Esperanza looked at the paper, then at her mother, then back at the drawing. A dramatic sigh escaped her tiny body, the expression so exaggerated that Seraphine almost laughed despite the tension.
"I can," the little girl said, sounding completely unimpressed. "But you have to believe everything I tell you."
Seraphine’s heart squeezed with emotion. After everything that had happened recently, she couldn’t imagine dismissing her daughter now. Not when these drawings were showing impossible things.
Not when every picture seed tied to secrets no one should know. "I do believe you," she said softly. "I believe everything you tell , sweetheart."
Relief washed over Esperanza’s face, as if she had been worried about exactly that. "Good." She settled comfortably against her pillows.
"Two won had babies on the sa night." The childish voice felt strangely at odds with the disturbing story she was telling. "One of them went into labor naturally." She pointed toward one of the drawings. "The other one had doctors help the baby co out by inducent."
Seraphine’s stomach tightened. It was making sense how she and Daisy ended up giving birth the sa night.
Esperanza continued without pause. "The woman in labor had a girl." Her finger moved to another spot. "The other woman had a boy."
The room suddenly felt colder. "The husband of the woman who had the girl didn’t want anybody to know." Her voice stayed calm and matter-of-fact, like she was simply describing her latest doll. "So he gave the baby girl to his Beta. And then he gave the baby boy to his legal wife."
A chill raced down Seraphine’s spine. The next words nearly stopped her heart completely. "He told the Beta to kill the baby girl."
The drawing trembled in Seraphine’s hands. Color drained from her face, and her breathing beca uneven. Every instinct inside her scread that Esperanza’s dreams weren’t just dreams but revelations of both the past and present. This could also an that Esperanza might grow up with unique powers as a gifted child.
Her eyes darted toward another drawing, the one showing a man who looked exactly like Corvine. She picked it up so quickly that the papers nearly slipped from her fingers.
The image showed him holding a baby, standing before a woman hidden beneath a cloak. Her face was impossible to see, exactly the way Corvine had once described it. Fear mixed with fragile hope inside her chest. "Then what about this one?" Her voice barely sounded like her own.
Esperanza glanced at the picture. "Oh." A small smile appeared on her face. "The Beta didn’t kill the baby. He gave her to that woman instead." She pointed toward the cloaked figure. "She keeps appearing in my dreams."
The room seed to tilt. Seraphine suddenly found it difficult to breathe, her pulse pounding loudly in her ears. Dreams. Drawings. Babies exchanged. A hidden woman. Corvine. Ravyn. Everything was beginning to connect, yet there was nothing about Coco or Voren yet.
Her gaze snapped toward Esperanza with urgency. "Tell sothing. How did you get to Daddy?"
Esperanza imdiately stretched her arms over her head and let out a huge yawn. "Mommy." The dramatic tone returned. "Esperanza is hungry." Another yawn followed. "Very hungry. Pancakes first."
Despite the storm raging inside her mind, Seraphine almost laughed. Only her daughter could casually hold life-changing answers hostage in exchange for breakfast.
She took a slow, steadying breath, then another, trying to calm herself. The answers weren’t going anywhere. Eventually she would learn everything. But right now, her daughter mattered more than anything else.
"Okay," she said, a smile finally breaking through. "Pancakes first."
The victory on Esperanza’s face was imdiate and triumphant. Seraphine shook her head affectionately before lifting the little girl into her arms.
"I can walk," Esperanza giggled, but still, Seraphine did not let her. "I know. Just let carry you like this." Esperanza wrapped both arms around her mother’s neck and Seraphine smiled. "Let’s go make breakfast."
"I can show you the kitchen," Esperanza volunteered proudly.
"You can?" Seraphine asked, already knowing the answer. She just didn’t want to ran out of things to say.
"Yep." Esperanza nodded. "I know where everything is, though I don’t go there."
The confidence made Seraphine chuckle softly. The mont they stepped into the hallway, they found Jasmine already waiting nearby, true to her word. Jasmine imdiately straightened. "I’ll take you there." Then she hesitated. "I hope you won’t mind if I tag along."
Seraphine waved the concern away. "Of course not." She genuinely ant it. She didn’t view Jasmine as competition or a threat.
What she saw was a woman struggling with feelings she hadn’t chosen, a woman trying her best to navigate emotions that were becoming increasingly difficult to hide. Nothing more.
Together, they headed downstairs. The mansion slowly ca to life around them as morning sunlight stread through the enormous windows and the scent of fresh coffee drifted through the hallways.
Esperanza happily pointed out random objects along the way, as if she were conducting a personal guided tour.
By the ti they reached the kitchen, Seraphine was smiling again. That smile disappeared the second she stepped inside. She froze. Two n were already there. One was Voren. The other—
Her eyes widened. "Corvine?"
The blonde man spun around, his face instantly lighting up with pure excitent. "Sera!" Then he groaned dramatically. "You ruined the surprise."
Seraphine laughed despite herself. Only Corvine could complain about being recognized so easily.
Then his attention drifted. The mont his eyes landed on Esperanza, everything else seed to cease to exist. His mouth slowly fell open, and wonder flashed across his face. "Goddess," he whispered. "What a beautiful child."
Before anyone could react, he carefully took Esperanza from Seraphine’s arms. The little girl studied him for several seconds, not nervous or afraid, simply curious.
Then recognition sparked in her eyes. A bright smile spread across her face as she wrapped both arms around Corvine’s neck. The innocent gesture instantly stunned everyone watching.
"I rember you."
Corvine froze. Every muscle in his body locked tight. The smile slipped from his face, and his breathing stopped completely. Esperanza rested comfortably against him. "You saved ."
Silence crashed over the kitchen. Complete. Absolute. Even the sounds of cooking seed to disappear. No one moved. No one spoke. For several long seconds, the room beca so quiet that a single pin hitting the floor would have sounded deafening.
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