Chapter Nine #2
The little fist waved out of his wrapping. Rowan smiled slightly. “I have been tethered to you for three years and Aspen for twelve. I am finally free of having to keep others alive, and I just wanted a day to step back. I am very tired, Mell. I have been tired for a long time.”
The baby fussed, and Rowan sighed and held her arms out. Little Rowan murmured contentedly the moment that she touched him.
“How do you do that?”
“It’s an omega thing. I feel like a soft blanket.”
“Rowan?”
“Yes?”
“I am sorry.” Mell sat down and put her head in her hands. “I opened the door. I am so sorry.” She started sobbing, and Rowan let her feel it for a while before she stepped forward and stroked her hair. Mell’s arms came around her waist, and the sobbing continued.
She contacted Norecayet when Mell and she had discussed the particulars. There was horror that was in her friend’s soul, and Rowan had lived in it so long; she really wanted to put it aside.
Mell held her hand and said, “Why did you help me?”
“Because we are friends, and we have always been friends. Just because you had a colossally stupid day that shook both of our lives doesn’t mean I can hate you forever.
I don’t hate you, but it has been exhausting.
I am still running life support for my grandparents, and it is my last duty to those around me. ”
Regis’s voice said, “Avor is going to take it over. He told your grandfather to remain hidden and seek out power, and he did. You are obviously proof of it.”
Rowan rocked her namesake. “Well, I do what I can. Is Avor here?”
“Yes. He is following the link to your grandparents. He’s going to wake them up, dragon style.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s going to transform into a dragon and broadcast enough energy to wake them up.”
“Oh. They already have it. The moment Aspen was out, I used the remainder to power them up. Grandma should look more like me than I do right about now.”
Mell was still holding onto her and sniffling.
Rowan smiled. “Mellwyn, get some water, have some tea; there is a fresh pile of muffins under that cover behind you. Get yourself together because little dude is hungry. You have four minutes.”
Regis grinned. “Four minutes?”
“I am slowing time around the baby to save my ears.”
Regis asked, “You can do that?”
“I didn’t ask permission. I am doing it.”
Mell blinked. “What?”
“This is why you didn’t give birth invisible. Now water and muffin. Go.”
Mell nodded, grabbed a muffin, and then poured herself some water. She ate quickly and drank more water.
She looked better when Rowan looked at her and said, “You ready for him now?”
“Yes. Is he hungry or dirty?”
“Hungry.” She handed him over.
Mell took him and loosened her shirt, then the little face scrunched, and then the wail started. She got him into position, and the wailing stopped.
Norecayet bolted into the room, and Rowan grinned. “Nice trick.”
Mell smiled briefly. “I asked him to let us chat, but he’s tuned to little Rowan’s cry.”
Regis laughed. “Suddenly, I am almost grateful that Avor missed Ira’s first few months. That would have been terrifying.”
Mell chuckled. “He’s also tuned to my voice, so that is why he blundered into the new palace grounds.”
He nodded. “I just found out that I thought I was split for months, and it was close to two years.”
Rowan whipped around and walked to the sink, filling the coffee maker and kettle.
Regis asked, “Rowan, was that you?”
“Well, maybe. I didn’t want her pregnancy whipping along with no one to help her, so I... uh... stalled it, sort of. Norecayet, sorry if you had a problem.”
“I am going for a new job tomorrow. I hope to be employed by the end of the weekend. I am claiming a family emergency that took me out of town. And call me Norec, please.”
Rowan blinked. “Oh, duh. Yet means orc.”
He grinned. “You are slower than I thought.”
She lifted her chin and said haughtily. “I have been busy.”
He laughed and ran a hand over his head. “Yes, you have.”
Avor came in and said, “They won’t wake.”
Rowan nodded. “Stubborn family. Gimme a second.” She went into the fridge and brought out an energy drink. “Come on.”
She stalked outside, and Avor came with her. He was amused. “What are you going to do?”
“First, I am going to tear the covers off the bed, then I am going to break every etiquette rule that Grandma instilled in me. She will get up out of outrage, and Grandpa will sit up laughing.”
Avor chuckled. “I am looking forward to this. To use modern parlance, your grandfather was a bit of a butthead.”
“Yeah, you have met.”
She walked with him into the woods, then saw the headstone, and checked on the power levels. They were both awake, and she just hoped they weren’t in the middle of foreplay.
“If they are having sex, can you cover my eyes? I have seen that too many times already.”
Avor was laughing. “Yes, I can do that. How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight. Almost twenty-nine.”
He laughed. “I have shoes older than you.”
“No, you don’t. You have only been out here for a decade. Before then you were naked and chained in a cavern.”
