(DYLAN'S POV)
The ambulance had been gone for several minutes, but the house still felt like it was holding its breath.
Rain hammered against the windows, rattling the glass in relentless waves. Water dripped from our clothes onto the hardwood floor, forming small puddles around our feet. Exhaustion weighed on me like lead, settling deep into my bones.
And in the middle of it all sat one impossible problem.
The purple-eyed elf baby sleeping peacefully in my arms.
"Liam," I said carefully, keeping my voice calm despite the storm raging in my head. "Where did you get this baby?"
Liam frowned. "What do you mean?"
I swallowed hard. "His scent. His ears."
My voice dropped lower as I adjusted the baby against my chest and gently tilted his head to one side. The pointed ear slipped free from beneath the blanket.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Liam looked at me. Then at Roland. Then back at me.
The color slowly drained from his face.
"Oh."
