MasukThe crowd cheered, but none were louder than our excited children.Ivan’s POVIt was good of Claire to invite me to her wedding. I’d thought for a while that I might avoid the whole thing, but now that I was here, that I could be surrounded by the obvious love between the pair, I was glad that I had
Claire’s POVThe day of our wedding, I couldn’t stop looking at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a flowing white dress that Leo and Nova had helped me pick out. My hair was done up in a bun. I barely recognized myself, so put together and done up.“You look like a princess,” Nova said from nearby
Gideon’s POVI kissed Claire with my full heart, then held her close. She giggled, pressed into the safety of my arms.“We can talk about it now,” she said. “Or you could kiss me again. I liked that.”“I want to,” I told her truly. “I don’t want to stop kissing you. But after all this, I want to see
Claire’s POVI was dragged out of the trunk roughly by my arms, then shoved down into the dirt at Daphne’s feet.Quickly, I glanced around, but I didn’t really recognize where I was. A forest, but I had no idea which one. Tents were set up here and there and people I didn’t know milled about. This m
George glanced over, seeing me in the dim interior light.“He loves you,” he said.“He does.”“Do you love him, too?”“Yes,” I said. It came out easier than I thought it would. “Yes, I do,” I said again, to be sure. This time was just as easy.“Good,” George said. “Gideon is a good man, a brave and
Claire’s POVWe had a handful of hours before we needed to leave for the exchange. In that time, George had me fitted for body armor.“They will likely attempt to remove it from you,” he said. “But try to keep it on for as long as you can. I don’t know what kind of torture they will attempt, but thi
Ivan and Raven left the house together.Still holding my son, I told Ivan, “I am trusting you with the most important things in the world to me.” Ivan nodded at me, and said, “I will take this seriously.”As he moved ahead to his car, Raven stayed back. After my hugs, she held her hands out for the
Claire’s POVDuring breakfast, Leo’s plate was first given to Lola, who steadily lifted a piece of bacon to her mouth and chewed. Everyone else at the table was watching her, including Leo and Nova.I hated this. I didn’t know much about Lola, but she likely had her own family and friends. She was o
“Good,” Ivan said.I nodded, pleased.“Then there is only one thing left to do,” Gideon said. He swallowed hard. “I have to tell my son to pack.”Gideon’s POVI wasn’t surprised to find that Leo was still awake, even though he should have been asleep hours ago. We’d moved him to a different window w
Leo sniffled some but the waterworks dried up, especially after Gideon asked, “Tell me about your day today,” and Leo began talking about his tour with Nova.I stayed nearby as father and son talked. Leo, feeling more relaxed now, was starting to yawn, his eyes drooping.“I think I can sleep now,” h







