Dawn was starting to break.

The wedding party had lasted all night. Though many of the guests had staggered off to sleep in the Institute (or were carried off, protesting, by their parents and older siblings), a few still remained, huddled up on blankets, watching the sun rise behind the mountains

Mark and Cristina were draped on both sides of Kieran, the left side of his chest and right arm forming pillows for their heads as they dozed contentedly with him stroking their heads with his long fingers. Kieran hadn't felt this happy in… maybe his whole life. He thought he had lost the two people he loved forever, and they were restored to him because of Cristina's prized family heirloom and Adaon's generosity. As humbled and grateful as he felt, his heart began to squeeze painfully as he watched the sky lighten with the sun rise, knowing that he would have to return to his kingdom soon. Too soon.

Kieran turned his face to press his lips delicately against Cristina's forehead, causing her draw closer into him and nuzzle his jaw with her nose, her eyes still closed.

Feeling his loves stir, Mark automatically kissed Kieran's chest and buried himself a little deeper into Kieran's side.

Kieran sighed deeply, looking back up into the sky, fighting back the emotions that threatened to choke him and stream through his eyes. When would he be able to hold Mark and Cristina like this again? If things weren't too busy in the kingdom -if he could resolve many issues quickly, keep the court chaos to a minimum under Faerie standards, perhaps he'd be able to rendezvous with them in a week? Maybe two? Even a day away from them felt like his heart was being crushed between two boulders.

Sleepily, Cristina reached up to cup his left cheek in her hand and asked softly, "What time is it?"

"Almost time for me to leave," Kieran whispered back sadly.

He felt her gasp and freeze. "No! It's too soon!"

Mark also woke up instantly and sat up to look at Kieran with dread in his eyes. "Kier, can you not stay just a little longer? Through breakfast? We can make the donut sandwiches you love!"

Kieran smiled through his heartbreak as he cupped Mark's chin in one hand and the back of Cristina's head with the other. "We will be with each other again soon. I promise!"

Cristina's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "We only just got you back!"

"I will not stay away from you long as I have," Kieran vowed gently with a brave smile. "You will tire of me summoning you as often as I intend."

"Never," Cristina whispered solemnly as she turned her face to kiss the inside of his wrist. "We will always only long for you to be with us."

Mark grabbed Kieran's hand and placed it over his chest where his heart was beating fiercely. "We will only feel whole and complete when you are with us."

Kieran felt his own heart would explode with these declarations. He wondered if he would ever feel worthy of them… if he would ever truly believe that these two glorious beings could truly love him as they so fervently professed.

Cristina sat up suddenly, one hand on Kieran's face and the other on Mark's shoulder. "Let us go now to the cottage!" she proclaimed, her eyes now bright with love and longing.

"Now?" Kieran repeated in confusion.

Cristina looked at Mark lovingly as she stroked his silky curls. "If I could just have the next two hours alone with the both of you, it will fortify me until the next time we can all be together."

Mark looked awestruck. "Cristina… are you saying…"

She smiled ardently at him, nodding her head intently. "Yes, Mark. It's time. If Kieran will grant us just a few more hours, then I am ready."

Kieran look from Cristina to Mark questioningly. "Ready for what? I am not quite sure I understand…"

"Can you give us just a few more hours, dearest Kieran?" Cristina begged, her hand slipping into his hair to gently thumb the sensitive lobe of his ear.

Kieran leaned into her hand and enjoyed the delightful massage, thinking her request over. Surely, Winter could manage the court for just a few more hours so he could enjoy this precious time with his loves. He certainly deserved it after all the good work he had done so far as the Unseelie King. There had been more stability in the land these last weeks than there had been in the last few years.

"Yes," Kieran decided. "Let us go to the cottage for a few hours. We shall grace it with our very first breakfast. Only, we may have to stop for donuts before we go…"

Cristina giggled shyly. "Dearest Kieran, we do not need donuts. We only need you."

