Chapter Fifty

*Milo*

Theo’s cry wakes me up. Again. It’s two o’clock in the morning. Piper still hasn’t come back and I’m starting to get worried about her. Ur’ali tradition states parents should sleep in the room the baby was born in so they “receive the Goddess’s blessing” bestowed upon their child at birth. I tried to argue that I’m not really Theo’s parent, but both Olivia and Aaron insisted I stay with them. Olivia is being nice, I think, but Aaron just wants me to suffer with him.

“It’s okay, Theo,” says Olivia, trying and failing to pull Theo up to her bed from the crib.

I incant and Theo is lifted up into Olivia’s arms. With a muttered “Thanks” to me, she pulls out a breast and guides Theo to it. I’ve seen her do this several times now that I don’t even recoil at the sight. Not that there’s anything wrong with breastfeeding, but after watching Theo squeeze his way into this world, I’m even more opposed to female anatomy than I was before.

Aaron sighs in relief when Theo’s crying stops abruptly as he starts feeding.

My head grows heavy on Aaron’s chest and I fall asleep again.

Cry. Five o’clock. Feed. Sleep.

Cry. Eight o’clock. Feed. Sleep.

When I’m shaken awake at nine in the morning, I feel groggy, like I haven’t slept at all. But adrenaline bursts through me when I realize it’s Piper who woke me up.

“Piper, you’re back!” I say. Too loud. I said it too loudly and now Theo is awake and screaming again.

Piper incants and Theo’s cries are silenced, though he’s still waving his arms, his mouth wide open in a silent scream.

“Undo that!” shrieks Olivia, who woke up to my shout as well. Aaron, who seems too tired to understand what’s happening, opens his eyes and lifts his head slowly. “Undo that right now!”

Piper incants again and Theo’s screams continue. Aaron jumps up as if electrocuted, and moves to Theo.

“What’s wrong?” he asks sleepily, picking Theo up. After a moment of rocking, Theo goes quiet. “What happened?”

“I’m sorry,” Olivia says to Piper, “I overreacted. But I don’t want magic used on Theo.”

“I’ve been using magic on him all night,” I say. And it’s true. Theo is a little poop machine and changing his diapers manually was not pleasant. After the third diaper, I started using magic to clean him during my turn. Olivia says it’s cheating and that I should do it manually, but I’ll be damned if I do that every time.

“I mean, I don’t want her using magic on him. She’s the one who gave me the potion that did this.”

“Wait…that’s your baby?” asks Piper, looking at Theo.

“Yes. Prince Theodore George Heris,” says Aaron, handing him over to Olivia.

“That’s what the potion…but why?”

“We don’t know,” I answer Piper. “The three of us—” I indicate Aaron, Piper, and myself, “—should go somewhere private and talk about all of this. Including why you didn’t show up last night.”

“I couldn’t get away. Now that Malexis told Phoebe you’re actually dead, she’s all buddy-buddy with me. We sat outside and made s’mores under the stars.” Piper rolls her eyes like s’mores are the most pointless things in the world.

“Did you get the Book?” I ask.

“No,” says Piper sadly. “Malexis did something to it, not Piper. I can’t touch it.”

“What are we going to do when—”

Aaron’s words are cut off by a fresh wave of screams by Theo. I don’t have to look at Olivia to know she’s about to breastfeed him.

“Let’s just go somewhere else,” I say, heading for the door with Piper. I look back when I notice Aaron isn’t with us. He’s standing next to Olivia’s bed. He kisses his index, middle, and ring finger, touches them on the side of Theo’s head, then joins us as we leave the hospital.

“I’m not going to lie,” he says. “I love Theo, but it’s going to be nice having a break from the crying.”

I agree, but don’t say anything as we make our way to the gardens near the palace. Today, there’s only two men here, one of them bent over a bench while the other goes to town on his ass. It makes me think of Aaron’s ass and blood rushes into my cock.

“Oh, this is no good,” says Piper, glancing at the two men.

“I don’t know,” says Aaron, watching them like I am. 

“Would you like to join?” the top asks, looking at me. He pulls out, his hard cock swinging in front of him. “Your husband can join, too.”

“No,” says Piper. She steps closer to us and throws a phial at her feet, transporting us to a windswept hill of honeysuckle bushes. 

“Where are we?” asks Aaron.

