Taking care of baby Ember didn’t feel like a job. It felt like heaven. Every morning, she woke up feeling blessed and at peace. But today she felt even more so.

Her date with Kian last night had been magnificent. She'd never felt so much pleasure in a man's arms. And her happiness could barely be contained.

It didn't matter that he was her boss and she was his employee. It didn’t matter that she didn't know what he did for a living and that he had secrets that kind of scared her. She was happy anyway.

She imagined her and Kian living their happy lives together as she played with Ember in the nursery. After last night, she would let herself indulge in the fantasy without feeling guilty. It could really work out. She was beginning to believe that she and her boss could have a happily ever after. That she could have a man who was good to her. A man who was strong, and handsome, and kind. A man who gave her mind shattering pleasure without asking for anything in return.

She sighed, and her shoulders relaxed as a happy smile crossed her lips. She had Ember laid on her stomach on a rug on the floor, playing with the activity gym. Ember was growing every day and it was a wonder to behold.

Everly rattled one of the crinkly toys that hung from the activity gym as Ember reached for it. She knew that Ember wanted to crawl. She was right at that stage of development where she was ready to start moving.

Ember slapped at the crinkly rattle with the check marks all over it, trying to grab hold. She grew frustrated that she couldn't catch it and began to grumble and whimper. She then pushed her chest up off the floor. Pulling her legs up under her, she froze on all fours. Excited at her new position, a great smile rose on Ember’s face, and she began to giggle.

“Good job, Ember!”

Ember rocked back and forth on her hands and knees, getting used to the feeling of being off the floor. The baby then lifted her hand and tried to move forward, only to plop back down on her stomach. She began to cry with deep frustration. Everly was about to pick her up to comfort her when a stream of fire broke through the baby’s lips and ignited the activity gym she'd been trying to reach.

Shocked, Everly jumped to her feet and bounced away. She stared in horror at the baby as the activity gym burned. Quickly getting her wits about her, she grabbed Ember, getting her away from the flames. She put her in the crib, grabbed a fire extinguisher from the closet, pulled the pin, and dowsed the flames. When the fire had gone cold, she stood in the nursery, staring at the charted mess covered in white powder. Her mouth hung agape, her heart pounding.

She looked at Ember and then back at the mess. With her free hand she palmed her forehead and rubbed her temples, deeply confused.

What had just happened? Was that spontaneous combustion? Or had she really just seen what she thought she’d seen? Ember breathed fire and set her activity gym aflame. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be.

She put the down the empty fire extinguisher and walked over to Ember’s crib. The baby sat clapping at the action in front of her.

“Did you really just breathe fire?” Everly asked.

She didn't want to believe it. It was too preposterous. But fear rose in her chest and a cold chill gripped her shoulders. She shivered.

She knew what she had seen. Ember had breathed fire. But how? What kind of creature was she? Everly now felt afraid, but her maternal instinct took over. She lifted the baby from the crib and carried her out of the nursery, walking downstairs to the kitchen where she placed her in the high chair.

She fed Ember a bottle and began to make herself lunch, wondering the whole time how she would broach the subject with Kian. She couldn't imagine why a baby would breathe fire. Nothing in her experience had ever prepared her for something like this.

She sat down at the table next to Ember and began to eat her turkey sandwich. There was a storm blowing in and rain pelted the bay window.

Dax entered the kitchen, wearing his usual uniform of tank top, board shorts and flip-flops. He rubbed his stomach under his shirt when he saw Everly.

“Hi Dax,” she said as he walked to the refrigerator.

“Hi Everly,” he said. “How are things?”

“Strange,” she said.

“What do you mean by strange?” he asked. “Am I not dressed right again?”

“It's not that,” she said, taking another bite of her sandwich.

“Are you enjoying living in our mansion?” he asked.

“I love it here,” she said.

“Was it the internet? I find the Internet strange myself. What’s the deal with cat videos?” he said, pulling a dry salami from the fridge. He bit directly into the long sausage.

Everly stared at him, pondering his strange eating habits and his strange way of putting things. She shook her head and her crinkled her eyebrows. The men in this house were all weird. Hot as hell, but weird. There was something just off about them all. Even Kian. She had to admit it to herself.

Now that she'd seen Ember breathe fire, she was growing more worried about it all by the moment. She didn't want to think it, but maybe they were demons!

“The Internet is strange,” she said. “But it's not the cat videos. I actually kind of like those.”

“Is it us? I know it's us.”

“You do have kind of weird habits and weird ways of saying things.”

“What do you mean by weird?” Kian said from the kitchen door.

