Page 79 of Ramiel

Zoe liked to dress their infant in blue, so he bathed Arakiel and chose an appropriate outfit.Arak studied his father in silence, patiently waiting for the milk to become warm enough to drink when they reached the kitchen.His inner rage was always contained as long as one of his parents was near.He cried hard enough to shake the walls whenever he woke up to find himself alone.

Tolas entered the kitchen, holding his tiny daughter.“Don’t tell Wynter this, but I’m terrified Nova will accidentally freeze her bathwater and damage herself one day,” he whispered.

Amaros felt for his brother.Their children were the first pair of an entirely new breed.Arak and Nova could already use magic and their skills could be deadly.“Wyn is attuned to Nova, just as Zoe is attuned to Arak,” Amaros reminded him.“They both know when our babies are about to use their powers.Wynter will be able to control the water and prevent it from freezing around your daughter.”

Relieved that his fears had been put to rest, Tol gave his boss a grateful smile.They chatted while they fed their children and waited for their mates to wake up.

Queegly turned up shortly after the knights and cambions had shared breakfast together.“Have I missed the show?”he asked when he ambled into the kitchen.

“What show?”Zoe asked in confusion.

“Cat’s going to show off her talents, isn’t she?”the Texan asked.He poured himself a mug of coffee and added cream and sugar.Sin kept his fridge and freezer fully stocked as well as their own kitchen.

“This is going to be awesome,” Xan predicted.She was jealous that she didn’t have a flashy talent, but her intelligence was just as big a skill as her gift with electronics.

“My mate has incredible acrobatic skills as well as being pyrokinetic,” Ramiel said proudly.

“Do you have any throwing knives?”Cat asked.Long used to putting on a show, she wanted this one to be memorable.

“I’ll get you everything you need!”Grace volunteered, shooting up from her chair.The pair hurried from the room, heading to the armory.

“I guess training will be put on hold this morning,” Vic said with an eyeroll.

“What a shame,” Bri said, then sensed her trainer’s amusement.The emotion manipulator was enjoying learning how to fight more effectively.Xanthia was the only female who lacked an aptitude for combat.

“Is that it?”Grace asked half an hour later.They’d set up an area in front of the base for their newest sister to put on her performance.

“I think so,” Caterina said, turning in a slow circle to take it all in.“You can call the others to come and watch now.”

Grace squealed in glee, then raced over to open the door.“Get out here!”she shouted.“The show is about to start!”

Everyone stampeded to the front entrance and she darted to the side so she didn’t get trampled in the rush.

Zoe and Wynter brought up the rear, carrying their children.Queegly was last and shut the door behind him.He’d retrieved his cowboy hat and pulled it down low to shield his eyes from the hot sun.

“This would be better if it was dark, but I’ll do my best to entertain you,” Cat said, then she began her routine.

Grace turned on a radio she’d brought outside.She’d put a disc in it and the music had them tapping their feet or dancing in place.

Cat had changed into form fitting clothes and had a belt wrapped around her slender waist.Throwing knives in sheaths encircled her.In tandem with the music, she tossed knives with deadly accuracy at the targets they’d set up while doing backflips, cartwheels and other acrobatic stunts.Everyone watched in rapt wonder.

When her knives ran out, she began tossing small fireballs at the targets.One missed and hit a tree just behind the target.Wynter sent a small jet of water towards the blaze to put it out.“I did that on purpose,” Cat lied, then snickered as she continued to flip through the air.

“That was amazing, Cat,” Zoe said when the music ended and everyone applauded.

Out of breath, Caterina bowed to the small crowd.“I had an idea while I was performing that routine,” she said, then crossed to the garage.Grace had shown her and her mate their names that they’d written on the concrete.

Crowding around behind her, everyone watched as she harnessed her power again.This time, she didn’t conjure up a fireball.Instead, she knelt down and placed her palm next to the last name that had been added.To their amazement, the concrete became so hot that it turned soft.

Camriel rushed to the shed and returned with a plank of wood.“Quick, everyone who hasn’t engraved your names yet, do it now!”he urged them while keeping the slab’s shape intact with the plank.

Everyone who’d missed out waited for their turn to write their names with a stick.Cat moved to the right, heating the concrete slowly.It hardened again as soon as she withdrew her magic from it when they were done.

“What about you, Queeg?”Grace asked.“Aren’t you going to write your name down?”

“I was thinking I could write mine near yours, kiddo,” the Texan said.

She grinned and motioned for Caterina to follow her.“I was the first one to engrave my name,” she said and pointed at it.

Zoe and Amaros had left a space next to Grace’s name, knowing her knight would turn up one day.Queegly wasn’t about to use the blank spot, instead, he pointed to the left of Grace’s name.“I’ll take that spot right there,” he decided.

“It’s not on the same side as ours,” the kid said.Their names were all on the right side of the garage.His would be on the front side.

“I’m just a human rather than a knight,” the oracle said.“Angel and I will be happy to have our names on this corner.”

Cat used her magic to soften the concrete, then Queegly engraved his name in it.Sin wrote her kitten’s name down as well, then pressed one of her paws next to it.

“What about little Arak and Nova?”Qi asked.“Where will their names go?”

“Let’s wait until all of the knights and cambions have arrived before we decide where to write their names,” Zoe decided.She glanced at the Mad Prophet to see he was watching Arakiel with a brooding expression.It was partly pitying and partly sorrowful, as if he could see something in her son’s future that she couldn’t.He avoided her gaze as they all headed back inside.Her hunch that something bad was coming had just become far worse.