Rose laughed at that. “Oh, this I’ve got to see, comrade. Dimitri Belikov, badass god, installing a baby’s car seat.”

He smiled good-naturedly, and we scurried around, gathering up things. Sydney had to call Jackie back, and since my hands were full, she handed Declan off to Rose. “Just rock him,” I said, seeing her panic.

Rose blanched but complied, earning laughter in return from Dimitri. “Rose Hathaway, notorious rebel, showing her maternal side.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Enjoy it while you can, comrade. This is as close as you’ll ever get to it.”

I nearly dropped my bag as a startling thought occurred to me. Olive had said she and Neil had been together before he’d been injected with spirit. That meant whatever had happened to bring about Declan’s conception had been the result of her being restored from being a Strigoi. Would that apply to Dimitri as well? Did that restoration only work on women? Rose and Dimitri were laughing now, joking because children were an impossible future for the two of them . . . but did they realize they might actually be capable of such a future? Did they want it?

You hold a lot of power over them, Aunt Tatiana whispered. Power to make or break their future happiness.

“Adrian?” asked Rose, seeing my astonished face. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, slowly moving again. “Just trying to get used to all this.”

When we finally made our way out, with Declan in my arms once more, it was impossible to entirely avoid notice as we walked through the rest of the community. People were out and about, trying to recover from the terrible aftermath of the Strigoi attack. Most were too caught up in their own affairs, but a few saw me and wanted to talk to me—because I’d healed them.

“Thank you, thank you,” exclaimed Mallory the guard, hurrying up and catching my arm. “They told me how bad I was. I might not have survived if it wasn’t for what you did!”

If I hadn’t done it, would Olive still be alive? I wondered. But I smiled instead and stammered out how glad I was that Mallory was doing well. When she called for a couple of her friends who’d also been injured to come over, I quickly handed Declan back to Sydney. “You two stay out of sight,” I whispered. A baby and an ex-Alchemist were too memorable, and that was the last thing we needed right now.

Sydney complied, hastily getting away from my fan club and me, with Dimitri shadowing her. “Meet at the car,” he called back.