The men behind me continue yelling, and I keep my mouth shut. They’ll stop if I ignore them.
Her eyes narrow. "That was days ago."
I fidget with the dolls behind my back. "I know."
"That's it?" she scoffs. “‘I know’. Care to expand on that thought?"
I purse my lips. "I was... detained."
She lets out a mirthless laugh. "I see some of your admirers have come to chase you around. Go with them, and leave us be."
My mouth falls open. I knew she hated me but this...
"Please. I'm asking kindly. I just want to see them."
"They aren't interested in seeing you. You missed a special day. Go back to your master." she spits.
I hear the girls behind her, and Coco howls once again.
"Mamá!"
My heart swells. They want me near. That gives me strength.
"Griselda," I start. "Let me in now."
She casts me an unkind glare, but steps aside and lets me in. Once past the door, I smile and begin to sing.
“Un cumpleaños feliz…”?4
"Mamá!" they cry again and wrap around my legs.
I smile and pet their backs gently before rubbing the top of Coco's head. I hug each Wren and Thea tightly before giving them their dolls. I savor their nearness as they chatter about how much they've missed me.
A sound from the back room turns my blood ice cold.
“Melisa,” Griselda starts, voice stern.
My head snaps up, but she abruptly stops. Ra'Sa stands there, in the home where I was raised. A home where I was hurtand lonely. He fills the space, somehow chasing away all the bad memories with his presence.
My heart thumps in my chest. He wears a smile that he didn't use to wear when I first met him, and he looks down at me with that intense look that burns straight into my bones. His clothes are dirty from work, and he still wears the face of a human, but I can feel how big his hands are as I remember them around my midsection.
I open my mouth to say something, but then.... the girls look up at him.
They squeal, and I am helpless to do nothing more than marvel at the joy pouring out from my little girls as they clamber over to him. This was what I had wanted.
Somehow… it is better than I expected.
"You know him?" Thea asks me.
I smile, looking up at him. "I do."
Then he pulls out two huge red gems from behind his back. One is the one that Hibsej took from me, but the other is new.
My gods.
The commotion through the room is chaotic. The girls latch onto them, but Thea holds one close to her face, as if she could pick out every detail in the crystal.
Something sour coats my tongue, and my heart cracks. Tears spring to my eyes.