Roland shakes his head. “I don’t understand how no one gets jealous. Don’t they get jealous?”
Rupert’s cheeks turn pink, probably thinking about Morgan and the guys in a compromised position. It’s hard not to. They cast an energy through the house every time they’re together. With his hands shoved in his pockets, he asks me, “Is this common in this realm? Male harems?”
“No. I’ve never seen anything like it,” I confess. “But it works for them. It’s a respectful, strong relationship.”
“Could you do it?” Armin asks. His long hair blows in the summer breeze.
“I find it challenging to be with one person at a time, I can’t imagine dealing with more than that.”
“Regardless, she’s into females,” Marshal announces.
“Sometimes,” I say, earning a raised eyebrow from him. He likes to put me on the spot. It’s flirtatious, but obnoxious enough the others don’t notice. I answer him like he doesn’t already know exactly what I like. “I’ve been with men, too. I’m attracted to the person—not their gender.”
They all fall quiet for a moment, other than Armin, who chews something over but thinks the better than to say it.
“What they have is really special and was bound by the fates. You can’t fight something like that,” I say, entering the park. To be honest, I can’t imagine a love as true and pure as Morgan and the men have. Something so sure. I mean, I loved Andi but I don’t think the fates were behind it. After all, when I chose her they took away my immortality. No, the fates do not care about my happiness.
“Hey!” Armin says, calling to Rupert. He holds a green rubber ball in his hands. “Run down the street and try to catch it.”
Rupert takes off, dashing down the street. He’s fast. Roland rears back and throws the ball as hard as he can, then whoops as it zings past Armin’s ear, nearly nicking it. Armin’s rage simmers under the surface and he narrows his eyes. Miya touches him on the back and whispers something in his ear and they walk ahead.
I turn and face Agis and ask, “What’s that all about?”
Agis pushes his dark hair out of his eyes. “Armin doesn’t like all the idle time. He thinks we should use our skills to help people. Stop wars or something. It’s the guilt.”
“Why is it more than everyone else’s?”
“I don’t think it is, but our sins are not all equal. He has a lot of triggers. Hopefully he’ll work through them some day.”
I shove my hands in my pockets. “Maybe he can enlist in the Army or something.” I’m half joking.
“A war would probably do him good.”
Rupert, who was almost out of sight, comes jogging back, his curly blond hair bouncing at his ears. “We need to get back to the house.”
I frown. “Why?”
His blue-green eyes pierce mine. “I just have a feeling.”
“Something’s wrong?” I ask, picking up my pace. “The baby?”
“No,” he says, but I don’t know how he would know. What he says next isn’t comforting. “The baby is fine, but we need to hurry. I think this is something worse.”
4
Rupert
“How does it work?”
“How does what work?” I glance over at the woman walking next to me with her b
londe, braided hair and thick pink lips. Her eyes are crystal blue—the color of the ocean in some places. Her skin is alabaster. She’s tall—close to my height. In human years, not much older. But I’m not human and despite the fact I still look like a young man, I’ve existed in one realm or another for many lifetimes.
“Your powers or the feelings, whatever it is?”
It’s a fair question even if I’m not completely comfortable answering it. But Hildi has sacrificed a lot for the six of us; her time and patience. It’s understandable that she’d want to know. “It starts off as a numbness, building slow in my gut, like a pebble growing larger and larger by the minute. At first, I don’t really know what it’s about or what it means, but as it grows the concept is more defined.”
“So you know we’re needed back at the house, but that it’s not the baby?”