Chapter 208: Final preparations

Given that I was carrying a child, I was technically never truly alone; and if I factored in the invisible bond pulsing painfully in my chest and reaching out toward him, I actually had quite lovely company. Still, I couldn’t survive on that phantom bond for long. Every raw instinct urged me to be physically beside my mate.

"Yeah, flying with no lights on so even a clunker like that doesn’t draw unwanted eyes."

Walking around the vehicle to warm my stiff muscles and get my blood flowing, I drew in a breath of air that turned to ice in my lungs, taking in the frozen, silent sea before us.

During our drive here, I had noticed that the guardrails along the road were still crumpled from the crash—the time Adam and I were being transported in a shipping container right before the semi slammed into it. It was along this exact pier that I had walked toward Dean’s yacht, and across these sandy shores that I had run straight into Magnus’s arms. It felt like a lifetime ago, yet barely three months had passed. Time seemed to be spinning in cruel circles, refusing to move any faster.

This pier outside the city limits had long been abandoned to rot, despite its sweeping beauty and vast space. Nobody seemed to care for it, even though the city’s single paid beach was always packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

When a peculiar, sputtering chug echoed from nearby, I squinted up at the darkening sky and spotted something... that looked nothing like a helicopter.

"What on earth is that?" I turned to Sayan, pointing upward.

"That is a humiliation that can only be washed away in the city governor’s blood," Sayan replied with a nervous chuckle. "The Voice of the World Court is arriving on a crop-duster. I guarantee you he’s ready to personally tear the governor apart at the hearing."

Signaling our security detail, Sayan grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward the safety of the vehicle.

The guards immediately struck flare lights and marched deeper down the snow-covered beach, waving them in wide arcs to guide the aircraft down.

"Why a crop-duster?" I gasped, freezing in place as an exceptionally tall man dressed entirely in black squeezed out of the landed contraption.

Watching the stranger, I couldn’t fathom how such a mountain of a man had crammed himself inside. He must have suffered through pure torment during that ten-hour flight.

"It’s an agricultural plane. It has an official name, but while you were in with Magnus, we were coordinating a secure landing zone over the radio, and that’s what they called it," Sayan shrugged just as the man closed the distance between us.

"Good morning. Your weather is an absolute disaster," the man rasped in a deep bass, shaking Sayan’s hand.

"We’ll be buried under snowdrifts again soon enough. We cleared this landing strip specifically for you," Sayan said, stepping back.

"Let’s hold off on the discussion until we’re inside a warm house. Your companion’s lips are turning blue," Oliver frowned, taking in my shivering form.

We climbed into the heated sanctuary of the SUV, and I finally allowed myself to relax and close my eyes. Waves of exhaustion washed over me. As the men conversed in hushed tones, I leaned my head back against the headrest and let the dark take me.

***

Sitting on the edge of the bed and watching them sleep, a pang of guilt pierced my chest. Damian’s room wasn’t finished yet, mostly because I hadn’t found the time to sit down with him and ask how he wanted it decorated. Thanks to Magnus’s connections, the lawyers had already finalized the adoption paperwork; he was officially our child now.

Even though we were under tight surveillance, the adoption apparently hadn’t raised any red flags. The process had gone off without a single hitch—a huge relief, considering I wouldn’t have survived another draining battle with child services and bureaucratic officials.

Unlike Matthias, who sprawled across the center of the bed, Damian slept precariously close to the edge, yet their small hands were tightly intertwined. The first time I had witnessed them like this, my heart had melted—especially seeing that Matthias had unceremoniously kicked his favorite stuffed whale out of bed to make room. The poor plush toy lay discarded on the floor.

In truth, Damian had his own bedroom, where he was supposed to sleep. Yet after spending merely a couple of nights there, he had retreated into Matthias’s room, and now the two slept side-by-side every night.

The underlying reality was simple: no matter how many bodyguards surrounded them or how attentively Jake served as their makeshift nanny, the boys craved parental warmth. Even Damian, who had officially joined our family, had yet to feel its security in full measure. But the bitter truth was that I couldn’t feel the wholeness of our family either—not without Magnus by my side.

Stepping softly to their bedside, I brushed back their hair and gently pressed my lips to the crowns of their heads. I quietly slipped out of the nursery and walked into our master bedroom. Crossing the empty, silent space, I sat in the armchair and reached for Magnus’s hoodie draped over the armrest, pulling it close to my face.

A painful knot tightened in my chest. His scent had completely vanished from the fabric. It was devoid of his presence. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to let it go; I laid it across my lap, softly tracing the fabric with my fingertips.

One week.

Exactly seven days had dragged by since our stolen forty minutes in the darkness of his cell. I had been denied any further visitation. According to official reports, the warden had conveniently gone on vacation without extending my clearance order.

In reality, he was no longer in his office—or anywhere above ground. I had personally descended into our basement earlier, where nothing lingered in the air except dampness and a faint metallic tang of blood. Sayan had clearly overseen the warden’s permanent "vacation."

Only a short stretch of time remained, and that knowledge alone kept me anchored. Our final preparations were now complete. Though we remained in the dark regarding the specific charges the prosecution intended to drop on us, we were fully prepared for every scenario. I was done settling for half-hour visits behind iron bars, forbidden from touching my mate. I was going to reclaim everything that belonged to us.