Chapter Twenty

 

 

Shade

I stared out the long panes of windows lining my rooms. Soap was gone, visiting his mother, and Evangeline had lingered after speaking with me about my sister Anna.

“I don’t know what you want me to do. I won’t remove Nautilus from Anna’s side.”

“I don’t need your permission. I’ve already sent the order to The Withering Palace.” Evangeline frowned. “After speaking with your brother, I could see reasoning with either of you wasn’t going to work.”

I pressed my lips tight, my mercurial mood sliding into darkness once more. I hated feeling out of control, and my aunt offered no relief.

“You really are pushing it, Evie. I can’t fight you right now. I’m too busy to keep watch over the Unseelie as well. Do what you want.”

“His presence is disturbing the peace.”

“Everything disturbs the peace for Oran.” I threw my hands up, feeling my face flush. “Why even bother me with this if you’ve made up your mind? It’s not becoming of you to ask for permission.”

Evie’s features darkened as she watched me pace back and forth. “How long?”

I spun and stared at her, stunned. “What?”

“How far along are you?”

“Not very.”

“You’re in denial, aren’t you?”

I looked away, again staring out across the expanse of the land outside my palace windows. “I don’t deny anything.”

“You haven’t told anyone anything either.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m a witch. I can sense life around me. I’m not completely oblivious to your plight. I apologize for not being there for most of your life, but there were things I couldn’t help.”

Blinking back tears, I wanted to burst. I’d felt the life within me as well. There weren’t yet any outward signs of my pregnancy, but I just knew. That was one of the things about having magic—sometimes there was more to gut instinct than you realized.

My emotions were rollercoastering, and controlling them was getting more difficult by the day. I’d kept it wrangled with Soap, but how did I tell my new husband I didn’t know who the father of my child was?

“You’re having twins. Want to know what their sexes are?”

I turned, snapping my eyes to my aunt. “How do you see that?”

“Let’s just say there aren’t many midwives in the Unseelie realm. I was often called to help the Sluagh and Unseelie alike birth their offspring. It was something I kind of fell into.”

“Oh.” I wrapped my arms around my body, feeling cold yet hot at the same time. “Should I know? I mean, would it benefit me to know? Everything is different here in Faerie. In the human realm, it’d be too early to get an ultrasound.”

“It’s up to you. Let me place my hand on your stomach.” She held out her hands, waiting for me to give her the signal to proceed. I nodded and dropped my arms as she approached. She placed her palm against my lower abdomen and closed her eyes.

“Two boys, but not identical,” she said softly as she scrunched her eyebrows together, concentrating. “How odd. They share your blood, but they do not share the same auras.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I stepped back, wondering if this had been a good idea.

“It means they do not share the same parentage. You carry both your husbands’ children. An uncommon but not completely rare occurrence in the fey.”

My eyes widened. “What?” How would I tell Soap and Dylan? What kind of a person has two children at the same time with two different fathers? I groaned and began pacing the room. Only in Faerie would something like this happen. Sometimes I wished I hadn’t married a faery at all. It was so complicated.

“It’s not impossible. Magic plays a part, of course. Be happy. They are healthy; their energy is strong. You, on the other hand, need some relief for that nausea.”

“I was wondering about that. Isn’t it too early for morning sickness?”

“This will not be like a human pregnancy, Shade. Don’t expect things to happen the same way or according to the same schedule. I can whip up some potions for you to drink in the mornings or whenever the feeling occurs. And you need to eat more. You’re impossibly thin.” She reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, and I stopped wearing a hole in the carpet to meet her gaze.

“Why do you care now?”

“I never stopped caring. I needed to protect Jade and her children. I had to leave or risk you all.”

I swallowed down the knot forming in my throat. She hadn’t left because she’d wanted to. She’d had to leave us to keep us safe. It was hard to believe she’d joined our enemies and and fought against faeries she loved, but she had, and she had spun it in a way to keep her family safe, especially with my mother and her half-human family sitting vulnerable at the borders of Faerie with no way to protect ourselves. It hadn’t been enough to save my mother from her end, but I could see an ocean of regret washing across Evie’s eyes.

“A potion would be nice,” I said quietly. “Will it do anything to the babies?”

Evie smiled, her face looking younger. “No, it won’t affect them at all. You’ll feel much better. Trust me.”

I nodded and watched her as she turned to leave the room. “I’ll return with the potion. Thank you for letting me stay the night.” With that, she left me in the silence of my rooms, a place I’d retreated to far too often when my burdens had grown heavy.

I slid down into an overstuffed armchair which reminded me of my favorite recliner back home in Portland, where our Pyren was located. It was soft and cozy, and I curled up in it as I watched a flock of birds or pixies—I wasn’t sure which—float by.

I was going to be a mother. At barely nineteen, this was a huge undertaking. There were many to help with the job, but I was petrified nonetheless. It was just one more thing drilling into my mind as I closed my eyes, exhausted. I had to tell Dylan and Soap. How awkward was that going to be? I wasn’t sure, but it was on my list of weird things of stuff that has happened to me, a list growing far too long as of late.