He walked over the polished stone floor and sat at the table across from Everly. She looked at Ember and then at Kian. Dax continued eating the salami by the mouthful. Gripping the sausage and his big hand.

“I'm just curious what you guys do for a living. That's all,” she lied.

“I will be able to tell you about it soon. But not yet.”

“And there was the little incident that just happened in the nursery,” she said.

“Incident?” Kian said. “Is Ember okay?”

“Oh, she's fine. See nothing happened to her. But she did set her activity gym on fire.”

Saying those words out loud was probably one of the strangest sentences she had ever uttered in her entire life. She studied Kian’s face for a reaction.

“It's happening early,” Kian said, suddenly standing and crossing around the table to pick Ember up out of her chair. “This is unexpected.”

“Maybe it's because her mother was a Female Prime,” Dax suggested, taking another bite of salami.

“It could be that. I'm taking her downstairs,” he said, leaving the room abruptly.

Everly was more confused than ever.

“What is a Female Prime?” she said, watching Kian leave the room with her charge.

“I'm not supposed to talk about that kind of thing. But you should know, she was Ember's mother.”

“Ember's mother was a Female Prime?”

“Yep.” He put the half-eaten salami back in the refrigerator and wiped his hands with a paper towel. “I probably said something wrong, didn’t I?” His shoulder slumped.

“Could someone explain to me how an infant can breathe fire?” she said, growing irate.

“That kind of thing isn't for me to answer,” Dax said, backing up and turning out of the kitchen.

Everly was left alone in the kitchen without any answers, and a growing sense of dread in her stomach.

She hurried up to her room, feeling as if she needed to escape this madhouse. Kian hadn't explained anything. He had only made it worse. She was not only feeling confused and afraid, but she was beginning to feel offended as well.

She had asked him why Ember had breathed fire, but he hadn't given her any answers. She went to her room and looked at her suitcase. Maybe it was time for her to leave. As much as she adored Kian and dreamed of their future together, the fire breathing baby was definitely a red flag.

The reaction of her father didn't make it any better. She loved them both so much. And part of her didn't know what she would do without them. But this just wasn't right. She had been in a bad relationship before and she wasn't going to let it happen again.

Kian was keeping secrets from her, just like her ex-husband who cheated on her. She wanted to give Kian the benefit of the doubt but, how could she? The fire breathing baby was a whole other level.

She began to put her things into her suitcase, a tear slipping down her cheek. What was she going to do without him? Without Ember? How was she going to carry on after this?

All her hopes and dreams had looked like they would be fulfilled. But now? Now it was all falling apart around her ears. She sniffled back the tears, not sure what to think. As she packed her things and prepared herself to leave, she heard a knock at her door. Opening it, she found Kian standing on the other side with baby Ember in his arms.

“I'm sorry about earlier,” he said. He looked over her shoulder and saw her suitcase.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

“I was thinking about it,” she said, holding one of her shirts in her hands.

“You can't leave. We need you,” he said.

“I need to understand why Ember breathed fire. You have to tell me everything. No more secrets. Or I’m out of here.”

“Ember is a very special baby. I wasn't expecting her gifts to manifest so soon.”

“There are some strange things happening around here. Some very strange things indeed.”

“I want to tell you everything. I’ve wanted to tell you everything from the beginning.”

“Just tell me.”

He walked into her room, holding Ember and sat at the chair across from the bed. He crossed his legs and sighed.

Everly shut the door and sat on the bench facing him. Ember played with a rattle as he held her in his lap. The sight of them together melted Everly’s heart.

“The truth is that all of us are very special, like Ember. We have special powers. And if it was widely known that we existed, it could be dangerous for us. So, I haven't told you the full story.”

“What's kind of powers?” she asked.

“Let me just say, all five of us are able to breathe fire. We come from a very special family line.”

“I've never heard of anything like that,” she said. “Are you demons?”

“No, definitely not demons. We’re the opposite of demons. You could even call us guardian angels.”

“So, you're fire breathing guardian angels?” she asked.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. We aim to protect humanity, and we need you. I need you. You and I belong together. But I can’t force you to stay.”

“I don’t know. This is all so strange.”

“Let it sink in that we are not quite human. I will tell you everything else in the morning once you’ve had time to process that much.”

“I suppose that's fair,” she muttered.

He crossed the room, handing her Ember. She stood up to take the baby, and he put his arm around her. A sinking sense of fear slid over her shoulders at his touch and she hated that he made her afraid.

He let out a deep breath.

“I want more than anything to protect you. It is my deepest desire,” he said. “Therefore, I must tell you this information slowly. I don't want to give you a shock. All will be revealed very soon. Please believe me.”

“I believe you,” she whispered.