Kieran frowned, still not understanding her meaning. "If you think Mark is a hapless cook, my lady, you will find me sadder still."

Mark laughed and leaned in to brush Kieran's lips with his. "Kier, you are adorable when you are clueless! Say your good-byes to our family and friends and let us go quickly!"

"What?" Kieran allowed himself to be pulled up by Mark's strong grip as Cristina started to fold the blankets they had been cuddling in. Confused as he was, he obediently went to the small clusters of remaining friends to say his farewells and was surprised when he was given warm good-bye hugs. He was still growing accustomed to so much affection and genuine friendship, and he enjoyed it immensely.

Cristina walked over to where Emma was dozing with Julian and called quietly, "Emma!"

Emma opened her eyes slowly to look up at Cristina and yawned, "Yes, Tina?"

"I am going with Mark and Kieran to the Borderlands for just a few hours," Cristina replied.

Emma sat up in alert, causing Julian to moan in protest as she pulled her warm body from his arms, "Is something wrong?"

Cristina shook her head and put her hand on Emma's shoulder to reassure her, "No, no! There's nothing wrong!" She looked away shyly and explained, "We're going to Kieran's cottage to… hang out alone for our last few hours together… before Kieran has to return to the Unseelie Court."

"Ahhhh…." Emma nodded her head slowly in recognition of Cristina's meaning. She smiled conspiratorially and whispered, "Hot faerie threesome is finally happening!"

"Shhh! Emma!" Cristina covered her mouth as she chuckled at Emma's bluntness that always caught her off guard.

Emma shooed her away playfully. "Well, go have fun! And tell me all about it when you get back!"

Cristina cheerfully waved as she ran off to join her beloved men who were waiting for her by the shore.

Emma lay back down and entwined her limbs with Julian's once more as she buried her head underneath his chin.

"'Hot faerie threesome', huh?" Julian echoed sleepily against Emma's ear before he kissed it.

"Finally!" Emma sighed giddily, planting a tender kiss against the pulse in Julian's throat.

"Cristina is going to be walking funny for a few days," Julian quipped, causing Emma to punch him lightheartedly in the arm. "What? It's true!"

Emma laughed, despite herself. "Well… good for her then! Good for all of them!"

Cristina wrapped her arms around the waists of the men she loved and pulled them close to her so they formed a tight huddle, bending their heads together.

"Take us there," Cristina whispered to the ancient artifact hanging around her neck, forming a clear picture of the cottage in her mind from when she first visited Adaon there on a desperate quest to save Mark and Kieran's lives.

They felt a shimmer in the space around them, and a moment later when they lifted their heads, they were indeed within the cozy living room of the cottage that Adaon loved and had given to Kieran.

Mark looked around in amazement. "Is someone already here? Why is the fire lit and why does it smell like bread is baking in the oven?"

Kieran smiled contentedly. "I forget that this cottage is magicked to provide all comforts when guests arrive."

"Isn't it wonderful, Mark?" Cristina gushed, rubbing his back affectionately. "Isn't as precious as any fairytale cottage that we've ever read about as children?"

"It's perfect," Mark sighed. "It's perfect for us."

Kieran motioned to the far wall on the opposite side of them that had a blank space next to a bust of unicorn. "There is where I would like to put the calendars of the kittens and otters and all manners of baby animals as you promised me."

Mark nodded in agreement. "That would be a perfect space. We'll be sure to pick out all the best ones."

Kieran started towards the kitchen and pulled Cristina and Mark by the hands behind him. "Let us see what the kitchen has prepared for us to eat!"

He was surprised when Cristina pulled back, her feet rooted in place.

"No, not yet," Cristina said shyly, her cheeks blushing a lovely rosy color. "Mark and I are not here to eat breakfast with you, Kieran. At least… not yet."

Kieran again looked between them with confusion in his eyes. "You are not hungry?"

