Chapter THREE YEARS LATER
THREE YEARS LATER
“Another heartwielder has been discovered,” a lanky adviser reports. “She’s eight. Used her power to temper her mother’s anger toward her father.” Some of the men in the room chuckle, but Mother only grinds her teeth. “She’ll start at the training school next week.”
Heart- and truthwielders are no longer executed in Arbinj.
Instead, Mother suggested a special school—one where they are taught to harness their powers and undergo rigorous courses on ethics.
After a certain age, they’re required to wear golden pins at all times, signifying their abilities.
I should probably feel more guilty that I’ve made myself the only exception to this rule, but I don’t.
“Any questions about the heartwielder?” Jeyzar asks, glancing around the room. Mayah sits unusually quiet beside me, foot tapping a nervous rhythm on the floor. Before I can get her attention, the adviser changes the subject to our upcoming journey.
“All right, then. Onto the upcoming journey. Two battalions should be more than enough,” Jeyzar says, hands steepled beneath his chin. “Any more, and we’ll need another ship. This is already shaping up to be the largest diplomatic trip to Volca in our history.”
“Agreed,” Tairna replies. She smiles at me, then says, “Actually, we might only need one battalion. Vayru turns into a fearsome bear when anyone even looks at his wife.”
The room titters at her joke. I roll my eyes, a smile twitching at my lips, but my gaze remains on Mayah. She doesn’t laugh at Mother’s joke. She’s been unfocused and silent for nearly the entire meeting, her energy signature pulsing in sporadic bursts.
I squeeze her thigh, and she snaps to attention, casting me a quick smile before turning away.
“Can you tell us more about the Volcan princess?” Mayah asks.
“She’s young, my queen. Only twenty, I believe.” Jeyzar taps a quill against his cheek. “Her mother’s only child. And a firewielder. She remains out of the spotlight, from what I’m told.”
Mayah asks a few more questions about the Volcan queen, their customs and laws, dutifully taking notes.
It’ll be our first time visiting Volca—something I’d dreamed about for years.
But I can’t bring myself to pay attention, focused instead on the faint crease that seems to have taken residence between my wife’s pretty brows.
Worry bubbles inside my chest for the remainder of the meeting. As soon as it’s adjourned, we file out into the hallway, and I snake my arm around her waist, leaning down to ask, “What’s wrong?” as we head toward our chambers. “You didn’t even smile when Mother likened me to a grumbling bear.”
She narrows her eyes at me playfully. “Are you reading my energy signature thing again?”
“Always.”
My wife rolls her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “You’re obsessed with me. It’s actually adorable.”
I tuck her closer against my side. She’s trying to distract me, my clever wife, but it won’t work. “What’s wrong, my love?”
“Nothing.” She doesn’t meet my gaze, attention fixed firmly ahead.
My neck prickles, and I pinch her side lightly. “Did you forget I’m a truthwielder?” I murmur against the shell of her ear.
She shivers, then whispers back, “Mmm, not a very good one.” A playful smile tugs at her lips, soothing some of the unease needling beneath my ribs.
Still, a low warning growl rumbles in my chest.
“Careful, wife. Unless you want to be facedown, ass up in the middle of the hall.”
My wife only bats her lashes at me, lips curved in a wicked smirk.
“Who’s lying now? As if you’d ever let anyone catch sight of my naked ass.”
“Fair point.” I don’t press her about what’s on her mind, though the question lingers on my tongue.
I nod to Gregoran and Freynk as we enter our room, the door clicking shut behind us.
The words spill from my lips despite my best efforts to give her space. “Are you nervous about the trip to Volca?”
Mayah smiles at me, affection hugging the curve of her lips.
“No, my love.” She takes my hand and guides me to sit on the sofa, but she doesn’t join me.
My wife stares down at me, wringing her hands together.
“Remember when we talked about having children? About a year ago? I told you I’d need to remove the block that prevents my cycle before we…
” She swallows, averting her gaze. “I think … I think I’d like to—”
My heart warms at her admission, cool relief surging through me that this is all it was.
“Yes.”
She blinks in surprise. “Yes?”
I chuckle, grabbing her hand and tugging her into my lap. “This is what’s had you worked up all morning?”
She shrugs one shoulder, lips twisting. “When we discussed it last year, I wasn’t ready. It seemed like you weren’t in any rush either. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to wait longer.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, nudging her nose with mine. “I love our life together. I love you. And I’m ready. You can remove the block today if you like.”
She beams at me, so bright and ethereal and perfect, my heart stutters. “Okay,” she whispers. “Today.”
“Do you need to go to the infirmary?”
Mayah glances over my head at the bed. “No. I can do it here.”
She climbs off my lap and heads into the washroom, leaving the door ajar. The sound of running water greets my ears—Sauzon has gotten Mayah in the habit of washing her hands every time she heals, though, for her, it’s not necessary. He—
My thoughts evaporate into smoke because, when my wife emerges from the washroom, she’s nearly naked. Her white, translucent shift conceals nothing from my gaze.
It’s suddenly difficult to swallow.
The cruel minx doesn’t spare me a glance as she lies down on the bed, though I don’t miss the satisfied smile she tries to hide. I scramble off the sofa and stride toward the bed.
“I didn’t realize you were so interested in healing procedures.” Her teasing smile sends desire spearing through me.
“I’m interested in anything you do. Especially anything that involves you naked.”
She rolls her eyes, but her energy signature jolts all the same.
My wife surveys me, her face open and unguarded. “Will you hold me while I perform the procedure?”
“Of course, baby.”
She sits up so I can recline on the bed, then lies back down, her head resting against my shoulder, body positioned between my legs. A soft sigh, and then she hitches her shift over her hips until her lower belly is bare.
“Will it hurt?” I nuzzle the side of her face, tracing my fingers down her arms.
“It shouldn’t. Just a bit of discomfort.”
Mayah shuts her eyes and sets her glowing palms to her belly.
Her body tenses against mine, a faint crease immediately forming between her brows.
Wary of disrupting her focus, I keep my hands still against her sides.
Her breathing shallows, back arching slightly, and I brush a kiss against the crown of her head.
Three hundred and seventy-two.
Her glowing hands move over her abdomen for three hundred and seventy-two heartbeats. Then, a tired sigh slips free, and her body sags against mine.
“Here,” I murmur, scooting out from beneath her and tucking a pillow beneath her head. I rise up onto my knees by her feet, surveying her closely. “How do you feel?”
Her eyes are bright, a soft smile curving her lips. “Good.”
“Are you in pain?”
She shakes her head. Her smile stretches wider as she rests her feet in my lap.
I trail my fingers up her calf, and her breath hitches. “I-I had the block in place for over a decade. It could take months, maybe over a year, before my monthly bleeds return.”
My fingers inch higher, skimming the soft skin of her thighs, until they hook beneath lace. A rosy flush paints my wife’s cheeks down to her chest. “And it could take years of trying before I actually conceive.” Her voice cracks as I slide the scrap of lace down her legs.
“Years, hmm?” I raise her leg to my lips and press a wet kiss against her ankle. “Sounds like I have my work cut out for me.” Her energy signature pulses with anticipation. “I better get started right away.”
The End