“We’re back in Midoor. Look, there’s Crown City.” 

She points to the south of where we now stand, the back of the palace clearly visible on the high cliffside.

“Those things are incredible,” says Aaron, talking about the transportation phials. 

“I know. Malexis invented them, though he doesn’t need them. He can transport himself in the blink of an eye. Literally.”

“Speaking of Malexis,” I say, “we have to end your mission. It’s over now. Elaine can’t be healed. You know how to make the phials. We’ll have to discover her plans another way and we’ll help you get your Book back when we defeat her.”

“I still don’t understand why Malexis is lying about Milo’s death,” says Aaron. “What does he hope to gain from it? Milo explained about paragons, especially dark paragons. About how they make deals with witches and grant them power if they succeed.”

“Maybe Malexis is hoping Phoebe will fail,” says Piper, staring off into the distance. 

“Why would he want that?” I ask.

“I told you how Phoebe stole all the magic and lifeforce from everyone in my old village, Corinth. But there’s something you don’t know about that. Stealing magic like that is temporary. Once that magic is used up, it’s gone. Some of it incorporates into your own magic, but very little. Dark paragons make deals because magical beings can willingly give away all of their power, but it also kills them. If Phoebe holds up her end of the deal, she gets something in return. If she fails, Malexis gets her power and her life.”

“So you think he’s working against her?”

“You know how powerful Phoebe is. She’s more powerful than I am, even. She’s been practicing all these years while magic has been illegal. I’ve barely practiced. If Malexis absorbs her power...”

“So we need to figure out what their plans are still,” says Aaron. “Maybe Piper should continue her undercover work.”

“How is that going to work, though?” I ask. “Once Phoebe realizes I’m alive, it’ll all be over."

“Look, if Malexis is really on our side somehow, maybe I can use that to our advantage,” says Piper, apparently following her own train of thought and not hearing me. “He could have told Phoebe I didn’t kill you, but he didn’t. There’s something bigger going on.”

"What about the rest of the Midoorians? We were never entirely certain we weeded them all out," I say. "We told Oswald and Exavier to tell everyone I'm alive. Phoebe might have other spies within our ranks."

"For now, we have to trust that word won't get back to Phoebe too quickly," says Piper. "But we don't have a choice. Figuring out what Phoebe and Malexis are up to is too important."

“Let’s move on for a second to why he wanted Theo to be born now,” says Aaron. He seems weirdly on edge about something. “What magical purpose does that have?”

Piper and I both think, though I know I won’t be much help if Piper doesn’t know. Even still, there had to be a reason. Someone doesn’t just accelerate gestation for no reason at all.

“You don’t think one of them is after Theo, do you?” asks Aaron. 

“Well, there are some dark magic spells that require parts of a newborn,” says Piper offhandedly.

“‘Parts of a newborn’?” asks Aaron, his face going pale.

“Don’t worry. They have to be harvested within the first hour for most of the spells I know of.” 

“‘Harvested’?” he echoes, and his face goes even paler. Piper is talking about this like they’re ingredients for a stew.

“So Theo’s not their target, then?” I ask.

“I doubt it. After twenty-four hours, there are no uses for a newborn. Within the realms of dark magic, I mean. At least, nothing that couldn’t be accomplished by using a person of any age.”

“Dark magic is disgusting,” says Aaron. I nod fervently.

“You’d be shocked at some of the books I’ve read on dark magic,” I say. “There’s this one spell where you take a newborn and pull it’s brain out through its nose and—”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Aaron shouts, putting his hands over his ears. “Don’t say anymore!”

Piper and I both laugh, though I’m actually revolted, remembering how the spell is used to turn the baby into a monster by replacing its cursed brain. Then I remember the girl in the woods, the one my animated doll killed and my laughter dies away instantly.

“One thing I know for certain,” says Aaron, dropping his arms, “is I need to be in Kr’fait until Theo is twenty-four hours old. I will not let anything happen to my son.”

A small ripple of jealousy washes over me, followed by guilt. I used to be the thing he cared about most. I shouldn’t think this way, though. Theo is his son. His flesh and blood. I’m ashamed at my thoughts, and I push them away.

“Alright,” says Piper. “I’m going back to Phoebe. We'll rendezvous in Hashandra. Before we part, I’m going to teach you how to make the transportation phials.”

