Chapter 179


    I move fast down the hall, Jackson at my heels, and I hope desperately that we’re lucky enough to


    evade the guards who prowl these halls at night. I mean, we haven’t had a problem with being


    attacked in our own Pce…ever? So the guards are few and far between. But still, we’ve got to


    move fast because if they see us, they’re definitely going to tell my mom that I’m out of bed.


    And I really, really want nothing more right now than a few stolen hours with Jackson.


    ADOR


    My mate runs after me, shaming me a bit with his speed and his silence, and I can feel the joy


    pulsing through him as we go. He’s checking his steps, I know, to let me take the lead but then


    again, I’m the one who knows where to go. When I get to the end of the hall 1 fling open a door and


    wave him through, whispering “to the top! All the way


    up!”


    Jackson sends a gorgeous grin over his shoulder before he starts to run up the stairs, so sweet and


    handsome that it makes me stumble in my steps a bit. But I recover quickly, dashing up after my


    mate. When Jacks gets to the top of the fourth flight he pushes open the only door there, and steps


    out onto our rooftop garden.


    “Whoa,” he says, going still so fast that I almost bang into him.


    “Move!” I say,ughing, not bothering to be quiet anymore as I give him a yful shove out of the


    doorway and press the door shut behind us. Jackson obliges, stepping out into the garden and


    looking around.


    “What is this ce?” he whispers, a bit in awe, turning and taking in the four ancient, gnarled olive


    trees that stand in the four corners of our garden. Scattered fruit trees grow between them, as well


    as lots of pretty little potted roses and herbs, creating the effect of a very charming little orchard


    garden. Along the southern wall there’s an outdoor kitchen all set up and fully stocked, and next to


    that a little shed that contains everything we need to make a pic.


    “Mom was worried we weren’t getting enough sunshine when we were kids,” I say, moving to the


    shed and pulling out some nkets and pillows, handing them to my mate, who follows. “So, she


    built us this little garden. She said kids are like nts – they need sunshine to grow.”


    Jackson murmurs something that sounds like assent as I move to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?” I


    ask, pulling open the little fridge and pulling out a bottle of white wine, pouring us each a ss.


    “There’s food, if you want it.” I nod towards the cabs and the fridge, which I know will be packed


    with food.


    1/2


    +15 BONUS


    “I’m not hungry,” Jackson says, watching me curiously and peering around. “You guys keep …


    food up here?”


    “We keep food everywhere,” I say, grinning at him and nodding my head to the side, silently


    asking him to follow me to the center of the garden, where you can see the stars between the


    branches of the trees if youy down on the ground. “Mom didn’t grow up with much, so she has


    kind of a scarcity mindset. She stocks snacks all around the Pce so that if anyone ever feels a


    single hunger pang, she can be on it. Plus, growing up, Rafe did eat pretty much constantly. So it


    was kind of necessary. And Markie’s doing the same.”


    I trade Jackson the wine for the nkets and spread one out on the thick plushy grass before I


    scatter the pillows around. Then I sink down onto the nket, patting the ground next to me, inviting


    Jackson to sit. He does, handing me one of the sses. “Your mom didn’t grow up with much?” he


    asks, a little confused. And I guess that makes sense – mom wears her Queen status like she was


    born to it.


    1


    “Mom was an orphan,” I say, peering at Jacks, curious that he didn’t know this. I thought everyone


    in the country knew mom’s story. “She and Aunt Cora grew up together in the orphanage – it was


    only when they were all grown up that they found out that they were biological half–sisters.


    Daughters of the moon goddess.”


    “Yesss,” Jackson says, narrowing his eyes at me a little in a yful way. “This bizarre little bit of


    trivia was mentioned earlier with a promise of an exnationter. Can I have that


    Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    now?”


    Iugh, nodding and scootching close to Jackson so that I’m pressed to his side, and Jacks winds


    his arms around me as I give him the quick version of mom and dad’s history – how they thought


    mom was a human, how she was identally pregnant with dad’s baby due to some shenanigans


    at a sperm bank, how they fell in love and uncovered a world of secrets while she was pregnant


    with Rafe. Jacks listens carefully as I speak and I lean against him, curling into his side and looking


    up into his handsome face as I tell it. 1


    “That’s really weird,” he says when I’m finished, stroking my cheek with his hand, and Iugh at the


    simplicity and the understatement of his chosen three words. “So, your magices like…


    immediately from the moon goddess? A gift from her?”