Chapter 9 Cornelius
Cornelius
Iquickly discovered that Matthew loved to travel.
Not only had he been excited about it before we left Timber Valley, but he showed such enthusiasm at every new site we explored.
I couldn’t wait to show him the other beautiful spots around the world and had considered contacting Master Arthur to request a few more weeks to show him some of the more exciting places in my opinion.
Unfortunately, after we left Glacier National Park and headed to Yellowstone, Matthew started feeling poorly.
While we were watching Old Faithful spurt in all of her glory, he became dizzy.
So much so that I had to hold him up. I wasn’t sure if it was the altitude or something else, but I wasn’t taking any chances with my One.
I would never hope for my One to be ill, but it added to the possibility that he was pregnant with our first child, and that thought excited me.
But it was the reason why I immediately brought Matthew home to Amherst. Yes, Master Edison and his son Arik were right there in Timber Valley.
But I was ready to be home in Amherst, and our coven had a very fine doctor as well.
Constantine came from a long line of doctors, and although he was a bit uptight at times, he knew what he was doing, and I trusted him to care for Matthew.
I wanted a family, but I also wanted Matthew to be safe and healthy, and his dizziness concerned me.
With the dizziness came nausea. Something I discovered was a slightly uncomfortable experience for both of us.
Matthew didn’t want me to see him like that, and I’d discovered that seeing my One in such a state upset me.
Matthew retching in the bathroom had me running from the front room of our suite to our bedroom and then through to the bathroom.
“Oh, sweetheart. Why didn’t you call out?
Or use your magic?” I asked as I rushed to wet a cloth to wipe his face with.
I waited patiently while Matthew continued to empty the limited contents of his stomach before I got down on my knees and tried to comfort him.
When he rested his cheek on his arm and looked at me, I dove in and wiped his face as best as I could.
“I had to pee, and when I got up, the room spun and I rushed in here.”
I pushed Matthew’s curls back from his forehead, worried. It shouldn’t have been possible, but he was even paler than usual, which was saying something since he already had a very fair complexion.
“I know we just got in last evening, but I want you to see Dr. Constantine. You haven’t said anything yet, and I was waiting to see if you would, but I’ve detected another heartbeat coming from you for almost a week now.
Were you not going to say anything?” Tired of being on my knees beside the toilet, and more than ready to get my mate up and off the floor, I stood up, taking him with me.
Matthew sighed as I shifted him in my arms.
“I guess I was just too busy trying to take in everything to really pay attention. Then I got dizzy, and my magic got wonky. I…I’m not sure.”
Worried, I left the bathroom and headed for the bed. “I’m going to go get Dr. Constantine. I really think he should look at you. Is it normal for your magic to be…wonky, as you put it?”
“When we’re pregnant, it can happen, yes. Or it can become more powerful. But I’m a young fae, so I’d imagine mine would be wonky instead of better. Figures.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in just a little while. Do you need anything before I leave?”
“Yes. I need to brush my teeth,” Matthew said as he sat up on the bed and then grabbed his head again.
“Really? Why?” I asked, rushing back to him.
“Because you’re bringing the doctor here, silly.
And I’m not meeting someone from your coven with barf breath.
” Matthew scooted to the edge of the bed and threw his legs over the side.
I gave in and scooped him back up, carrying him back to the bathroom.
I placed him on the expansive counter between the two sinks.
“There. I’ll stand right here so you either fall into the wall, or me.
But you won’t crumple and end up in a heap like you did at Yellowstone.
You took a decade off my life, I swear. I just found you and can’t lose you, sweetheart.
” I squirted some paste on Matthew’s toothbrush and wet it before handing it to him.
He stared at me for a few moments, and when I wiggled the brush in front of him again, he finally took it and started brushing his teeth.
Once finished, he spit, rinsed, and spit again, and I carried him back to the bedroom, cleaning the mess up with a thought as I carried my One in my arms.
“Thank you. Already my mouth feels better.”
“I’d do anything for you. Rest if you can. I’ll be back in just a bit.” I reached down and ran my fingers through Matthew’s tangled curls, then covered him with a light blanket before leaving.