*Piper*

When Piper transports herself back to Halliwell Manor, now sitting at the edge of a cliff on the southern border of Hashandra, it isn’t Phoebe sitting in the living room, but Malexis, lying on his back on the couch, his hands behind his head and his feet propped up on the armrest.

“It’s done,” she says. “I told them I'm staying undercover."

Malexis doesn’t respond. He just gazes at Piper as though she’s a priceless painting.

“How long do you expect me to do your bidding?” asks Piper.

“Until I’m finished with you. That potion you gave Olivia resides within Theo still. In ten day's time, the power in this—” he pulls from his pocket a three-inch-long, acid-green phial, “—will dissipate. Until then, you will do as I say or I will break it and the next time Aaron or Olivia touches little Theo, he will explode in his parent’s arms. If you don’t want that baby’s death on your hands, you will do as I say.”

Piper nods. 

“Is that why you wanted Theo out of Olivia? To use him against me?”

"Well, yes. You see, if Theo was still inside Olivia and I snapped the phial, he would already be touching his mother and he'd explode. It would still work, killing Theo and probably Olivia. And sure, that would still devastate Aaron, but not to nearly the same degree. If he were to be born, and Aaron got to see his previous son, love him, then he were to explode? Much more effective." Before Piper can respond, Malexis adds, “But I’m working with you, Piper, not against you.”

“You’re working against Aaron and Milo. You’re trying to kill them. You’re not working with me.”

“Who said I wanted to kill Aaron and Milo?” asks Malexis, one of his eyebrows raising. Before Piper can respond, Malexis continues. “Your sister is evil. Something inside her is broken. I do not align myself with such creatures.”

“She’s evil?” asks Piper incredulously. “What about you? You’ve spent centuries stealing magic and lifeforce from witches.”

Malexis moves so quickly, he almost appears to teleport. Standing an inch from Piper, he looks down at her, his gaze penetrating into the depths of her soul.

“Is it evil to make deals with people, with clear consequences if they don’t uphold their end, and collect the payment agreed upon? Is a banker evil for lending money to someone who says they can pay it when they can’t?”

“You’re working against Phoebe, making her fail. If a banker lent money to their employee and then fired them so they couldn’t pay, that’s pretty evil.”

“And you haven’t been working against her?” says Malexis. “These creatures that are attacking everyone? Those are Phoebe’s creation. I would never have done such a thing. I named a price to Phoebe. She can't pay? That's not my fault.”

“What are you doing with the warriors she’s taking? What are you planning?”

“In due time,” says Malexis, holding up the phial. Piper’s stomach tightens as a shaft of sunlight makes the phial glow. “Do your part.”

“Well, we have a problem.” 

Malexis takes a step back and raises his eyebrows. "Do tell."

"Milo and Aaron are worried about spies. There might be old Red Hands in the army."

"I'll take care of it," says Malexis.

"What're you going to do?"

"Do you really care what happens to traitors?"

"No, I guess not. But I still don't get it. Why are you working with Phoebe, who wants Milo and Aaron dead, if you don't want them dead?"

"My plans are my business. Just know that I want to help you get revenge against your sister. For killing all those people in Corinth. That’s what you really want, isn’t it?”

“Not if it means you become so powerful, you can do whatever you want anyway.” When Malexis doesn't say anything, she asks, “What are you doing? What is all of this for?”

“Relax, Piper. Just know that I’m on your side, and on Milo's.” She blinks, and Malexis is gone.

*Riley*

Gavin collapses on top of Riley, smiling. He lifts his head up and presses his lips into hers as her nails rake across his back.

“I must admit, I’ve always been afraid of finishing inside women, not wanting to get them pregnant, but damn does it feel so good,” he says. He pushes himself sideways so he’s not crushing her with his weight and puts his head on her shoulder.

“Yeah, and it’s not like it matters now,” says Riley, placing a hand on her stomach. “It’s not like I can get double pregnant. We’ll have to tell my brother when he returns. I wonder what he’ll—”

Her words are cut off by a rapping on her door.

“Your Majesty,” says Ser Kilter, her sworn protector. “Court was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago. We wanted to wait until you had left your room to inform you of their approach, but you never came.”

“I seem to remember that you came,” says Gavin with a shit-eating grin on his face. Riley slaps his chest before climbing out of bed.

