Chapter 179

Chapter 0279

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 Palace…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, laughing, not bothering to be quiet anymore as I give him a playful 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 place?” 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 picnic.

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

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

built us this little garden. She said kids are like plants – 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 glass.

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

with food.

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+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 you lay 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 Palace 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 blankets and spread one out on the thick plushy grass before I

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

Jackson to sit. He does, handing me one of the glasses. “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.

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“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 playful way. “This bizarre little bit of

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

now?”

I laugh, 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 accidentally 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 I laugh at the

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

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