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His head did something that was evidently a nod, because Mary’s gentle palm came down lightly on his shoulder blade. She moved it in a slow, easy circle.

“Those are the right answers,” she said. “All of them.”

He had to blink fast as the fire in the furnace’s window became blurry. “You think?” he said hoarsely.

“No. I know.”

Epilogue

Six months later . . .

“And what is going on in here with all this noise, precious one?”

Bella walked into the nursery and found Nalla standing up in her crib, hands locked on the rail, little face red and bunched tight from crying. Everything had been pitched out onto the floor: the pillow, the stuffed toys, the blanket.

“Sounds like your world is ending again,” Bella said as she scooped up her wailing daughter and looked at the debris. “Was it something they said?”

Attention just made the tears come faster and harder.

“Now, now, try to breathe—it’ll give you more volume. . . . Okay, you just ate, so I know you’re not hungry. And you’re dry.” More howling. “I have a feeling I know what this is about. . . .”

Bella checked her watch. “Look, we can give it a try, but I don’t know if it’s time yet.”

Bending down, she picked Nalla’s favorite pink blankie off the floor, wrapped the young in it, and headed for the door. Nalla calmed a little as they left the nursery and went down the hall of statues to the grand staircase, and the trip through the tunnel to the training center was likewise relatively quiet—but when they stepped out into the office and the place was empty, the crying started up again.

“Hold on, we’ll just see if—”

Outside, in the corridor, a group of pretrans left the locker room and walked off in the direction of the center’s parking area. It was good to see them, and not just because it meant Nalla was probably going to get what she was after: following the raids on the glymera, the classes for future soldiers had been halted. Now, though, the Brotherhood was back in business with the next generation—only this time not all of them were aristocrats.

Bella entered the gym through a back door, and she flushed at what she saw. Zsadist was up ahead, working out on a punching bag, his powerful fists driving the thing back until it hung at a stiff angle. His shirtless torso was stunning under the caged lights, his muscles viciously cut, his nipple rings gleaming, his fighting form perfect even to her untrained eyes.

Off to one side, a trainee stood utterly transfixed, a sweatshirt hanging limp in his little hand. His face showed a combination of fear and awe as he watched Zsadist work out, the kid’s eyes wide, his mouth open in a little O from his jaw going loose.

The second Nalla’s cries echoed up into the vast space, Z spun around.

“Sorry to bother you,” Bella said over the wailing. “But she wants her daddy.”

Z’s face melted into an absolute glow of love, the fierce concentration draining from his eyes and being replaced with what Bella liked to call his Nalla-vision. He met them halfway across the blue mats, dropping a kiss on Bella’s mouth as he took the young into his arms.

Nalla settled instantly in her father’s hold, the young wrapping her arms around his thick neck and cuddling into his massive chest.

Z looked back across the gym to the trainee. In a deep voice, he said, “Bus is coming soon, son. You better hurry.”

When he turned around again, Bella felt her hellren’s arm come around her waist, and she was pulled tight to his side. As he kissed her on the mouth once more, he murmured, “I need a shower. You want to help?”

“Oh, yes.”

The three of them left the gym and went back to the mansion. Halfway through the trip, Nalla conked out, so when they got up to their bedroom, they went into the nursery, put her down in her crib, and enjoyed a shower that was very hot—and not just because of the temperature of the water.

When they were through, Nalla was awake again, just in time for story hour.

While Bella dried her hair with a towel, Z went in, got the young, and father and daughter settled into the big bed. Bella came