She crosses over to her wardrobe and pulls out a robe, slipping it around her body, then goes to the door and opens it enough to poke her head out. 

“I’m not the queen yet,” Riley reminds her. “It’s still ‘Your Highness’.”

“Of course, Princess,” says Kilter. “But you are the reigning monarch until the emperor returns. You must meet with them.”

“Okay. I’ll be down in half an hour. Tell the citizens I had to take care of something important."

“Of course, Your Highness,” says Kilter with a bow, then leaves.

When Riley turns back, she sees Gavin standing in the middle of her room, swinging his dick around like a windmill. Despite herself, she smiles.

“Get dressed, you child,” she says, “and stop playing with your dick.”

“I mean, you could play with it instead,” he says, walking over to her and hugging her so she can feel it pressed into her hip.

“We just did that,” she says.

“I can go again. I have the stamina of three men.”

Riley rolls her eyes and pushes him away.

***

Thirty minutes later, Riley enters the old, finally fully restored throne room in a royal purple dress, her silver ringlet crown on her head, followed by Gavin. Already, the Small Council and her mother are here. She walks over to the throne and everyone except her mother bows. She sits and looks at the crowd of citizens before her. 

By far her least favorite thing about sitting the throne is holding court. The High Midoorian Court Judges are supposed to weed out matters too insignificant for the monarchy to deal with, but some lawyers end up pushing their clients through. One of the first things Riley intends to do when she's queen is close the loopholes in the laws that can be exploited. 

Today, she meets with a farmer whose father-in-law was able to talk a Judge into letting him before the Crown to dispute land boundary differences, a woman from the Upper Ring whose lawyer found a way to get her before the Crown due to her status as a noblewoman to discuss her husband's infidelity, and oversaw a custody battle. 

The last one is the worst. The child stands between the parents, crying, while they argue over who gets to keep her. 

Then, no less than twenty people appeared, claiming they saw Phoebe Dylan herself. Unfortunately, Aaron insisted anyone with information about her be brought to the Crown and she was unable to override this. By far the most ridiculous of these is a farmer who insists Phoebe stole his cabbages. 

"I seen her, Your Majesty," he says, bowing low. "She appeared in a burst of light and stole me cabbages."

"Why on Earth would Phoebe Dylan, who is probably the most powerful witch in Midoor, steal cabbages from a farmer?"

"I think," he whispers, glancing back and forth, "it's fer a dark spell that will kill us all. But I'm no warlock, Your Majesty."

"I am not the queen," says Riley. 

"I beg your pardon," he says, bowing again. "It's hard ter keep track. We had King Theodore, then King Aaron took his place, then King Milo ruled for a while, then King Aaron came back, then Queen Elaine ruled for a while, then King Aaron came back, then King Aaron was Emperor Aaron, then—"

"Yes, yes, I get it," says Riley, holding her hand up. She stands and addresses the room at large. "Phoebe Dylan is not within the borders of Midoor. She is currently known to be in the Southern Tribes. If you are here to report a sighting of Phoebe Dylan, please leave."

The citizens glance around for a moment and all but one leave the room.

"Please step forward," Riley says to the last woman. 

She walks forward and bows. 

"Please, Your Highness. My village was attacked last night by a group of vampires."

"Are vampires even real?" she asks her Small Council, but they shrug. "I suppose if witches are, vampires could be. I'll send you with a group of soldiers." She glances at Delgara who nods. 

"I'll get on it right away, Your Maj—I mean—Your Highness," he says with a bow and leads the woman out. 

"Is that the last of them?" Riley asks Cara

"You have one more person to see today," comes a deep voice from the door. Riley looks up to see a man followed by a delegation of servants. 

“King Mennite?” asks Riley, astounding the Dailan king is here in person. “What brings you all the way to Crown City?”

“I heard through the grapevine that you might be crowned as Queen of Midoor upon your brother’s return,” says King Mennite. He smiles at Gavin in an oddly familiar way. 

The King of Daila is a very short, fat man with wiry black hair, a thin, wiry black beard, a wide nose, and a prominent forehead. Little hairs curl up over the neck of his shirt and under the sleeves of his royal purple robe. 