“How do you know that?”
“Regis and half the new court have open minds. Your wife has nerves of steel. Have you actually had a wedding?”
He paused. “No, we have not.”
“Ira would make a stellar bridesmaid or maid of honour. Heck. She could officiate.”
He smiled. “She’s a little young to be the officiant, but she might enjoy being a maid of honour. Do you know where this kind of an event could be held?”
“If you want it legal, you can do it here, but if you want to bind to your wife and the world beneath her, a friend of mine just headed to Wonder Island. She’s applying for the position of officiant this week. Her name is Arden, and she’s more of a gardener than I am.”
“I see. I think Ira would enjoy the islands.”
“From what I hear, go to Wonder for the day of the event, and then go to the more family-friendly Emerald. My parents have a bed and breakfast there, and I might be able to hook you up with a few bungalows if you bring a babysitter.”
She smiled. “Right. They aren’t having sex. Time to wake them up.”
“How do you know?”
“I can harvest sex magic. There isn’t anything aside from light cuddling together.”
She stepped forward, the turf split over the top of the double casket, and waved it to either side. She said to the soil, “Thank you for protecting them.”
With the glass of the coffin exposed, she cracked open the carbonated energy drink and chugged it down, paused, and then let out a thunderous belch that bent some trees.
She silently counted to three, and the coffin cracked.
Her grandmother shot out, looking no older than twenty-two and said, “Rowan! That was rude.”
“Yes, Grandma, it was, but I dragged a dragon here, and that didn’t wake you up, so I figured a belch would do it.”
Her grandfather sat up. “A dragon? Really?”
“Yes, he used to be Sirrush and now is Avor Rush. Grandpa, get up and greet your king.”
Her grandfather looked around, and Avor was standing there, wings out.
A slow smile spread across her grandfather’s features. He jumped out of the coffin and walked across the space and then hugged Avor.
Her grandmother got out of the coffin and chuckled. Grandma Eleanor walked up and hugged her. “Oh, Rowan, I have missed you.”
“I have missed you, too. I took care of both of you, like Grandpa asked.”
Eleanor hugged her tighter. “You did an amazing job. How is everyone?”
“Mom and Dad are in the islands, Laurel has fostered six little girls and is also in the islands, and Aspen is home.”
“So you have been protected.” Her grandmother exhaled in relief.
“Yes, Grandma. I am fine. I am standing here before you all in one piece. I have the carriage house ready for you so that you and Grandpa can have some privacy.”
“Ah, you know us so well.”
“You had three daughters a decade apart. You do it at least once a decade.”
Her grandmother grinned. “Aw, it’s like you have met us, little one.”
“Once or twice.” Strong arms wrapped around them, and her grandfather lifted them off their feet.
Rowan fought the panic that ripped through her being held by dark arms off the ground. Her grandmother saw her face, and the laughter died. “Vas, put her down.”
Rowan controlled her breathing as she was set on her feet. She patted her grandmother’s arm and turned to smile weakly at her grandfather. “Sorry about that. Stressful few—”
Renyet said, “Decade. Over a decade. There was an attack on the premises that incapacitated Aspen, and Rowan was injured. Badly injured. She is recovering, but it is an ongoing thing.”
Rowan looked at him with wide eyes. “Shut up, you green moron.”
Her grandfather blinked. “You know him?”
Rowan set her jaw.
Renyet spoke calmly. “I met her when she was suffering from the side effects of the opal defense. She had been in the shield for years. Her skin was bruised, and there was internal damage. The shield is down, but it has only been down for a day.”
“Go polish a speculum,” she growled.
“You used that already today.”
“Sorry. I will try and do better. There are only so many stirrup jokes I can make. Oh, maybe cold hands.”
He grinned.
Her grandfather said, “I need to know more of the time we have been gone. Can you tell me, shaman?”
“I can. I live in the big house. Rowan has begun taking in lodgers.”
“What? How many?”
“Six so far, but many of the newly arrived mages are interested in living in close proximity to others once they have done their ten years in the past.” He smiled. “Oh, seven. There is a baby, and now Aspen has moved to the main house.”
Her grandmother gasped. “A baby?”
“Mellwyn’s baby. She met a guy during a trying time and got pregnant, and now he’s a doting father, and she’s dealing with the new baby.”
Eleanor got excited. “How new?”
“He was born yesterday.”
Renyet chuckled. “They named him after Rowan.”
Her grandmother grabbed her hand. “Let’s go see the baby.”
She was being hauled to the house, and Rowan called out, “Grandpa, help!”
There was laughter and, “Deal with it, Rowan.”