilogy)
Treble and the Lost Boys
(Gay Romance)
Ice on Fire
Heavens Aground
Illumined Shadows
Transitivity
(Gay/Trans/Menage Dark Romance)
Kacey: The First Premise
Austin: The Second Premise
Hunter: The Conclusion
Perspectives
(Short Stories)
Anchors Aweigh
Broken Defenses
In Plain Sight
Stripped Bare
Taking the Lead
GLOSSARY
Agoran – an Isle, originally the southwestern region of the land before the Breaking of the World; an anarchist society (no government, free market, property rights, etc.)
Agorani – of or pertaining to Agoran
Agori – a person who lives on or originates from Agoran
Andria – an Isle, originally to the east of the land before the Breaking of the World, when it was under Ceynesian rule; Andria is now its own monarchy with a parliamentary House of Lords
Andrian – a person who lives on or originates from Andria
Auriel – sixth month of the year; originally (and still, by tradition) part of the summer season before the Breaking of the World
beykana – a white, winged horse, bred exclusively on Falsin, and sold to Jadu'n for the use of the magi, where the beykana become renkana
Book of Creation – chronicle of the creation of the universe by the One, including the creation of the lesser deities and the initial formation of the world known to Man; originally recorded by the magi of Jadu'n, the Book was the inspiration for the Jaduan Historical Society to continue recording historical events, and thus led to the compilation of Faneck's Histories
Breaking of the World – an event that took place on the 5th of Sulinel in the year 2952; Father Zhagos struck the land three times with his mighty hammer and broke it into separate Isles, thus beginning the shift cycle; source of the Tanasian superstition of threes
Ceynes – an Isle, the largest, originally the central region of the land before the Breaking of the World; under imperial rule
Ceynesian – a person who lives on or originates from Ceynes; of or pertaining to Ceynes
Circle of Seven – gathering of seven magi, combining their powers to strip the magic from one of their fellows
Collision – part of the shift cycle, when two Isles come in contact with one another in a process similar to our plate tectonics; thanks to advanced technology and mathematics developed by the Agori, the shift cycle and Collision events are predictable almost to the second (with a margin of error to account for whether coastlines strike directly or if the contact is entirely below sea level)
Creator – alternate name for Skelroth
Divinity Square – popular location in the center of downtown New Haven, near the west coast of Agoran; contains statues to the gods and Gates to each of the other Isles, though the Gate to Tanas is chained off (and later destroyed)
Donlar
– Rexton Donlar of Agoran was both a medical doctor and a mage; he is credited, amongst other things, for the discovery of a formula for calculating the use of anesthetic medicines, keeping patients unconscious for as short a time as possible
Eagle guard – branch of the Tanasian armed forces
Eastside Security – free market insurance and personal defense agency, in competition with Hawkeye Agency; company that Graeden hires to install hidden cameras in his apartment
Elder – highest ranking official on Tanas; seven Elders sit on a Council and have complete governmental control
Elisel – eighth and final month of the year; originally (and still, by tradition) part of the fall season before the Breaking of the World
Erosti – a person who lives on or originates from Erostil
Erosti Leisure Guild – organization that trains and certifies guildmates and guildmistresses on the Isle of Erostil
Erostil – an Isle, originally to the south of the land, between Jadu'n and Agoran, before the Breaking of the World; an exotic, tropical paradise; a constitutional democracy
Faldris – first month of the year; originally (and still, by tradition) part of the winter season before the Breaking of the World
Falsin – an Isle, originally the northernmost reaches of the land before the Breaking of the World; a place of constant snow and ice and little sunshine; organized into clans and under the rule of a king
Falsiner – a person who lives on or originates from Falsin
Faneck – Alasair Faneck of Agoran was a key member of the Jaduan Historical Society, dedicating his life to chronicling the history of the world
Faneck's Histories – collection of volumes chronicling the history of the world from the time of its creation by the gods; originally inspired by the Book of Creation, Faneck's Histories are often presented as a continuation of that ancient volume
Father – alternate name for either Zhagos or Kalos
'Father's love' – oath often used on Jadu'n in place of other curses or profanities