“I have come in person to propose a marriage between my son and yourself, strengthening the ties that bind our nations. I would, of course, be willing to swear fealty to your brother and add Daila as a nation under the Empire of Theo.”

This was a big deal. If Aaron is successful in annexing the Southern Tribes, as he informed Riley he would be attempting, and she married King Mennite’s son, the entire continent of Pensia would be unified in the Empire. But it couldn’t be. 

“I’m sorry you had to travel all this way, Your Majesty,” says Riley, “but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline your offer. You see, I’m already in a relationship with—” Riley turns and looks at Gavin, who’s standing stockstill, staring at King Mennite. 

“With my son, yes,” says King Mennite. “Gavin, come give your father a hug, boy!”

As Gavin crosses the throne room, the guards and servants behind King Mennite give him small bows. King Mennite hugs Gavin for three seconds, then they part.

“Wait, you’re the Prince of Daila?” asks Riley, incredulous. On top of the bullshit she'd had to deal with today, this was too much. Her temper shot right up. “But you told me you were just a nobleman.”

“Gavin is not the Crown Prince,” says King Mennite, coming to Gavin’s aid. “Technically, Gavin is my stepson. I married his mother about a year ago. Still, in Dailan tradition, he is my son all the same, and therefore, a prince.”

“I didn’t lie to you,” says Gavin, sheepishly. “My mother is a noblewoman and I am a nobleman.”

“No, but you sure omitted something very important,” says Riley, swelling with fury.

“Now, now, there is no need to get your skirt ruffled, Princess Riley,” says King Mennite. This gets Riley’s skirt even more ruffled.

“This is my court, King Mennite. I shall decide how ruffled I get. Your son has been here, in my home, for several weeks and has failed to mention to me that he’s royalty.”

“I meant no disrespect,” says King Mennite, looking uncomfortable.

“Perhaps you should calm yourself, Your Majesty,” says Cara, stepping forward.

“Why is everyone acting like my brother is dead or something?” says Riley, tears filling her eyes. Losing her temper entirely, she screams, “I am not the queen!”

“Riley, dear,” says Queen Elaine, stepping forward. “Are you alright?”

Something about her mother’s voice makes Riley realize how she’s behaving. She almost absentmindedly reaches up and touches her stomach. She’s a couple of weeks pregnant and thinks it's the hormones affecting her. Can it happen so early in the pregnancy?

Pulling herself together, she looks to King Mennite, takes a deep breath, and says, “You are welcome here within the palace, Your Majesty, as our honored guest. We shall hold a feast tonight in celebration of your arrival. Prince Gavin—” she puts emphasis on his name and title, “—and I will need to discuss this matter privately.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” says King Mennite. His eyes flick down to Riley’s stomach and she has a feeling he knows she’s pregnant. He does have five children, after all, not including Gavin. He would know better than most how pregnancy hormones can affect a woman.

“Mother, I need to speak to you,” says Riley, grabbing her mother’s arm and pulling her away. When they’re behind Elaine’s shut door, Riley opens her mouth to explain, but it’s Elaine who speaks first.

“How far along are you?” she asks.

“A couple of weeks.”

“And how do you feel?”

“Confused. I think I might love Gavin, but we haven’t said it to each other yet. And now he’s a prince and I’m about to be queen and—”

“Calm yourself, my darling,” says Elaine, placing her hands on either side of Riley’s face. “Unfortunately, this is part of being royalty. You have too much on your plate all the time, and everyone expects you to hold yourself together.”

“I just wish—”

But Riley’s words were cut off by a gasp. She felt her eyes roll back into her head and her vision swam before her.

Riley’s in the throne room, kneeling on the top step of the dais, overlooking a crowd of people before her. The Grand Master places a crown on her head.

“Rise now, Riley Heris, Queen of Midoor.”

Riley stands slowly and looks at her brother, holding a baby, and Milo, both wearing fine clothing and their crowns. She turns her gaze out to the crowd below.

“All hail the Queen!” the Grand Master calls out.

“Long live the Queen!” the crowd shouts in unison. “Long live the Queen!”

Suddenly, she’s standing in her mother's room again, looking at her mother’s scared face.

“Riley, are you okay?” she asks.

“I think…” says Riley, her brain working very hard. “I think I just saw the future."