I was relieved to be back at the coven estate, but it was different now.
Master Arthur and Patrick had set up one of the mated suites for us.
It was on the third floor, where I was used to living on the second with the other unmated warlocks.
And it was different to see the other mated warlocks—and their children—living just down the hall.
It would take some getting used to, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
I quickly descended the stairs and made a U-turn to the right, taking me to the offices. When I came to the hallway that had Dr. Constantine’s office, I turned down it. Two doors later, I knocked on the open doorway.
“Ahh, Cornelius. I’ve actually been expecting you. Congratulations on finding your One,” Constantine said as he stood up and held out a hand. I took it, accepting the gentle squeeze and shoulder pat.
“Thanks. It was quite unexpected, and I hope you can enlighten us as to what might possibly be wrong.”
“I’ll do my best. But by wrong, you’re implying something is an issue? I was expecting news of a pregnancy. Is something else going on?” the older warlock asked as he rounded his desk and picked up not only his stethoscope that was beside the laptop, but a bag that was on a chair off in the corner.
“No, he’s pregnant. But he’s dizzy all the time, and it’s causing him to throw up. Also, he said that his magic is off.”
Constantine stopped, turned, and looked at me. “What do you mean by off? As in it’s turned off while pregnant?”
I shook my head. “He said it can either get stronger or be hit-or-miss. I’m thinking he means it’s not working like it should.”
“I’ve never encountered that before. I’ll have to look into it. Unfortunately, not a lot is known about the fae. I’ll most likely need to talk to Master Edison and see if he has any insight or if he can point me in the right direction.”
I didn’t cringe, and I was proud of myself for it. But Matthew wasn’t really comfortable around Master Edison. I would have to discuss things with him. His health came first, and if that meant asking our former coven leader about things, then so be it.
“Constantine,” I said and lightly touched his arm.
“Yes?”
“Matthew is uncomfortable around Master Edison. If you could not mention him just yet, I’d appreciate it.”
“Something I should know about?”
I shrugged because even I didn’t really have a good grasp on the specifics. “I’m still trying to figure that out myself.”
“Very well. Let’s go see about your One, then.”
I walked beside Constantine and thought back to when I first met him.
Whereas he’d been born into the coven, I’d joined it after I left the one I’d been born into.
Constantine had intrigued me when I first met him because I’d not ever met a warlock that had salt-and-pepper hair and had asked him about it.
My simple question had caused the older warlock to chuckle, and a long friendship had ensued.
“You know I’m over a century older than you are, and I still haven’t found my One. Perhaps I should take some time off and do a bit of traveling. That worked for you—maybe I will get so lucky.”
“It’s possible. I had all but given up when I sensed Matthew. Five months in Timber Valley and not even a twinge. Then all of a sudden, there he was.” Thinking about my One, I checked in with him through our bond and smiled when I sensed he was sleeping. He needed the rest.
“Everything okay?”
I looked at Constantine as we climbed the stairs. “Yeah. Just checking in on him. He’s sleeping.”
Constantine stopped on the second floor and looked at me. “Then perhaps I should come back later. I don’t want to disturb him. Despite the fact that everyone, myself included, is anxious to meet your One.”
I shook my head and grabbed Constantine’s arm, tugging him along with me. “No, he’s expecting you. I came to get you because he was sick again. I’m worried about the dizzy spells though.”
“All right. Does he have any other symptoms?”
“No. He gets up and gets dizzy. Sometimes he falls because he’s so off-balance. When we were in Yellowstone, he passed out from it. That was the first time though, and he hasn’t since.”
“I know a fae’s gestation is four months, so just a bit shorter than ours. When did you claim him? Actually, a better question would be when his fertile period ended.”
“Around ten days ago,” I said as I stopped outside our door and looked at the doctor.
“Hmm, it’s still early yet, but we’ll check his iron count. He could be a bit anemic. It’s also possible that his body hasn’t caught up yet and produced enough blood for the changes. Is he eating enough protein?”
I thought back to what we’d eating in the last two weeks, and aside from the first few days after we’d claimed each other, Matthew hadn’t eaten a whole lot of meat. I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind Constantine.