J.R. Ward: The Shadows

It felt really fucking bizarre, but goddamn it, he sank to his knees and prostrated himself at her feet.

“Oh, please don’t,” she said as he began to recite the proper greeting. “No, please. I’m . . .”

When he looked up, she had actually gotten down on her own knees with him.

“Please,” she said. “Call me maichen . That’s what iAm calls me.”

maichen . As in maid? Trez thought.

Huh. Now he had another reason to like her.

Sticking his palm out, he said, “Hi. I’m iAm’s brother . . . Trez.”

She started to smile. Then she laughed—and clasped what he’d offered back. “Hi. I’m iAm’s—what’s the word?”

“Wife. Well, soon to be,” iAm said roughly as he came over. “But ‘wife’ is what you’re going to be out here in Caldwell.”

She squared her shoulders and tried it again. “Hi. I’m iAm’s wife . . . maichen .”

Trez smiled back at her. “Nice to meet you . . . maichen .”

* * *

Some two hours later, the three of them were still around that little table. After an initial awkwardness, it was a shock how easy it was. Then again, even though she was a queen, iAm’s maichen was down-to-earth, funny, sweet.

And man, oh man, was she in love with him. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off her man, and every time he looked at her in return, she blushed.

Jesus, if Trez could have picked someone for his brother? She would have been it.

“More cannoli?” iAm asked as he got up with his plate. “I need another.”

“No, thank you,” maichen said. “I’m so full, I think this robing is going to split.”

“I wish you’d met my queen,” Trez blurted to her.

As both of them froze, he shook his head. “No, don’t freak out on me. I’m . . . I just wanted to say it. I think Selena would have thought the world of you.”

maichen looked at iAm. Looked back at him. Then she put her hand over Trez’s. “I know I would have adored her. iAm spent most of this afternoon talking about her.”

“Really?” Trez said, glancing across to his brother. “You did?”

iAm came back with a couple of cannoli. “Yeah. I wanted maichen to know who her sister-in-law was.”

Annnnnd cue the eye sting.

Shit.

Looking away to the stove, Trez cleared his throat a couple of times. “I think that’s awesome. That’s just . . . really awesome. Thank you.”

When he was able to shift his focus back, he found the pair of them staring into each other’s eyes, as if they were so grateful to have one another, as if they knew just exactly how lucky they were . . . as if they had every intention of cherishing each night they had together.

May it be a hundred thousand more.

As Trez looked at them both, he thought his queen had been right. If he had stayed up in the Fade with her? iAm would not have this moment, that female, these coming years.

Selena had been one hundred percent correct.

Painful as it was to be without her, agonizing as some nights were undoubtedly going to continue to be . . . seeing his brother happy and in love gave him a sudden peace about it all.

Somehow, in the midst of the great infinite, and in spite of his mourning, he knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be at this point in time.

Guess it was fate.

As iAm leaned in to kiss his mate, Trez tilted his head back and mouthed, Thank you, my queen. We needed this.