*Aaron*

I’m so on edge, sitting in Olivia’s hospital room. Every time someone comes in, I instinctively rise, my sword in my hand. I’ve scared several nurses, a doctor, and a group of children who came to bless Theo in the name of the Goddess.

“You’ve got to relax,” Olivia says to me as the nurse I scared this time looks at me in alarm, backing into the wall.

“I’m sorry,” I say to the room at large, taking my seat again and placing my sword on my lap.

“I just came to inform you that you have been cleared to leave, Your Majesty,” he says to Olivia. We’ve given up on telling them Olivia isn’t my wife. Apparently, polyamory and polygamy are commonplace in the Southern Tribes. They think I’m with both Milo and Olivia.

“Thank the Gods,” she says, causing the nurse’s nose to wrinkle. They don’t approve of our gods. We’ve also tried explaining that neither of us believe in gods, that it’s just a saying, but they don’t like that either.

“Let’s get to the palace. Queen Allandra has a room set up for you. I’ll feel better when you and Theo are surrounded by soldiers.”

“I must say, I was worried about that potion making me have Theo so early,” says Olivia, standing up, “but I’m thankful I got to skip most of the pregnancy stuff. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.”

I think, momentarily, about telling her of the dark magic uses newborns have but I don’t want to worry her.

An hour later, Olivia and I are ensconced in a bedroom provided to us by Queen Allandra and I tell her everything that happened while we were on Isald. Olivia sits on the bed, Theo in her arms, looking out the floor-length window over the Southern Tribes. From this height, we can see the five islands, though nothing is very distinct.

“So I know we’re safe from Phoebe,” says Olivia, “but how can we be sure we’re safe from Malexis?”

“I'm not sure. That’s why I’m not leaving you or Theo alone until I’m sure it’s safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you. I swear it.”

When the door opens, I stand, sword in hand, but it's just Milo. 

"I was able to transport the rest of our soldiers to Hashandra," he says. "Let's get going. I know Piper wants to figure out their plans first, but I was able to enhance the binding cuff. If we can get it on Phoebe, we can arrest her." He holds his hand out to me.

"That's a good idea," I say, walking toward him. But I only make it a few steps. It's as though there's an invisible rope, stopping me from walking any farther. I look over my shoulder at Olivia, holding Theo.

“It’s okay,” she says. “Queen Allandra has soldiers watching over us.”

I look back at Milo. He’s still holding his hand out, looking at me expectantly.

“I can’t leave them,” I tell him. His hand drops just an inch. “You go and come back in the morning. I just can’t leave until Theo yet. If Malexis comes for him…” I trail off as Milo’s hand falls to his side.

“Yeah, I understand,” he says, but I can tell he’s upset and that he’s guilty about it. He should feel guilty. He has no reason to be upset that I want to protect my son. But I have to remind myself about the old seer who gave me that prediction what felt like years ago. 

The Heris line will continue with a child born out of wedlock and he will become the Crown Prince and inherit your crown and your throne. The one you love most will be at odds with this one, but fret not, Your Majesty, for that person will come around and will stand by your side as long as you both shall live.

I won’t fret. I will be patient. 

Milo could have left me after the incident with Olivia, but he didn’t. Milo could have left me when the entire country turned against us and protested outside our home, but he didn’t. He’s stood by my side time and time again. 

“I’ll be back in the morning,” says Milo. “Until then, I’ll lead our people.”

Milo walks toward me and I wrap my arms around him. 

“I love you,” I say.

“I love you, too. Always.” 

He kisses me, pressing his lips hard into mine, then steps away, pulling a phial from his pocket. At first, I think it’s one of his transportation phials, but I realize it’s not when Krayden’s voice comes from it.

“You gave a communication phial to Krayden?”

Milo nods, but he doesn’t answer. He’s listening intently to Krayden’s words.

“Milo, you have to get back here now. Bring Aaron. We’re under attack!”

Milo looks at me, his eyes wide in fearful panic.

“I can’t leave Theo, Milo. What if Malexis is trying—”

“I know,” he says. “Stay here. Keep them safe. I’ll take care of it.”

Milo pulls out one of his own transportation phials, filled with gray and white swirling smoke which furls out, covering him when it shatters, and he’s gone.

I move over to the bed where Olivia is holding Theo against her chest and sit next to her, my eyes trained on the door with one hand around the handle of my sword and the other holding Theo’s tiny foot.