Crow stared at the little girl in Minnie’s arms and felt guilty. He used a finger to wipe the tears off the baby’s chubby cheeks.

“Sorry, little one,” Crow’s low voice caused the baby to stop crying, and a big smile replaced her tears. Her small hands gripped his finger tightly, and Crow chuckled at the little munchkin’s adorableness.

“Alright, stop messing with him,” Zoe said. “That’s Minnie’s little baby sister.”

“It’s alright,” Crow said and grabbed the little girl from Minnie’s arms so he could hold her. He cradled her the same way Minnie did, and the baby reached up and grabbed his lips while gurgling and smiling.

Leila walked in and saw this heartwarming scene and nearly melted. Seeing her man holding a baby brought tears to her eyes, and she wasn’t the only one impacted by what was happening. Moments later, the rest of the coven crowded around the door, watching Crow holding a baby without fear. Even lightly singing to her while May clung to his face.

“I’m going to die of sweetness,” Leila muttered, and the voices of agreement startled her as she was so focused she didn’t see all of them arrive. Their shenanigans caught Crow’s attention, and he waved them in with a smile.

“Before my mama died,” Zoe said softly from beside Crow, who was still playing with the baby. He looked up at the High Priestess to see big fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “She said you can see the greatness of a man by how he treats children, the future of humanity.”

“My mother warned me to stay away from women exhibiting signs of sexual deviancy,” Crow replied with a laugh, but his big hand had already reached up to cup Zoe’s cheek while his thumb wiped away her tears.

“Pfft,” Minnie couldn’t hold back her laughter and snuggled up to Crow and kissed her baby sister on her chubby cheek.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Elders again?” Crow asked, looking over at Zoe. Zoe looked toward the front of the house with a furrowed brow and shook her head.

“This will be messy since we didn’t have time to talk.”

“What does that mean?” Crow asked uneasily.

“Might as well come with me, but please trust me. We’ll talk later.”

“Zoe, our past is our past. I won’t judge you for that.”

Minnie sighed, already knowing what was happening. Taking her sister back, she shoved him lightly, indicating he should get out of bed and follow Zoe. “Leila, go with them.”

Zoe had already left the room with Crow chasing after and Leila trailing behind. He only wore the loose pants he used for martial practice, which exposed his upper body.

The door opened, and Kafe stood at the entrance. His body had changed because of his new cultivation, so he was no longer the scrawny boy from the Clocktower. His white hair was past his shoulders, which stood out starkly against his dark blue skin.

“Hello, my—who are you?” Kafe’s eyes focused on Crow, who’d just appeared within his line of sight.

“Sione,” Crow’s simple words confused Kafe. The confusion was because he felt a connection with the Ghost Eater in front of him. “I’d like it if you unhanded my wife.”

Winter filled the room. Multiple sets of eyes looked down to see Kafe gripping Zoe’s hand.

“I think you are mistaken,” Kafe said with a frown and glanced over at Zoe, who’d pulled her hand back. Her actions were gentle so as not to come across as hostile, but they were enough to confirm a few things.

“I am many things, but rarely am I mistaken.”

“Arrogant.”

“Thank you.”

Leila tried not to giggle, but she found jealous Crow adorable.

“You—”

“Stop it, both of you,” Zoe said. “Come in. Let’s talk.”

“You two talk,” Crow said and turned to leave for the back courtyard. “But don’t overstay your welcome, rude person who doesn’t introduce himself.”

“Wait!” Zoe called out to Crow’s back. “You promised!”

Crow stopped and turned back. “I trust you. It is him I do not trust. Do what you must. We’ll talk later.”

“Do you believe I won’t torture you to death and make you my puppet?” Kafe asked.

“Maybe the old you would have,” Sione smirked. “I’m a Ghost Eater, and I do not smell the dead on you, but spirits. I don’t know what you are, but you are definitely not Hex Vodun, as your robes would imply. I don’t know how you know my wife, but know your place in my home.”

Not once did Crow’s voice change. It was a cold monotone that neither of the women had heard. It chilled them to the bone because it was lifeless.

“Priestess, I’ll go with him,” Leila interrupted and grabbed Crow’s arm. She followed him toward the back courtyard, which was his intended destination. Once they reached the open space, he realized he couldn’t use any of his Druid-based martial skills. To prevent any suspicion, he worked harder on learning Wraith’s Touch.

Leila sat on a nearby bench and watched him while cultivating. Crow spent hours performing the same set of moves, but every time he attacked, it grew more and more profound. She marveled at how fast he mastered the set of movements that she couldn’t even understand. Ghost Eater abilities were mysterious anyway, and she thought watching him learn something from the very beginning might enlighten her. It didn’t. She was more confused than when he started.

Realizing his core was too different from hers, she stopped trying and admired Crow’s sweat-slicked body. Leila knew that Kafe had left over an hour ago, but Zoe hadn’t come out, so Leila wasn’t sure what to do. At first, she could tell that Crow was furious, but as he kept working out, he entered a calm state with which most cultivators were familiar. When cultivating, everyone aimed to achieve a state of blankness while becoming one with the world around them. The highest stage was when someone gained an epiphany and entered a deep mental state that tuned out everything else. Crow wasn’t in that state, but he had reached the pinnacle of the focused mind state. It meant he could still react to danger, but he’d eliminated all other distractions. Higher than that was the insightful state and then the epiphany stage.

