Aeromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 3)

A few minutes later, they were in the air again. Kat had stretched her safety belt over herself and Thomas, who was sleeping now. She still couldn’t believe she was holding her baby in her arms, that she was alive, and with Lann. The adrenalin that had flooded her body started to wear off, leaving her feeling drained and weak. She leaned her head back against the seat, staring at Lann who sat opposite her. She couldn’t stop looking at him. She needed to remind herself he was real.

Once they’d reached their flight altitude, Lann got up and removed a bag from the overhead compartment.

“I brought you clothes,” he said, leaving the bag at her feet. “I don’t want anything that belonged to them to touch your skin.”

She nodded her thanks. “What about the lab?”

“I’m leaving that to Richardson’s men to take apart,” Lann said. “It should give them a lot against Godfrey, hopefully bringing them, and us, closer to finding the bastard.”

“Richardson?”

“He took a fatal shot. Wouldn’t have made it.”

“How do you know?”

“The cameras. Maya broke into their feed from our satellite.”

“How did you find me?”

“We tracked Richardson. He must’ve had doubts about Vanessa, and started to follow her. She threw him off, but she wasn’t careful enough when she came here. She left in too much of a hurry. I knew something had happened when Vanessa left Santiago so quickly with Richardson hot on her trail. It could only mean that something had gone wrong, or that Thomas had been born.” His eyes darkened. “Richardson followed Vanessa, and he led us to you.”

“I’m so glad you found me.” She shivered. “Adam—Godfrey’s stepson—he said he had to blow up the building, but then he changed his mind.”

He caressed her face. “Don’t think about it any longer. It’s over. You’re alive. You’re safe. You and our baby.” He gave Thomas a tender look. “I can’t wait to get to know him.”

She removed Nicolas’s notebook from her pocket and handed it to Lann. “Eve will want this.”

“Is this what I think it is?”

“Nicolas manufactured the serum. The dose is crucial. It increases exponentially.”

Lann gave the book to Maya. “Scan it. Get it to Cain as soon as possible.”

Maya gave Kat a bright smile. “You did well, Kat.”

Holding Thomas in one arm, Kat took the vial and disk from her other pocket. “You’ll want this too.”

“The serum,” Maya said, a note of wonder in her tone. “Joss will be happy. The sample Eve had to work with wasn’t enough.” She turned to Lann. “I’ll put this in the fridge.”

When Maya disappeared to the front, Kat said, “Here.” She handed Lann his son. “Can you please hold him while I get changed?”

Lann took Thomas into his arms, his expression one of wonder as he peered down at the face so similar to his own. As she made her way to the curtained area at the back to change, she caught the love shining in his eyes when he kissed his son’s forehead.

Lann watched Kat sleep in their room in the Josselin Castle. He was stretched out next to her with Thomas between them. His son was awake, but his mother still needed more rest. He offered Thomas his finger, and reveled at the strength with which the tiny fist closed around it. He’d studied Thomas for hours while he’d slept, watching his small chest rising and falling quietly. He planted another kiss on the soft skin of his baby’s cheek.

“Daddy’s going to take good care of you.”

His chest constricted again, thinking of the footage he’d seen from the camera recordings Kat had recovered from the lab, when Adam had taken Thomas away and almost given his son to another man to raise. Adam had been a monster. He’d enjoyed torturing Kat and had reveled in her emotional pain, but he’d also decided to save her life. Maybe he’d even fallen in love with her a little. It was a damn good thing he was dead.

He trailed his gaze over his wife possessively and brushed his fingers over her arm. She opened her eyes with a lazy expression, the brilliant blue turning dark with love.

“I’m a lucky man,” he whispered, bending over Thomas to plant a chaste kiss on her lips.

He’d undressed and showered her after feeding her, and then put her to bed. He’d bathed his son and changed his diaper, and held the two people he cared about most in the world close to him, content with just listening to their breathing. They’d only slept four hours, but Thomas needed to be fed. He’d start to fret soon. Lann smiled. He was learning to predict his son’s schedule. He needed to drink every four hours, like clockwork.

He pulled the sheet away to look at Kat’s naked body. Her body was fuller, even more breathtaking than before. Her hips were more voluptuous, and her breasts held the life that fed his child. It was a miracle that filled him with wonder. He touched her breasts lightly, careful not to hurt her, knowing they’d be sensitive. Her nipples pebbled for him. Her reaction to his touch pleased him. It tightened his body to painful arousal, but it was too soon. He’d hardly be able to wait the month Eve had prescribed.