So that was why Laurent had been so eager to chat to the ghosts. Throughout the whole walk from the kitchen, hadn’t there been a moment when he could have mentioned his plans to Beast?
Fire burned Beast’s head and chest. He couldn’t look away from his husband’s pretty, innocent face. “An egg?”
Laurent seemed oblivious to Beast’s shellshock. He pulled the hand on which Beast wore his engagement ring up to his lips and kissed it. “Yes. And when the baby was ready to be born, the egg hatched.”
Beast swallowed, trying to get rid of the tightness in his throat. He was sweating like a pig under his clothes. “We’ve only been married for two months, I’m pretty sure this can wait,” he tried, unable to bring himself to shame Laurent in front of Magpie by saying what he really thought. This was ridiculous. He had never considered having a child in the first place, and now it had been dumped on him like a tub of cold water.
Laurent shook his head, making the saddest puppy dog eyes. “It cannot wait, Beast. Mr. Magpie had said it himself. When the time comes, he will use all his power to create the golem around the Pigeon Heart. Isn’t that right, Mr. Magpie? Granting us a child after that might be impossible for years to come.”
Magpie put on a silk nightgown and stood with a serious expression. “That is true. I don’t know how long it will take me to recover…”
“See? We can’t wait with this until we’re old and grey. Our son deserves fit fathers who can guide him through life.”
Our son? Beast was surely going nuts.
“But it’s so early,” he said, but Laurent’s brown gaze was as determined as when Laurent had told Beast goodbye before evaporating from his arms less than a year ago. It was a wall of tempered glass that Beast couldn’t break. “And how can either of us enter this kind of agreement if we already made one with Baal?”
Laurent swallowed. “The sigil is gone from the back of my neck. I am no longer bound to him.”
Magpie hummed in agreement, causing Beast’s blood to freeze. “Correct. All right then. I’m sure one of you has a knife on their person. If Baal could do it, so can I,” he concluded, approaching them with renewed vigor.
Beast felt as if he’d entered the Twilight Zone when Laurent produced a small curved knife that was usually used for peeling fruit.
Magpie’s presence was like a floating log that could still carry Beast to safety, so he glared at him, jaw clenched with worry. “What if it doesn’t work? You haven’t tried this before. For all we know, the result might be a shadow dragon, not a baby!”
Magpie frowned. “This Maureen lady had said it herself. Blood of the parents, and a ruby. Can’t be much different than creating a golem. Of course there is also the issue of making a pact, since I cannot offer you my power otherwise, but since it’s a gift from me to you, let us make it something small. That pretty pin you carry on your vest.”
Beast sucked in air, half-expecting Laurent to deny the request. The brooch, a pretty enameled silver trinket was among Laurent’s most prized possessions. It featured a multitude of symbols—a cupid’s bow, two hearts, doves, and even a torch—but what really counted was that Laurent had gotten it from his mother as they parted before his journey to America.
But Laurent didn’t even flinch and looked up at Beast with the knife in his hand. “We will never again have an opportunity like this. Our blood, our love, entwined forever in this new human being. Do you not want that?”
Beast’s heart was beating too fast, until his body was convinced there was a threat lurking behind his back. He did want to be forever entwined with Laurent. He loved his body. He loved his soul. And while all this was too sudden, the promise of Laurent’s words was already wrapping itself around Beast’s heart. A new being. Made of them both. As a gay man, as someone who’d given up on love for so many years, he hadn’t ever considered having kids. Just last year, he hadn’t even thought he’d ever be loved as anything else but a brother. But now that the possibility of creating a family with the man he’d married was presented to him, he was at a crossroads between making even firmer ties with Laurent, and letting uncertainty guide his decisions.
His gut feelings had betrayed him too many times to count, and the temptation of commitment already smelled as sweet as Laurent’s freshly washed hair. Surely, their child would take after Laurent. He would have the same brown eyes and thick dark hair. Perhaps it would have Beast’s nose? They would never find out if they didn’t try.