Cristina smiled knowingly at Mark and closed the distance between herself and Kieran to cradle his cheek in her hand. "Not for food, Kieran. We are hungry…. for you." She lifted her face to his and placed the most delicious, tantalizing kiss on his lips.

Kieran groaned with desire and understanding as he wrapped his arms around her small waist. "Ohhh…."

"Yes," Cristina whispered seductively between kisses. "We have waited too long for you and we will not wait any longer."

As if the heat from Cristina's body pressed against him weren't enough to burn him, Kieran felt Mark slip his arms around him from behind and fit his body against his, leaning in to rain kisses down the side of his neck. This was the manifestation of a wild dream that Kieran had about his loves for countless nights, a deep heart's wish he believed he could never have. And now, he could hardly believe it was coming true.

Cristina slipped her hands beneath the opening of Kieran's doublet and began to push it from his shoulders, allowing Mark to pull it off of him. When his hands were free, he reached to unzip the back of Cristina's dress and helped to ease her out of it, allowing his eyes to feast on her bare body in only delicate lace undergarments to cover the most beautiful parts. He inhaled sharply as his fingers sampled the supple skin of her bust just above her exposed bra. He kissed that skin reverently, causing her breath to catch.

Then Kieran turned around to grab Mark's face and kiss him fiercely, sucking on his bottom lip as if he were dying of thirst. He tugged at the bottom of Mark's sweater, yanked it up over Mark's body almost violently, and bent his head to bite Mark's shoulder, making Mark cry out in pain and pleasure. Kieran wrapped his arm around Mark's waist to pull Mark in front of him so that he was side by side with Cristina. Kieran took a moment to admire them both with ravenous eyes.

Mark snaked his arm around Cristina's bare back as Kieran tenderly placed his hands on both their necks and lightly traced his fingers down their bodies, marveling at the lush curves and silky smoothness of Cristina's skin and reacquainting himself with the hard robust muscle of Mark's chest and stomach. Mark had gotten more hearty since he rejoined the Shadowhunters and was able to eat well, unlike the sinewy hardness he had when he was in the Hunt, always hungry and struggling to stay warm with his threadbare clothing.

"Kieran," Mark said warmly. "We have something to tell you. As you know, Cristina and I have been together… but we have not been together fully."

Kieran was stunned as he looked upon the beautiful bare torsos of his loved ones. "But how? Why?" How had they been able to resist one another when they loved and desired each other as much as he loved and desired them?

Mark kissed Cristina's temple tenderly as she looked up at him with adoration, and they both turned their loving eyes towards Kieran.

"We have been pining for you since the day you left us," Mark continued, taking Kieran's hand and pressing his fingers to his lips. "We have spent all of our nights together, but we were too busy trying to comfort each other in the absence of you. We have not had the heart to engage in the full expression of love without you. It was Cristina's wish that we try our best to wait until you came back to us, and I was in full agreement."

"My precious ones," Kieran uttered in complete reverence, taking both their hands and pressing them to his pounding heart. "You humble me with your devotion."

Cristina's expression was soft. "We prayed and prayed that you would come back to us, and now you have. And that's not all, Kieran." She bit her plump bottom lip, making Kieran yearn to replace her teeth with his own. "I have never given myself to anyone before."

Kieran's eyes widened, his fingers squeezing her small hand just a little too tightly in surprise. "How can that be, our exquisite, desirable Cristina?"

She looked at Mark and giggled at the memory. "I almost had with Mark, but he prevented me from doing so."

"Mark!" Kieran admonished in disbelief.

"I am glad of it, Kieran," Cristina insisted, moving her hand from his chest to caress his face. "Because now, I can experience this beautiful moment with the two men I love most in the world."

It was too much. Kieran leaned into kiss Cristina deeply, hungrily. He could not believe that she waited for him. He could not believe that they had both waited for him, that they loved him so much that they did not give up hope that he would soon return to them. He managed to pull his lips away from Cristina's only to collide them against Mark's, as if drawing second wind from them.

