Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 409

Chapter 409

“Mama’s sorry,” I soothed, bouncing her gently. “But we need to figure this out before you touch any more plants, okay?”

“Can I see?” Lily asked, pushing past the adults to get closer to

the plant. “Wow, it’s so pretty! And it smells good too.”

E

She was right. The plant was giving off a faint sweet scent, like

honey and vanilla mixed together. Definitely not something a regular

fern would do.

“Don’t touch it,” Orion warned his daughter.

“I won’t,” Lily promised. “But it’s really pretty. Did baby Ari really

make it like this?”

yet.”

“We think so,” Sarah said carefully. “But we’re not completely sure

“That’s so cool,” Lily breathed. “She’s like a princess from a fairy

tale. The ones who can talk to animals and make flowers grow.”

Out of the mouths of babes. That was exactly what this felt like-

something from a story, not real life.

Liam toddled over, interested in whatever had captured his

sister’s attention. “Flower,” he announced, pointing.

“Yes, flowers,” Sarah confirmed, scooping him up before he could

get too close. “Pretty flowers that we’re just going to look at, not

touch.”

“I need to sit down,” I said suddenly, the full weight of everything

hitting me. My legs felt shaky.

.

Tristan immediately guided me to the couch, taking Arianna from

my arms so I could collapse into the cushions. “Breathe,” he

instructed. “Just breathe.”

I tried, but my mind was spinning. “What if this is bad?” I asked.

“What if having this gift makes her different? Makes people treat her

differently? What if…”

“Athena.” Orion sat down beside me, his hand on my shoulder.

“You have a gift. Has it made you different? Has it made people treat

you badly?”

“No, but mine is subtle. Normal. This is…” I gestured helplessly at

the plant. “This is not normal.”

“None of us are normal,” Derek pointed out. “We’re werewolves.

We shift into giant wolves and run around on full moons. Normal left

the building a long time ago.”

Despite everything, I laughed. He had a point.

“We’ll figure this out,” Tristan said firmly. He’d settled into the

armchair across from me, both babies now somehow in his lap-

Arianna on one thigh, Adrian on the other, his strong hands keeping

them steady.

“Together. As a family. We’ll learn about Ari’s gift, help her

control it, make sure she’s safe and happy and knows that she’s loved

no matter what abilities she has.”

“And Adrian too,” Orion added. “Whatever he can or can’t do, he’s

perfect just as he is.”

“They’re both perfect,” Sarah agreed. “Gifts or no gifts.”

I looked at my babies–Adrian with his serious dark eyes, already

studying the world around him with an intensity that reminded me of

his father. Arianna with her ready smile and social nature, always

wanting to be the center of attention.

They were six months old. Still so tiny. Still needed us for

everything.

And one of them–maybe both of them–had abilities that we

didn’t understand and couldn’t predict.

It was terrifying.

But looking at them now, safe in their father’s arms, surrounded

by family who loved them unconditionally, I felt the fear start to ease

just slightly.

“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Okay. We watch them

carefully. We document anything unusual. We keep this quiet for now.

And we just… we parent them. Like we’ve been doing. Because they’re

still our babies, whether or not they can make plants come back to

life.”

“Exactly,” Tristan said, and the pride in his eyes when he looked

at me made my heart squeeze. “They’re ours. We’ll protect them. We’ll

guide them. Whatever comes, we’ll handle it.”

“As a family,” Orion added. “You’re not in this alone.”

“Thank you,” I said, meaning it with everything in me. “Both of

you. All of you.”

Derek cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I think having a

baby who can heal plants is pretty remarkable. Scary, sure. But also

kind of amazing.”

“It is amazing,” I admitted. “I just wish it came with an

instruction manual.”

“Parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual even

without magical plant powers,” Sarah pointed out. “We’re all just

making it up as we go.”

“That’s not as comforting as you think it is,” I said, but I was

smiling.

Arianna made a sound–something between a coo and a laugh—

and reached for Adrian. He reached back, and their little hands

clasped together.

And where their skin touched, I could swear I saw a faint glow.

Just for a second. So brief I might have imagined it.

But from the way Tristan’s eyes widened, I knew he’d seen it too.

“Did that just…” I started.

“I don’t know,” Tristan said quickly. “Maybe. Maybe not. The light

from the window might have…”

“There is no window behind you,” Derek interrupted. “That was

definitely something.”

We all stared at the babies. They stared back, completely

innocent, their hands still clasped together.

“So,” Orion said after a long moment. “Twin connection? Shared

abilities? Or just a coincidence?”

“At this point,” I said, laughing slightly hysterically, “I don’t think

I’d be surprised by anything.”

Adrian yawned, a huge jaw–cracking yawn that showed his gums -still no teeth yet–and both babies suddenly looked exhausted.

“Nap time,” Tristan announced. “I think we’ve had enough

excitement for one afternoon.”

“I’ll help,” Sarah offered. “You two look like you could use a

break.”

She and Tristan took the babies upstairs to the nursery while the

rest of us stayed in the living room, all of us still stealing glances at

the impossible plant on the bookshelf.

“This is going to complicate things,” Derek said eventually.

“You think?” Orion asked dryly.

“But we’ll manage,” Derek continued. “We always do.”

“We do,” I agreed, though I wasn’t sure I believed it yet.

Lily climbed onto the couch beside me, snuggling into my side.

“Aunt Athena? Are you scared?”

I looked down at her serious little face. “A little bit,” I admitted.

“But mostly I’m just confused. And worried about making sure Ari and

Adrian are okay.”

“They will be,” Lily said with the absolute confidence of a six-

year–old. “Because they have you and Uncle Tristan. And all of us.

We’ll take care of them.”

“You’re right,” I said, pulling her closer. “We will.”

Upstairs, I could hear Tristan’s voice, soft and low, singing the

lullaby he always sang to the babies at nap time. Sarah’s footsteps

moving around the nursery. The normal sounds of our home, our life.

One of our children could apparently bring dead plants back to

life and make flowers bloom where they shouldn’t exist.

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The other might have abilities we hadn’t even discovered yet.

And we had no idea what any of it meant for their futures.

But right now, in this moment, they were safe and loved and

sleeping peacefully in their cribs.

And maybe, for today, that was enough.

Tomorrow we’d start trying to figure out the rest.

For now, we’d just be grateful they were here. Healthy. Ours.

Gifts and all.

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Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.