Elven Legacy

Chapter 138

One month later

"What if she panics?" Matt asked as they stood in the lamp-lit hallway of the castle keep. "I don't want to scare her."

"It'll be fine," Jaden reassured him with a smile. "Tell you what, why don't I go in first?"

Matt nodded, relief flooding his face. "Yeah. Good idea."

Jaden shook his head slightly, a fond chuckle escaping his lips. Then he spun on his heel and crept up to the ajar door of Moira's bedchamber. He caught a snippet of the two women's conversation, drifting through the narrow space and to his ears.

"Priest Velior says he read somewhere that infants learn languages way faster than adults," Moira was saying. "So I was thinking, maybe you should talk to her in Azurian once in a while, and I—"

Jaden rapped his knuckles twice on the door, then pushed it open and stepped inside. The scene before him was so typically Felleran, it nearly put tears in his eyes with how homesick he'd felt lately, and how glad he was to finally be back.

Drawn back curtains revealed big flakes of snow falling from the evening sky; a fire crackled in the hearth, the fluffy Samoyed lounging on the carpet in front of it; platter of tea and scones on the low table; Moira reclined in the couch, clad in a long-sleeved leafy-green dress, with Matty dozing off in her arms, as her mother gently rocked her; Zemisha seated beside them, a sallow-paged book in her lap.

Of course, now that Jaden had stepped in, the peaceful scene roared to life. Zemisha sprang up from the couch, dropping her book with a thump and flinging her hands to her smiling mouth as she exclaimed, "Jaden!"

Snow barked happily and wagged her tail as she leapt over to Jaden, licking his hands and running mad circles around his legs. Jaden petted her soft ears and neck with a smile, though he kept his eyes on Zemisha as she hurried over to him. She sidestepped Snow and fell in his arms with a joyful laugh, standing on the tip of her toes as he hugged her with a content sigh.

"We didn't know you were back!" Zemisha exclaimed as they held each other close. "Oh, we missed you so much!"

"Missed you too," Jaden breathed, and he kissed Zemisha's hair, which smelled like almond oil and sweet flowers. He smiled at Moira as she rose from the couch, grinning, still holding Matty and rubbing the little girl's back like it was second nature. Jaden's chest filled with warm affection, because he discerned something there that perhaps hadn't been there before – or not fully, in any case. A true connection. A family.

And said family was just about to grow bigger. Jaden's smile stretched into a grin, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

Zemisha pulled away from their hug, to switch places with Moira. Snow's fluffy white tail wagged excitedly as she twirled around Zemisha and Jaden in turn. Zemisha stroked the Samoyed behind the ears, laughing fondly as the round blue eyes lidded with pleasure. Jaden looked up again at Moira as she came closer.

"She got so big!" he couldn't help but exclaim as Matty turned her curious gaze from her mother's shoulder to observe him. She made a questioning little noise and raised her tiny hand, which Jaden simply had to take and play with.

"Hi," Jaden greeted the little girl.

Moira's grin widened, before she said, "Look, it's Uncle Jaden, Matty! Yeah, you missed him too, didn't you?" Then she laughed as Matty shyly turned away from Jaden to hide her face in Moira's hair.

Jaden waited as Moira gave Matty to Zemisha, who took her with expert hands and soft-spoken words, "Hey sweet girl, come here."

"Look at you two," Jaden said, "such great moms."