Coming up for air, Kieran wordlessly took them both by the hand and led them from the living room into the small hallway leading to the bedrooms. He drew them into a surprisingly large master bedroom with yet another warm fire crackling in the stone fireplace and a handsomely-carved, proportionally sizeable four-poster bed luxuriously appointed with fluffy pillows and a plush furry coverlet. Here, they managed to lovingly undress each other with adoring words, feather light kisses and sensual caresses.

When they were fully naked, they took a moment to gaze upon each other, marveling at each other's incredible beauty in the firelight. Cristina thought she might feel shy when this moment came, but she was surprisingly emboldened by the reverence and desire she saw in her men's eyes as they looked at her. She felt her back straighten and her chest rise to reveal the fullness of her breasts and the tantalizing curve of her behind.

"Cristina," Kieran said hoarsely. "You are a goddess. You are divine."

At that compliment, Cristina bowed her head humbly and replied, "You flatter me, Kieran. That is hard to believe when you are a Faerie and faeries are more beautiful than any mortal could hope to be."

He lifted her chin with his long fingers and forced her to look into his feverish bi-colored eyes. "You are the woman I love, and that automatically makes you the most beautiful woman in the whole world."

"I concur, Cristina," Mark whispered as he placed his hands on her hips and moved to shape his body against the back of hers, causing her to gasp as she felt his hardness against the back of her thigh. "Kier, let us make this precious moment all about our Lady of Roses, as it is the moment that she has honored us with chauffeuring her into womanhood. Let us make her our Queen, our love for all of the rest of our days."

Kieran moved to press his warm body against Cristina's, feeling her soft curves yield deliciously against the hard planes of his, and he placed one hand against her left cheek and the other against Mark's right cheek. "You must know," he said solemnly, his eyes burning with love and passion, "That while I cannot make either of you my consort while I am King of Faerie, my heart and life are bound to you both as if you were. I will be as devoted to you both as a spouse by fact if not by law and you will have everything in my power to give you."

"Mark, I think Kieran just proposed to us right now without actually proposing," Cristina chuckled quietly as she kissed the palm of Kieran's hand.

"Then we accept!" Mark replied jubilantly, receiving Kieran's ardent kiss over Cristina's shoulder. "I will love and honor you both for the rest of my life. There will be no others for me! Only ever you two."

"And for me," Cristina vowed breathlessly. "I never imagined that I could have a truer, more precious love like this in my life from one man, and yet I have it from two. It is more than I deserve, but I will strive my whole life to be worthy of it."

Kieran's heart ached at their fervent promises, echoing the same fear and humility he felt out of his vast love for them. "My loves!" he cried out as he crushed them both to his chest and kissed both of their heads and faces feverishly.

Slowly, they made their ways to the giant bed, crawled on top of the soft furry blanket and placed Cristina lovingly between them. They covered her face and neck with kisses and gentle nips while their hands and fingers sensuously navigated the rest of her body, causing her to arch her back in pleasure. Kieran's lips found their way across her graceful collarbones, down the center of her sternum. His hands found the sides of her ample breasts and pushed them together to create a juicy cleavage which he bit into lightly but intensely enough to make her cry out joyously. His tongue traveled to the tips of her breasts where her nipples had hardened to painful points that were only relieved when he began to suck on them with his hot mouth.

Cristina moaned, and Mark was quick to kiss her as she did, entangling his tongue with hers.

Kieran kept his hands cupped around her breasts as his mouth continued to travel south over the smooth expanse of her belly, to the tops of her hip bones, and down further still.

Cristina tensed up as Kieran's mouth continued to travel south to the tops of her thighs.

Mark felt it and smiled at her, "Let him, Cristina. You are beautiful and perfect and you must allow us to explore you and enjoy you in every way. You will not regret it."

"I am scared… and inexperienced," Cristina admitted breathlessly but Mark only kissed her reassuringly.

"You are beautiful and perfect," he repeated as his own fingers trailed down her body to ruffle Kieran's hair and then onto her pelvis and lightly between her legs as he had done precious times before.

