In a Brave New World (Brave New World Book 5)

Chapter 17

Sue

"Come here, tiny blessing."

"Careful, Xan!"

"Come on, my strong tiny gargoyle, release your mother... That's it, wings tucked!"

I felt the tail around my wrist relax, and I exhaled in relief when the whole bundle ended up in Xan's clawed hand.

Vivi's wings were obediently tucked away and resting on either side of her father's forearm. Her black baby hair was brushing against the inside of his elbow. She had grown from yesterday for sure – her pointed ears hadn't reached Xan's bicep a day ago.

"Such an obedient female today, are you not?" he cooed before whispering, "Unlike your mother..."

Rocked gently from side to side in his arm, the baby cooed back, her brown eyes fixated on the white tip of her father's wing.

I shot Xan a glare. "That's right, animar. She is nothing like me and entirely like you: clingy, with a tail that never wants to let me go."

He caressed my naked hip with the tip of his tail and gave me a fangy smile. "That is because she is a smart tiny gargoyle: she holds tight to the most important thing in her life."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Nice save, Xan. But you are not getting a kiss."

His smile broadened to reveal a second fang. "Only because there are other people around and you are a shy little human. I will get what I want later, anima."

"Guess again, you jer–"

That earned me a tail-slap on the butt, after which Xan flew forward to get away from my retaliatory tug at that playful tail of his. I watched him land back next to the guys, all of whom immediately crowded him to take a closer look at our daughter.

Karim I could understand: he had not met Vivi yet, and it wasn't every day that a preternatural creature got to see a female gargoyle. Hell, even our homecloud had been amazed at the news.

Ris, on the other hand, had already played with Vivi on several occasions and he had his own bundle of winged joy to keep him entertained. How he was still so engrossed in the sight of a gargoyle baby was beyond me.

When I saw Vivi grab Tisvali's bright hair in her small dark-blue fist and pull with determination, an excited squeal escaping her, I turned away from the guys. Vivi was clearly having a blast, so I had some time before she noticed my absence.

I headed back to my BFFs, walking slowly towards the lake to enjoy the sight.

To the left, Aly was getting her fur petted by Edelweiss. To the right, Jasmine was trying to find a way around her baby bump to deal the deck of cards more comfortably for our upcoming game. Next to her, Deidre was adjusting her sunglasses and her straw sun hat with one hand, while the other was rocking the sleeping Deris, his blue tail still too short to get a strong hold of his mother's wrist. And in the centre of this semi-circle in the lake clearing, Boromir was busy shifting from fishtail to human legs and back, lying on his tummy as he was. His pale baby face was turned towards the lake with the intense look Vivi got every time she was filling her makeshift diapers.

Yep, I was still in the Twilight Zone more than a year after I'd ended up there on the wings of a gargoyle king. I had simply switched to the Twilight Zone, the baby edition.

"Everything okay?" Jasmine asked when I reached the clearing. She pushed a sweaty curl off her forehead with the back of her hand, a few cards still left to be dealt.

I would have suggested she moved a bit to the right to avoid the strong sunrays penetrating the forest canopy in her current location, but I knew she had sat right there on purpose. If I usually lived underground, I would be desperate for the sunlight myself.