I’d known him a long time, and once, very long ago, we’d been friends. Now we were bitter enemies, and for some reason, recently, that bitterness had grown near out of control, making it difficult for us to be around our common friends.

I wasn’t sure why he was acting so weird, and I didn’t have the energy or inclination to dive into his hatred for me, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before we had no choice but to sort our shit out the old fashioned way.

I’d lost a lot of who I’d been in the rebirth, but my fighting skills were still as strong as ever, honed by daily training. It would do him well to remember whom he was constantly challenging. A reminder was in his near future if he didn’t start sorting himself.

“Come on,” Mera said, tugging my arm as she led me deeper into the great library, dodging shelves and other worlds’ inhabitants, all of whom bowed respectfully to both of us. Mera barely noticed, though, her focus on the winter wonderland she was establishing in the center of the room.

“It’s Christmas in two days,” she said in a rush. “Two freaking days. My baby’s first Christmas. I’m just not ready.”

“Your baby is not exactly born yet,” I said tentatively because she was unpredictable right now. “I don’t think they’ll mind if it’s not quite the perfect Christmas.”

She paused, and I braced myself for her yelling, but instead, she sighed. “I’m being overbearing, aren’t I? Shadow told me I was, but I just thought it was his usual asshole personality rising to the surface.”

She rubbed a hand over her stomach, and despite the way she frequently and loudly complained about the trials of pregnancy, she already loved her child with a desperation that should warn any meaning it harm to stay far away.

She wasn’t the only one, either. Shadow was downright scary these days and when this baby was born, he would be the literal beast he was named after.

Who was I even kidding? This child would be the most protected being in the Solaris System, and I’d be the first in line if any came at us with ill intent. For Mera, Shadow, and the baby—my family—I’d fight the gods themselves… and even put up with a dust-weaving asshole.

An asshole who looked really good tonight, his warrior body showcased in a simple black shirt, black pants, and his usual scowl as he watched us approach. Reece’s skin shone bronze in the low twinkling lights strung around the snow-tipped Christmas tree. The blue of his eyes was searing, and what had once been my favorite color was now my least, no matter how pretty he made it look with those dark lashes framing pools of cobalt.