The familiarity of Mark's fingers helped Cristina to relax as if her body knew and craved the pleasure he always brought to her, and her legs sprung open as if they were unlocked by a key.

Kieran sighed as he gazed upon her hidden treasure, glistening almost purple with her arousal and womanly dew, and he used his fingers to gently explore. "Cristina, you are as perfect as Mark said you are. As I always knew, you are divine. You are to be worshipped."

And with those words, he brought his lips to the lips between her thighs and begin to kiss, lick and suck at her.

Cristina gasped with shock, but Mark was there to kiss her again and distract her while she surrendered to receiving pleasure from Kieran's mouth between her legs. She squirmed and arched as she adjusted to the new sensations taking over her body, but quickly enough, Kieran was able to show her just how amazing she could feel. She clutched at Mark's shoulders as if she were drowning and had to pull her mouth away from his just to suck in air as her body began to shudder with the most incredible feelings. Her body began to glisten with a thin sheen of sweat as she exploded with the release of a hundred fireworks, and she began to cry out with the gratification of it.

Mark encouraged it, "Yes, Cristina! Yes, my Queen! Enjoy it!" He deepened her enjoyment by moving his mouth to suck hotly at her breasts while she climaxed over and over, nearly driving her mad.

She finally grabbed at Kieran's hair to stop him and he looked at her with eyes half-mast and glazed over with desire. "Kiss me," she said savagely, causing Kieran's eyes to flash with surprise and passion.

He was only too happy to oblige her as he crawled up the length of her body to plunge his tongue into her mouth and let her taste herself all over his. "See how delicious you are? I told you. You are to be worshipped," he said reverently.

Mark also leaned in to lick Kieran's mouth then covering it with his own fiery kiss. He took a deep breath and looked at Kieran dreamily. "That was amazing to watch. It was almost over for me to see how much you enjoyed each other."

"Oh, no," Kieran protested, kissing Mark again, "It must not be over for you! You must fulfill your duty to Cristina as we promised."

Conflict arose on Mark's face for a moment as he looked from Kieran to Cristina. "Uh… I did not think this out carefully. As much as I wish it, Kieran and I cannot both be…. Inside you at the same time. Not in this way, at least."

Kieran laughed softly and kissed Mark's face. "My precious Mark, it is clear to me that you must be the first to take our Lady of Roses to womanhood." He put his hand lovingly on Cristina's heart. "Cristina, you loved Mark first before you loved me. It is only right that he be the first."

"But you will have me soon after?" Cristina implored Kieran, grasping his hand hotly.

"I will," Kieran promised, curling his body beside hers and kissing her face tenderly as Mark positioned himself over her, placing his hips between her legs.

Cristina gasped as Mark slowly stroked the head of his shaft against the wet folds of her swollen womanhood. She turned her head to Kieran. "I want it so much, but I am also scared it may hurt this first time, as I have been warned it might. I do not wish to disappoint either of you."

Kieran nuzzled her face, "Nothing you do could ever disappoint us, dearest Cristina. And while it might hurt because our beloved Mark is so well-endowed…" Kieran smirked at Mark, making him blush. "We knew that pleasuring you prior to this point helps to make it easier."

"I will go as slow as you wish, my Queen," Mark promised as he continued to stroke at her inner lips with his shaft, causing her to shudder with desire again. "I see and feel that you are more than ready. You are wet and inviting, and I am dying to be one with you."

Cristina took a shallow breath and nodded her head. "And I am ready to be one with you, Mark."

With her permission, Mark slowly inserted himself into her, moving ever so slowly measured by her gasps.

"Oh, Mark!" Cristina whimpered when he was fully inside her, changing her female framework forever. "Is this how you feel inside me? It's magnificent!"

Mark had to close his eyes against the sensation as if to control his own emotions. "Cristina… You feel more amazing than I could have ever imagined. There are no words for this." He kissed her amorously over and over, and Kieran leaned in to join their lips with his.

