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but I will be pissed if you let it sit
there and go to waste. Drink up. It won't bother me, if that's what you're
worried about." He pushed the goblet closer towards her on the counter
before settling back against it once more. "Then maybe we can go back into
the parlor to finish our conversation."
    Diandra moved closer, one inch at a time, until she snatched
up the goblet and drank it down eagerly. Her face was flushed with anger and
embarrassment, and tears rolled silently down her face. She vividly remembered
how she'd tried not to drink the blood when she received her first delivery.
She'd cried then, too. My, how we've come full circle, she thought tiredly,
licking her lips and wiping her burning eyes.
    "All right," she said. "All right, we'll
talk. Just please, go into the parlor and give me a minute to myself,
okay?" She turned her back on him, hands digging into the kitchen counter.
Her new keen hearing picked up the sound of his retreating footsteps. Only then
did she let herself sob.
*****
    A few minutes later she hurried towards the parlor, not even
attempting to move at a slower, more human speed. What was the point, she
thought, now that he knew? As she left the kitchen and moved down the short
hallway, RaeLynn had burst into tears- deep, heartrending sobs that brought
Diandra instantly to her side. She scooped the crying child out of her playpen,
completely ignoring the still-bleeding Adrian where he once more sat in the
overstuffed pink chair. She tried to hush the baby, but she would not be
consoled. She screamed and kicked, pointing emphatically at the floor. Sighing,
Diandra lowered Rae to the floor, puzzled as the tears stopped and she started
crawling towards the housekeeper. Reaching her goal, she plopped onto her
little backside and put her arms up, begging him silently to pick her up.
    "I don't get it," Diandra said, a touch of
frustration threaded through her words. "Why does she follow you like she
does? Why is she all about you when she doesn't even know you?"
    Adrian shrugged one shoulder as he answered. "I don’t
know any more than you do. Children are often drawn to me. I suppose it's the
earth magick- they feel it and recognize it for what it is. My aura is a good
one, a clean one. I wouldn't dare soil it with black magick, or even gray. Can
you…?" He gestured towards the baby who was still waiting patiently to be
picked up.
    Diandra reluctantly placed her daughter in his lap, and he
settled his uninjured arm around her for support. RaeLynn leaned back against
his chest, her eyes locked on the towel which was sticking to his other arm.
Neither adult noticed when she placed her hand against the towel, her little
brow furrowed in concentration. Suddenly Adrian gasped, and the baby smiled and
clapped her hands.
    "What's wrong?" Diandra asked anxiously. Perhaps
he'd done more damage to his arm than she'd known, and she worried they'd have
to take a trip to the hospital to have it examined. At least they weren't far
if that was the case.
    "I don't know," he whispered, a strange look
crossing his face. He removed the towel, his body tense in preparation of the
pain he'd feel when pulling it away from the wound. His wrist was the maroon of
old blood, smeared all around from the pressure of the towel, but there was
nothing underneath. His wrist was unblemished, the skin unbroken- only the
spilt blood remained as evidence of the self-inflicted injury.
    Diandra's face closed, going carefully blank as he made eye
contact with her. "Were you pregnant during your change?" he asked
bluntly. The mask slipped and her surprise showed before she carefully rebuilt
her expression once more. Adrian grinned down at the happy baby. "Yes,
you're something special, aren't you RaeRae?" He kissed the baby's curls
gently, so tenderly, that Dia found herself melting despite herself.
    "How did you know?" she asked in return.
    Adrian looked up, a smile still hovering on his lips.
"She was touching my arm. You didn't heal my