Fearless (Nameless #3)(91)

Zo’s eyes sparkled beautifully with tears as she and Tess stepped aside so Joshua could place the shield over Laden’s remains.

Gryphon went last. He dropped to one knee and bowed until his forehead grazed his father’s shield.

“I’m proud to be your son.”





Epilogue





Three years later




Zo knelt in rich soil, thinning a row of new carrots from the kitchen garden on the side of a simple log home. Faint smoke curled out of the chimney and spring flowers lined the walkway to a covered porch.

The wheat fields were just showing their color and the high mountains in the distance boasted a blanket of green. A tall, dark-haired man cut through the fields toward her, carrying a spade while balancing a two-year-old boy on his shoulders. He wore a light woven shirt. No boiled leather. No weapons.

“Mama!” the little boy squirmed down this father’s broad shoulders and ran in a precarious line toward Zo with arms outstretched.

Zo dusted the dirt from her hands just in time to snatch the little boy up. “Hello, Troy. Did you help your father in the fields?”

The boy nodded obediently and Zo kissed his full cheeks before setting him back on his own two legs. He instantly wrapped his little arms around his father’s calf.

“You shouldn’t be working out here. Joshua and I can tend the garden,” Gryphon said.

“Ram in my garden?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ll mistake my lettuce for weeds.”

Gryphon rolled his eyes. “Will you never let me live that down?” He smiled, offering his hand to help Zo stand. She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest, fitting perfectly under the wing of his embrace.

The new life growing inside her kicked in response. “She likes when you’re near.”

Zo positioned Gryphon’s hand over her growing stomach just in time to feel the unborn babe kick again. Zo didn’t know how to explain that she knew their child was a girl. Just as she sensed the moods around her—a skill that had dampened some with the help of the Raven shaman—the growing child gave off a feminine aura.

Gryphon lifted Zo’s chin with a finger. His soft brown eyes studied her face, his attention so absolute her cheeks warmed. Ever so slowly, he bent and touched his lips to hers for one brief, delicious moment. “You are happiness, Zo.”

She smiled up at her husband. “You are home.”




THE END