"I am so ecstatic, my heart could burst!" Cristina announced. "No one ever said it could feel like this the first time!"

Encouraged by Cristina's response, Mark began to move his hips. "How does this feel?"

"Absolutely wonderful," Cristina replied, her back arching, providing Kieran with a beautiful view of her bobbing breasts, reverberating with Mark's gentle thrusts. He reached out to pinch a hardened nipple, causing Cristina to release a deep moan.

Mark began to move a little faster, harder, gauging his motion by Cristina's response. She began to push her hips into his, moving along with his rhythm.

"This truly is too wondrous," Mark uttered, sweat beading on his forehead as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on pleasuring Cristina.

"I can't believe this is happening," Cristina replied breathlessly, pushing her hips closer into Mark's.

"I keep saying that to myself," Kieran said blissfully while massaging Cristina's breasts, his manhood hardening to the point of pain as he enjoyed watching Mark's muscular torso thrust against Christina's pelvis.

Mark suddenly looked pained. "Cristina! What are you doing? What is that…. squeezing motion you are doing inside? I-I-I can't…. I can't… By the Angel, I can't control myself if you keep doing that! I…" And with those last words, Mark moaned deeply with his release and collapsed on top of Cristina, his hair soaked with sweat. Once he caught his breath, he apologized, "I am so sorry. I was not prepared for this. I was not prepared for such glory. I am sorry I couldn't bring you to completion… I meant to."

"Shhhh," Christina stroked his head lovingly, "I enjoyed every moment of it. Your pleasure is my pleasure."

Mark lifted his head and grinned crookedly at his two loves. "Kieran, I think you may have to make up for my shortcomings tonight."

Kieran caressed Mark's head lovingly as well. "There are no shortcomings, Miach. I do not think I could have fared any better than you. Our Cristina is extraordinary, and I have been craving you both for so long." He turned to Cristina and kissed her nose. "My love, how do you feel? Are you ready for me to be one with you as I have so yearned for?"

Cristina nodded eagerly, "Oh, yes. If this is what it feels like to be so deeply loved and to feel so utterly whole, then I would have you both over and over, forever."

Mark and Kieran changed places, but not before kissing each other passionately, making Cristina ache with that deep, sensual yearning again.

When Kieran entered Cristina, his eyes also widened with surprise. "Mark, I understand what you mean. I have never felt like this in my whole life. Our Cristina is absolutely astonishing." And when Cristina began to squeeze him from the inside as she had Mark, Kieran also began to lose control and feared he would finish too soon. He reached down between her thighs and used his skilled fingers to stimulate Cristina's sensitive center to climax at the same time he came to his so that she was crying his name out in pure fulfillment at the same time that he was crying out hers.

"What is that thing you do from the inside, Lady of Roses?" Kieran asked in bewilderment when he finally caught his breath.

Cristina giggled. "It's called a Kegel. I read about it in a mundane women's magazine called Cosmopolitan, and it was told to improve sexual pleasure. I have been practicing it ever since I read it. I take it that it was good advice?"

Kieran sighed, "I do not think I will frown upon advice given in mundane magazines again." He gently extricated himself from Cristina's legs to lay by her side and draped his arm across her body to rest his hand on Mark's hip as Mark reached out to grip the back of his shoulder. "I am sorry that I too was not able to give more lasting pleasure today. I promise that Mark and I will be in better form the next time we are together…. Now that we know our Lady of Roses has super powers!"

Cristina brought her hands to the backs of their heads to draw them against the sides of her neck. "I had completion of pleasure beyond my wildest imaginings and I am amazed that there could be more. I am happier than I have ever been in my life, having shared the best moment I've ever known with the two men I love more than anything. I will not have you marring this heavenly moment with apologies. Please just lay here with me for a while longer." She yawned from delightful exhaustion. "Maybe we can take just a quick nap before we must all return to our normal lives."

