Born of Rage (League: Nemesis Rising)
Page 13
She nodded.
Adron gaped with the knowledge. The Trisani were legendary for their psychic abilities. So legendary that they had once been hunted almost to extinction. Those who’d survived had been very careful to stay hidden away from large populations where they might become enslaved or killed by those who wanted or feared their powers.
His uncle, Jullien, had been saved by one of them—Trajen.
She stepped to Livia’s side and removed the IV from her arm. Then slowly, piece by piece, she took the monitors off.
“It’s time to wake up, little flower,” she whispered. She placed a gentle hand on Livia’s brow.
Stunned, Adron watched as Livia’s eyes fluttered open. “Mada?” she breathed.
Her mother smiled, then kissed her on the forehead. She passed a hand over Livia’s body.
Adron felt weak in relief as joy spread through him.
Livia was alive!
Her mother took his hand and Livia’s and held them joined in hers. Adron’s heart pounded at the warmth of a touch he’d thought was lost to him forever.
Livia looked from him to her mother. “You had Krista send me to The Golden Crona, didn’t you?”
Her mother nodded and smiled. “I didn’t know who would be there, but I knew your destiny was waiting for you.” She looked at Adron. “And to answer your unspoken question, Commander, yes, it’s permanent. Livia healed you completely, but . . .” She turned a sharp glare at her daughter. “You are not to call on your powers, anymore. Your human half isn’t strong enough for them.”
“I know, but I couldn’t let him die.”
“Understood. But don’t ever do it again.” She raised her cowl. “Now I have to return before I’m missed.” She paused in the doorway and turned back. “By the way, it’s a boy.”
Adron frowned. “What’s a boy?”
“The baby she carries. Congratulations, Commander. In seven months, you’ll be a father.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
L
ivia paused in the doorway as she watched Adron giving their infant son his three A.M. feeding. Propped against pillows, Adron sat on the bed, wearing nothing except a sheet draped modestly over his lap as he held the bottle and stared adoringly at Jayce Devyn Quiakides . . . named for the uncle who’d been key in bringing them together, and for Adron’s best friend from childhood.
Adron laid his cheek against the top of the baby’s bald head and held him close. “I’ve got you, little bit,” he whispered. “Yes, I do.”
J.D. kicked and cooed.
She laughed.
He looked as if she’d startled him. “I didn’t know you were back.”
“I can tell.” She moved to sit next to them. Then she leaned against Adron’s raised leg to stare at the beautiful baby that lay on his unscarred chest.
J.D. smiled at her as he wrapped his tiny hand around her finger.
Adron brushed a loving hand through Livia’s soft, mussed hair. Thanks to her, he’d come a long way from the bitter alcoholic she’d found tossing down drinks in the back of The Golden Crona.
She’d found a broken, bleeding man and made him whole again. Not just in body, but in his heart. She’d reunited him with his family and with his soul.
Over the last year, he’d watched her grow ripe with his baby and had held her hand as she struggled to bring J.D. into the world.
Life turned on the hairpin of a second. He’d always known that, but on one rainy, cold night in the backroom of a filthy dive, his life had taken a sharp turn into heaven.
Redemption was never where you expected to find it. And he, a bitter cynic, had found it in the arms of a guileless innocent.
Livia furrowed her brow as she caught the intensity of his stare. “What are you thinking about?”
He traced the outline of her lips with his fingertip. “I’m thinking of how glad I am that I traded myself for that woman. How glad I am that my brother couldn’t kill me. But most of all, I’m thinking just how damn grateful I am tht you saw something in me worth saving.”
He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. “Thank you for my son, Livia, and for my life. I love you. I always will.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Defying all odds is what #1 New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon does best. Rising from extreme poverty as a child that culminated in being a homeless mother with an infant, she has become one of the most popular and influential authors in the world (in both adult and young adult fiction), with dedicated legions of fans known as Paladins–thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her numerous genre-defying series.
Since her first book debuted in 1993 while she was still in college, she has placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats and genres, including manga and graphic novels, and has more than 70 million books in print worldwide. Her current series include: Dark-Hunters®, Chronicles of Nick®, Deadman’s Cross™, Black Hat Society™, Nevermore™, Silent Swans™, Lords of Avalon® and The League®.
Over the years, her Lords of Avalon® novels have been adapted by Marvel, and her Dark-Hunters® and Chronicles of Nick® are New York Times bestselling manga and comics and are #1 bestselling adult coloring books.
Join her and her Paladins online at QueenofAllShadows.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn.