Chapter Fifteen #2
I wanted to tell you both, but things kept getting in the way, Oberi pleaded.
I could sense that Ava was pregnant, but I could also tell that the baby— not to mention Ava’s body— was weak.
The spirit inside the child wasn’t strong.
I didn’t believe it would survive the first few weeks.
I thought Ava was going to have a miscarriage, and I didn’t want to upset everyone with the news until it actually happened, because so much was going on.
We were on the run, then we just got to Ilamanthe, then you two had this big wedding.
I tried to tell you after the wedding in my own way, but we rushed into getting the vampire key, then moved on to the camps shortly after.
You threw us into that fountain on our wedding night to try to get us to make heirs, I reminded him. Why would you do that if you already knew Ava was pregnant?
You guys were unsure about becoming parents, and I knew it would happen eventually, with this baby or another.
I was just trying to warm you up to the idea.
Oberi nuzzled his wet nose into my shoulder.
Then you two were so upset once Cassiel died.
Ava was getting further along, and I knew at this point the child would survive, so I pushed myself to say something.
But by the time I was ready to, you pulled that coup, and Ava tried to end the world.
Then the divorce papers happened, and I didn’t know what to do.
Oberi whimpered. I wanted the two of you to mend things, and knew the chances of that happening were low if I dropped this kind of news.
I was hoping you and Ava would get to a better, more stable place, and then I could tell you that this baby was coming.
I tried to tell you both by insisting Ava give you those baby clothes over Christmas.
But things just kept getting worse between you two…
and between us. I couldn’t tell either of you.
Not when everything between us all is wrecked like this.
My chest tightened. He was right. Everything kept getting worse, no matter how hard I fought to fix it.
I tried to tell Ava, but she couldn’t hear me after the bond was broken, and she didn’t understand what I was trying to say, Oberi continued.
You were the only one who could hear me, Charlie, and you kept blowing me off.
I tried to bring this up, but all I ever heard was, Not now, Oberi.
There just wasn’t enough time. The baby’s here early…
and I missed my opportunity to say anything at all.
Oberi sounded as broken as I felt. I should’ve been mad at him, but he was right. We’d had an insane time since we’d left the Institute, and there hadn’t been a spare moment that would’ve been a good time to drop a bomb like this.
And now that we were out of time… I didn’t want to spend the rest of it hating him.
I scratched Oberi behind the ears. “You’re right. The baby’s here. I don’t want us to miss any more opportunities. Can you take me to him?”
Oberi nodded, and I stood on shaky feet as he led me down the hall. I felt like I was floating all the way to the NICU.
“Your highness.” I heard Eldin’s voice. She stood outside the door, guarding our baby. She must’ve heard Ava was in trouble, came to help, then stationed herself here. “There is a doctor inside tending to the new heir.”
“Who is it?” I asked. “I don’t want anyone in this room I wouldn’t trust with my life.” I didn’t have a lot of sway as prince anymore, but this was my kid, and it was my job to protect him.
“Her name is Doctor Onyx Foxe,” Eldin said.
“She was sent by the Demigod Guardians themselves. She’s a neonatal doctor and a midwife, as well as the witch representative within the United Supernatural Union.
She’s the most qualified individual in Ilamanthe to care for your child.
Marcus’ parents recommended her. She took care of him when he was born early. ”
That eased my wariness, though only slightly. I entered the room, and Oberi followed.
Doctor Foxe stepped aside. “He’s doing well, your highness. You may have a moment with him.”
“Can I… touch him?” I asked.
“You may, though there are several tubes and wires. He has a feeding tube, an IV, and is hooked up to a ventilator, so be careful when you insert your hands into the incubator. There are gloves nearby that you can use— still, wash your hands first. He’s very small, and we can’t take any chances.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
“The incubator is meant to mimic the womb. He won’t be able to leave it for another two months, but you should be able to hold him for short periods in a day or two.”
Hold him. It sounded wonderful. My hands shuddered at my sides. I’ll be okay, I told myself.
The door clicked shut behind me as Onyx left. For a second, I wanted to turn around and run— to pretend like none of this was happening, because I wasn’t even sure I wanted it to be real.