And with that declaration, all three closed their eyes in blissful slumber, even if it was just for a couple hours more. But those two hours felt more restful than the many hours they had spent tossing and turning, trying to sleep when they were apart. And they slept happily knowing that they had many moments like this ahead of them. They had overcome many odds to be together, and they were going to fight for their love and the right to be together always.

EPILOGUE:

Five love-filled years later, Cristina became pregnant. They did not know who actually seeded the child, but it did not matter as they were a family and any child born unto them would be raised with the unconditional love of both fathers. But because they wanted the child to be legitimate in the Shadowhunter world, Cristina and Mark had a marriage ceremony performed by Alec and witnessed by Kieran and Magnus. It was an emotional ceremony; all three held hands during the solemn oaths shared between only Mark and Cristina, tears in their eyes because they wanted nothing more than to have a three-way marriage just as they had whispered their vows to each other that first morning in the cottage. Kieran was able to change many of the laws of Faerie, but the one regarding mortal consorts was immutable still, so they had to settle for this Shadowhunter marriage to legitimize the baby growing in Cristina's belly.

When baby Auraxie Adaona was born eight months later, she had Kieran's nixie color-changing hair, black eyes, and pointed ears, so everyone knew she was Kieran's heir although she carried the Blackthorne surname. Baby Auraxie was incredibly beautiful, charming, and smart, and after only one year of age, she began to demonstrate special powers that only heirs of the Unseelie King could inherit, such as restoring dying plants to life and conversing with insects and animals.

Hearing about the extraordinary Auraxie and her powers, the Faerie Court demanded to see her, as they had begun to worry that King Kieran would never take a faerie consort and never produce an heir through those channels. When she was brought, she was as beguiling as the rumors professed and the Court fell enamored of her. They demanded to see her often and began to soften to the idea that perhaps their beloved King Kieran, who ruled so wisely, was friendly with the Seelie Court, and brought such prosperity and peace to the lands, could take mortal consorts, especially if they were powerful allies such as Shadowhunters. Then perhaps Baby Auraxie could be raised partially in the Courts and she would choose her royal Fey heritage over becoming a Shadowhunter when she came of age.

And when Baby Auraxie turned two, Cristina gave birth to her baby brother Andrew Julian, a beautiful brunette boy with Mark's perfect nose, smiling mouth, and Blackthorne blue eyes, though his ears were not quite as pointy.

Kieran was there for that birth too, and as he cradled Baby Andrew in his arms and kissed his tiny little hands, he exulted, "Let us have more! I cannot get enough of these perfect beings that we create! It is if my heart keeps expanding with unconditional love for each one!"

Cristina smiled through her birthing exhaustion as Mark held her against his chest, combing through her damp hair. She was thinking back to the time when they did not think this remarkable life was possible for them three. "I will gladly bear as many children as you and Mark would give me. I have always wanted a big family and regretted all my life that I was the only child."

"Big families are all I know," Mark stated happily, soaking in the sight of his beautiful son in his beloved Kieran's arms. "You will find no protests from me."

And so three more beautiful, flawless part-Shadowhunter and part Faerie children were born to them: Aurora Livia, August Kalen, and Aisley Gwyneth. August and Aisley were Kieran's heirs and Aurora was Mark's, and all five children were brought up to love and defend each other fiercely in the Blackthorne tradition. They had a joyful and remarkable upbringing, being educated and trained at the Institutes of New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico City, as well as the Unseelie Court. They also spent a good deal of their idyllic vacations at the cottage at the Borderlands, being loved and cherished by their three doting and devoted parents.

Auraxie and August chose to stay with their father to be groomed in the Faerie Court when they came of age, whereas Andrew, Aurora, and Aisley chose to be Shadowhunters. But as King Kieran declared them all his legitimate children and the Faerie Court had grown to love and accept the brood, they were never long apart. And they still took family sabbaticals together and spent most holidays cramped and cozy at the tiny cottage in the Borderlands where all the children were lovingly conceived.