Broken Queen: The Finale

HELENA

“Honestly, you’d think we could have—” I huff when I scan the list of names and then the crowd. A while back, I’d managed to set up a table at both entrances, so I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to greet everyone.

But some from the beginning had slipped through the cracks, it seemed.

“Relax,” Dom chuckles, and I sigh, leaning into him as he presses a kiss to my head.

“I’ve come to steal you away for lunch, anyway.” The picnic had been a success, just like the BBQ had been yesterday. I wasn’t sure where Ariel and Alex had ended up today, but they’d been able to skip right over their schmoozing today, as Ariel called it. Since they’d pretty much greeted everyone yesterday, they’d gotten away with wandering off and keeping to themselves today.

“Is it that time already?” I joke, and Dom wrangles the clipboard from my hands, handing it off to someone before gently tugging me away.

“Don’t turn into a workaholic like those two,” he teases, and I laugh, leaning into him as he marches us across the greenery to a cute little blanket, with a basket waiting for us.

It’s so romantic that I nearly swoon as he guides me to sit and promptly joins me.

“Now,” Dom hums thoughtfully. “Here, I got a few different kinds just in case you weren’t feeling some of these.” He lays out the sandwiches, each labeled with Sharpie on their plastic wrap. The effort he’s put in makes me tingle, sticking a beaming smile on my face.

“There you are!” I jolt to find Ariel striding over, toting Camelia on her hip. “I should have known you’d just pick the same spot as last year.”

My daughter squirms, trying to wriggle down. Tiny hands reach for me, and I gesture for Ariel to hand her over, hugging my baby close.

“She woke up sooner than expected,” Dom admits, and Ariel shrugs.

“I figure she was just missing her mom since I’ve kept her so busy this weekend.” A guilty look crosses her face, and I huff.

“You’re not doing anything wrong by asking for help,” I reassure her as I bounce Camelia a bit.

“I know, I know! Alex keeps saying the same thing.” Ariel sighs. “I’m going to get back to him, actually, but you guys enjoy your family picnic.” She hurries off in the direction she came, and I watch her with a small grin.

“If you’d told me last year that I would find my mate and have a baby by the time the mating weekend rolled back around, I would have laughed,” Dom jokes, and I giggle.

“Honestly, I would have, too. It’s all so surreal.”

Camelia gurgles out her agreement with me, and I quickly pick a sandwich, which Dom unwraps for me.

“I’m glad I did, though.” His voice is soft and sweet, a low rumble that makes me want to lean into him.

“Me, too.” I sigh, leaning down to press a kiss to Camelia’s head, helping her get situated so she can watch the festivities with wide eyes.

It will never cease to amaze me how we managed to find one another despite all odds—and not only that, but we’ve created a beautiful little life.

Camelia grunts and huffs, wriggling until she is comfortable, and Dom chuckles.

***

ALEX

Ariel drops down beside me with a giggle, making herself comfortable before popping the cap of her drink and bumping her shoulder to mine.

“Your second is adorable with his family,” she informs me, and I bark out a laugh, sorting through our snacks.

After yesterday’s fiasco with the BBQ and leaving behind our food to talk to everyone, we opt for just snacking instead of trying to make time for a whole meal—but it seems like people are actually going to leave us to enjoy each other’s company, so maybe our efforts are for nothing.

“I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear you say so,” I say, and she grabs a bag of chips, opens it, and sits it between us with a smirk.

“Oh, I’m sure,” she snarks.

It’s crazy to think that this time last year, I was here with someone else.

I wince at the uncomfortable thought, rubbing at the pang in my chest. I still didn’t like the memory of how I’d hurt Ariel—my complete blindness to the world around me that led to the near death of my family.

I’d almost lost everything in one fell swoop.

“Camelia is so cute,” Ariel confides as if it’s a secret. “She always gives me baby fever.”

I chuckle at her scandalized tone. “Is that a hint, my mate?”

“Oh definitely not—could you see us with kids right now?”

“Yes, actually.”

Ariel gives me a wide-eyed look at my bluntness.

“And where in our schedules do you see us fitting in diaper changes? Late-night bottles? Are we going to wear her around while we work?” She sounds borderline panicked at the thought, so I reach out and take her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Ariel,” I promise, watching the tension leak out of her. “I didn’t realize you were so opposed to having kids.”

“I’m not!” she denies it, then hesitates. “I just haven’t really given it a whole lot of thought.”

Fair enough.

I’ve thought about it enough for the both of us, though I’m not going to drop that bomb on her right now.

“Would you want a boy or a girl?” I ask, curious, then add, “Hypothetically, of course.”

“A girl,” she says without hesitation, and I choke back my laugh.

So much for not having thought about it much.

“I would be happy with either, but I think I’d relate better to a girl, you know?”

“I think I’d like a girl, too.”

She seems surprised, so I elaborate, “It would be like having another you running around.”

A tinier version of Ariel sounds like heaven.

I can already imagine us all cuddled up together at night or playing tag in the yard. First shifts, and steps, and words—I try not to get swept away in it when she changes the subject back to how wonderful it is that our friends found one another and have a beautiful family.

“I’m happy for them all,” I look at all the glowing couples, each one more enamored with one another than the last. “Hopefully, we get a few more matches this year.”

As much as I loathe to admit it, a few more fated matches will be good for morale. It is one thing to meet someone and grow a relationship organically, but a lot of people explicitly wait to meet their fated match—and as more and more people don’t find them, it is dragging people down.

At least Ariel and I have gotten to know our matches, even if they haven’t all gone according to Fate’s design.

It is a confidence boost to know that we have been given the opportunity, even if we rejected it in the end.

The two of us people watch for hours, and it’s probably the best date I’ve ever been on.