I somehow drifted off and awoke later as Evie gently shook my shoulder and held out a heavy bottle filled with a deep, amethyst-colored liquid.

“Sorry, Shade. You were talking in your sleep about fire and ice and didn’t appear to be enjoying it. Here’s the potion for your nausea and exhaustion. Take one spoonful morning and evening.” She pressed it into my hand and ran her fingers through my hair as I yawned and sighed.

“Thank you, Evie.”

“You’re welcome.”

“What is the meaning of this?”

We both turned to find Nautilus at the entrance, his face maroon in fury. “How dare you order me to return to The Scren, Evangeline?”

He was pissed beyond belief, and I glanced at Evie to see that she had been expecting it. Before she could answer, I interrupted.

“I asked her to.”

Nautilus’s mouth hung open in surprise as he watched me place the bottle into my skirts and stand up. I knew I was looking ill and pale, but Nautilus was dear to my heart, and I had to convince him I’d wanted him back at the palace, even if it was just to save my aunt a little headache. It was the least I could do in exchange for the potion she’d brewed for me.

“How are you? I’ve missed your company.”

He remained speechless as I approached, but he let me slip my arms around him in a tight hug.

“I’m all right. I’ve missed you too.” He calmed immediately, an effect I had on some people around me. I felt his magic stir at my touch, and I sighed, suppressing the urge to siphon some off. I could steal others’ magic and use them at my own leisure, but I couldn’t do this to Nautilus. Not him.

“Thank you for watching over Anna in the Unseelie palace. I’m truly grateful of your special care for her.”

“Yes, of course, Shade. I’d do anything for you both. I thought your aunt had ordered me to return against your and your sister’s wishes.”

“I understand. She was just carrying out my orders.”

He nodded, straightening as I let him go. He kept a wary eye on Evie, and I doubted he believed that I would do such a thing as to order him away from my sister, but I had to let him think that for now. But what I didn’t anticipate was having him join my entourage again. Soap might be okay with it, but Dylan would be furious. Or maybe, with the news of my pregnancy, Dylan wouldn’t even notice Nautilus around. I hoped so. I’d had enough conflict to last a lifetime.

“You’re ill.” Nautilus reached out and pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear, a gentle gesture. My cheeks flushed at the intimacy of it, and I pulled away.

“Yes. I’m pregnant. Evie’s made me a potion to calm my nausea.”

Nautilus’s face shifted from confusion to joy in mere seconds.

“Congratulations! That’s great news!”

“Yes, it is. Though I’ve yet to tell Soap and Dylan, so please, keep it quiet.”

He grinned. “Of course. I wouldn’t want them upset at me knowing first. But I do want to ask you something, Shade.” He peered over my shoulder toward Evie, a scowl forming on his lips. “In private, if that’s okay.”

I turned toward my aunt, lifting an eyebrow to ask for her consent. She gave me a curt nod before leaving. I watched her click the door shut and glanced once more at Nautilus. His rich mocha skin was paler than usual since he’d been out of The Scren’s brilliant sun for months and had been holed up in The Withering Palace. It was always so gloomy out there; I hoped Anna wasn’t going crazy.

“What is it, Nautilus? Is my sister all right?”

“Yes, she’s fine. More than fine. She’s cast a spell over everyone in the palace. No one listens to Oran, but don’t dare try to tell Anna to do something she doesn’t want to do. I think the Sluagh are afraid of her.” He chuckled but cleared his throat as his face grew serious. “I wanted to ask you if there was any way to stop her marriage to Oran. I love her, you see. You of all people should know how much she means to me.”

I nodded, my lips pursing at his question. “I know you do. Trust me, I know. I just… I don’t think there’s anything I can do to break them up. She took my place, but who would take hers? There is nothing that can be done.”

Nautilus nodded, his frown deepening. “I know. I—I thought maybe there’d be some small chance.”

“Do you want to marry her as second husband?”

He shook his head. “Oran has already approached her and made her vow to not take a second husband. It’s already done. I cannot blame him. They are not Teleen, after all.”

“I’m sorry, Nautilus.”

He nodded, looking pensive as his eyes wandered to the windows displaying the calming night sky. I followed his gaze and sighed. So many thoughts ran through our heads. I knew he needed to digest the fact that he was no longer welcome at The Withering Palace and was no longer a contender for Anna’s hand, no matter how much she wanted him too.

“I’ll leave you be. Do call on me if you need anything. My old quarters are still available, I take it?”

I nodded. “Yes. I had them sealed. Feel free to occupy them again.”

He smiled and bowed then reached out to kiss my hand before spinning on his heels and heading out of my rooms.

My heart went out to him and to Dylan and Soap, who would hear my news very soon. I hoped it brought nothing but joy to them both and didn’t amplify any pain. With things the way they were, I was afraid for us all. The journey to The Heart of Fire and Ice would now be an even more trying ordeal given my condition, but I hoped, for my babies’ sakes, it wouldn’t cost me everything.