A few minutes later, he sat down with his legs crossed. Unable to resist, Leila sat in his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist, so they were in a very intimate hug. She stared into his eyes and didn’t care that his sweaty body was soaking the front of her robes.

Subconsciously, his arms wrapped around her waist and hugged her close. Cheek to cheek, they sat there, and he could feel her warm, moist breath on his ear, agitating him until he felt his arousal. Leila’s face warmed up when the little monster in his pants rubbed against her nether region.

“I want to be a mother,” Leila breathed out her innermost desire.

“Is that allowed?” Crow asked.

“Ha, Witch law requires us to try every time we mate with our husband. Only our husband can impregnate us, but… cultivators rarely have children.”

“If that is your desire, I’ll give you a child,” Crow told her.

“You just want to seduce me so you can have your way with me,” Leila giggled. “Not that I’ll complain. You pulled me from a dark place, and I’d give you my everything. Even my life.”

“Don’t. I know you are being sincere, but I never want your life. No matter what happens in the future, you must live a happy, eventful life. You aren’t allowed to give up your life that easily.”

“But… why are you saying that? You—”

“Because of this,” Crow said, and Leila looked over at his hand. Resting on his palm was a fruit. “You eat this, and the next time I release my seed inside you, you’ll become pregnant. Guaranteed.”

“You…” Leila was at a loss for words. As a Witch, she recognized the Fruit of Avalon right away but never expected Crow to have one. Immediately, she started sobbing and kissing Crow. It was sweet, messy, and filled with emotion. Leila knew she was in love with this man and could feel him chuckling at her sloppiness. His hand stroked the back of her head tenderly. He knew what she suffered and was glad to feel the glow inside her. It was getting brighter by the moment, pushing the darkness of her past away and exposing the gorgeous woman hidden within.

“Are you going to take it, silly?”

“Yes!” Leila grabbed the fruit and put it inside her Shield. “I’d eat it now, but I need to ask Zoe first. If she… wants to be first?” Leila didn’t know what she was asking but suddenly deflated. Crow’s hand moved again, and another fruit was in front of her face.

“Then you both can have one,” Crow said.

“Kafe left a while ago,” Leila finally said, unable to hide it.

“I know.”

“Really?”

“Want to know a secret?”

“Huh?”

“My vision ability is better than yours. And I am the son of a Witch.”

“That isn’t possible.”

“Tell that to my mom. She is most definitely a Witch. How much do you know about bloodlines?”

“Not much, only that we have one, and it’s stronger than most. I think they call it a Primal Bloodline.”

“It is that bloodline that supposedly makes it impossible for you to conceive a boy. Unless… the man that impregnates you has a stronger bloodline.”

“So I might give birth to a boy?”

“Don’t know. I’m not sure if that’s why my mother had me. All I know is that I was an anomaly. But my mom did some research and I’m not unique. I believe it is my unfated status.”

“But you aren’t born unfated.”

“Not so sure that’s true. Yes, the features of it don’t manifest until my Source awakens, but I believe the Primordial Gods of Chaos had long selected their agents of change. Then again, this is all speculation, so I don’t know. Bloodline, unfated, or gods, in the end, I was born the son of a Witch.”

“Let’s go. Zoe is waiting,” Leila said but gave him a deep kiss before climbing off his lap. Crow followed her inside, where the entire coven was waiting.

“Ask,” Zoe said, but Crow only narrowed his eyes without speaking. “Don’t be like that. Just ask whatever you want to know. I’ll tell you.”

“Nothing to ask. You chose not to tell me, and I’ll trust you until you give me a reason not to,” Crow said before walking toward the front door. On his way there, he took out a shirt and put it on before turning to face the quiet room. “But whatever you are doing, you should know that Kafe’s life is short. He is who he is now because of me, and because he betrayed my trust, I’ll take back the life he owes me.”

The door shut quietly, but in the silent room, it sounded like a bomb.

“We fucked up,” Minnie breathed out.

“We didn’t do it on purpose,” Zoe argued. “We didn’t know he had a history with him.”

“That’s just an excuse. We didn’t tell him what we were planning; he is our husband.”

“He could have at least asked or got angry with us. We didn’t even do anything wrong, and I feel like we’ve betrayed him already,” Minnie shouted, but even her anger sounded hollow.

“Wait! He can’t leave!” Leila ran for the door. “Kafe isn’t someone that will allow Sione, a nobody outer disciple, to live if he is the obstacle blocking him from getting what he wants.”

“Stop,” Zoe commanded, and Leila had to obey. “He is a big boy and can handle himself. I don’t know what he is doing, but let him cool down.”

“Why does he hate that guy so much?”

“It has to do with his other wives,” Zoe said. “The reason he was messing with the vaults was to distract the sect. He never told me it was Kafele, or I’d have found a different target to help me get my mother’s legacy back.”

“Maybe I’m going to sound disrespectful right now, Priestess,” Leila said. “If I am, forgive me. You shouldn’t have confronted him that way. ‘Ask’ is how you opened that conversation, which was wrong and confrontational. You should have just told him what you were doing. What you did… you didn’t sound like you trusted him at all. Even angry, he still cared about us.”

Leila held up her hand and the two fruits in them. She quickly told the story of what happened in the courtyard. Now all of them felt guilty.

“I’ll go get him,” Minnie said, running out the door before Zoe could command her to stop.

“Damn her,” Zoe grumbled while biting her lip, but her eyes glowed upon seeing the fruits. “Why two?”

“I told him you might want to be the first to have a child, so he gave me a second one.” Leila blushed.