Then the most delicate, precious squeak met my ears, and everything I’d ever known dissolved and rebuilt itself in a single moment.
An explosion erupted in the middle of my life, blasting all the walls I’d ever built to pieces in a split second.
At the same moment it all imploded, something miraculous replaced it.
A warm sensation brushed across my arms, sending magic tingling up and down my limbs.
I had no words for what it was exactly, because I’d never felt anything like it before.
It was similar to a sapling rising from the earth after a great and terrible destruction, signaling hope and renewal.
Whatever this magic was, it was welcome and cherished, and I knew there was no turning back.
The world outside faded as an unwavering force drew me closer.
Machines whirred around me, but all my attention was stolen by a single incubator in the middle of the room.
My footsteps echoed throughout the hospital room as I approached the incubator carefully, and my heart swelled with every stride.
I splayed my hand over the top of the incubator, where the child slept soundlessly.
He was so small that he couldn’t breathe on his own, and yet, my magic had never felt as strong as it did now.
I could feel every molecule of air filling the tubes that connected to his lungs, and sensed his tiny body fighting to hold on to life.
Fabric rustled as he wiggled slightly, like he knew I was there and was trying to reach out for me.
Oberi nudged my leg. If you want to touch him, go ahead.
Oberi guided me to a nearby sink, where I nervously washed my hands. I fumbled to turn the faucet off, nearly dropping the towels that I used to dry my skin before I steadily approached the incubator again, feeling every part of me trembling. Here it goes.
I shook as I put the gloves on, realizing I couldn’t help myself.
Oberi guided my movements, and I reached my hands inside the holes on the side of the incubator.
I placed one hand beside his head, which was soft with a tuft of hair.
He was barely sixteen inches, and by my estimates, couldn’t be more than two pounds.
My heart nearly burst.
“It’s okay, baby boy,” I whispered as tears filled my eyes. “Daddy’s here now.”
Saying the words out loud caused a profound shudder of restoration to travel through my entire body.
For so long, I’d felt like I was dying— like pieces of myself were withering away one by one.
Being here in the presence of my newborn son was an entire soul awakening, as if he wasn’t the only one who’d just been born, but I’d been reborn alongside him.
His pulse was weak, but I could swear I felt his little heart pumping to match the rhythm of my own, like he and I were connected and always had been.
And I realized we were. This child was my blood— my baby. I’d made this baby with her.
This, I realized, was what family felt like. For so long, I’d been searching for a family I could call my own, blood that was bonded to me, and here he was… my child.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as his tiny hand brushed against my fingers. When that happened, something shifted. The initial shock was replaced by a wave of magic that hit me full force, nearly knocking me down. I’d only experienced something like this one time before.
“Oberi,” I breathed. The power emanating from my son was so strong, I couldn’t bear to pull away.
What is it? Oberi asked, sniffing the air.
Then he stilled as he sensed exactly what I was feeling, and whispered, By the gods, Charlie. He’s—
“A naderei.” The words breathed out of me.
I told myself it wasn’t true, that I was misreading things, but the magic signature coming from my son was unmistakable.
Even so, I didn’t understand how it was possible— this was the end of the world, wasn’t it?
The Warden had opened the Elven Gate, but my son had appeared on the very same day.
Prophets were born when there was a great future to foretell, weren’t they?
What kind of future would exist when the Warden was the one ruling over everything?
I didn’t know he would be a prophet, Charlie, Oberi marveled. If I had, I’d have said something sooner.
“It changes nothing,” I told him. “We just have to figure out what this means.”
A great destiny, Oberi hushed. That is the only thing it can mean.
“Get Maddie,” I told him, and Oberi ran off. I continued to lightly touch my son’s skin, trying to keep myself standing although all I wanted was for my knees to buckle, so I could hit the floor. My son hadn’t been alive for more than a few hours, and already, destiny was claiming him for itself.
I wouldn’t let the gods have him. I’d been through hell and back trying to fulfill what was destined for me— I wouldn’t let fate take away that choice for my son.