Chapter 20 – Hecate
HECATE
Time is strange in the tunnels. I truly have no idea how many days have passed, but we’ve slept for three days.
The two guys take turns guarding us at night, just in case.
I always plan to take my turn, but I pretty much just collapse after we eat each night.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m exercising for the first time in years, or if it’s the baby, but I’m so tired most of the time that it hurts, from my sore feet to my very soul.
I feel guilty when I find the guys awake before me each morning and always consider telling them about the baby, but something always stops me. Some part of me knows it’ll change something between us, and that’s the last thing I want when I’m enjoying being with them so much.
So I keep pushing as hard as I can and keep my secret to myself, and my men keep making the journey as easy on me as possible.
Any time I slip, one of them is there to keep me steady.
Any time I’m hungry, one of them is there with food.
Orion smiles more and more, and I find him a constant and strong presence, while Blaise always manages to make me laugh.
The trip isn’t easy by any means, but the good company makes it easier. And the slight prickling every so often along my spine made me hope that Andros is right there with us, watching as we grow closer, and encouraging us to connect.
The other good thing is that we hadn’t seen any signs of this great evil that Persephone’s lover spoke of. Even though we’ve all been on high alert since. Part of me is hoping the strange woman was wrong.
Today is like every other day. We’ve been walking in the dark tunnels for so long that we’re all searching for any signs of a place to rest for the night. Orion is behind me, and Blaise is in front of me.
At the beginning of all our “days,” we talk a lot.
They tell stories about the surface and how much it's changed since I was imprisoned, telling me wild stories that are hard to believe, and I tell them about Hades and Andros in the Underworld, and even my daughter.
I even finally feel comfortable enough to tell them about her parentage, and about how I secretly fear what consequences being half-demon will have for her on the surface.
To my relief, they neither seem to judge me nor my daughter, which is necessary if we have any hope of being together.
Because once we get to the surface, all of us will be a family, including my daughter. If they can’t love her too, then nothing real can ever be between us.
But near the end of our days, we’re all quiet.
Breathing hard. And solely focused on climbing.
Like now, when my mind keeps going blank, and my feet seem to drag as I stumble.
I keep telling myself the resting place has to be just up ahead, but time drags on and there’s nothing to indicate that we’re going to be able to rest any time soon.
Suddenly, I stumble and I fall back. I hit Orion’s chest like a brick wall and fall down, my chest and belly hitting the dirt. Panic rolls through me as I grasp my stomach, my heart racing.
“Are you okay?” Orion asks, kneeling down.
Blaise turns and comes back to me.
“I’m fine,” I say, but I know they can hear it in my voice. I’m not.
“Hecate?” Orion sounds worried.
I finally look up at him. At first I’d subconsciously just not talked about the baby.
But as time passed, I was scared to mention my pregnancy.
I know how precious pregnancies and babies are to the gargoyles, and I don’t want Orion’s feelings to be influenced by it.
But now, I know I have to tell him, and I’m scared for so many reasons.
But mostly because I need the baby to be okay. I don’t even feel pregnant yet, but I love the child growing inside of me.
“Hecate?” Orion touches my cheek.
“I’m fine...but I hit the ground pretty hard. And...and the baby.”
His eyes widen.
He says nothing. Blaise says nothing. Silence seems to swallow us whole.
“You’re...pregnant?” Orion finally manages.
I nod. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you. I didn’t want you to feel...stuck with me.”
A strange look comes over his face, and he slides me into his arms and stands. I look at Blaise. There’s uncertainty in his face, but as Orion starts forward, Blaise is forced to continue walking.
The silence between us now is charged, but I’m not sure how. Is Orion angry with me? He seems angry, and he won’t even look in my direction. And Blaise? He keeps glancing back as if concerned about Orion, so I know I’m not the only one thinking this isn’t a good sign.
Still, Orion continues to carry me through the tunnels, neither slowing or stopping.
I look between Blaise’s back and Orion, trying to gauge how they are feeling.
But after a time, I feel too damned tired.
Resting my hands on my baby, hoping and praying that the child inside is safe, I let myself drift off to sleep.
When I startle awake, I have no idea how much time has passed, but we’ve reached another resting place. They undo my cloak, and Orion gently sets me down on top of it. I sit up, strangely wide awake now, and feeling lost and confused.
“Are you upset?” I blurt out.
Both men look surprised.
“Andros and I didn’t plan this. It just happened.”
Orion hesitates, and then says, “And you’re certain the child is my brother’s?”
Fury unleashes inside of me. “Are you suggesting I was with someone else?”
“Gargoyle pregnancies are rare. And given the circumstances, almost impossible in this situation.”
I’m blinded by rage. I stand, grab my cloak, and say, “I’ll finish the rest of the journey alone,” before marching toward the tunnels.
Blaise blocks my escape. “You can’t go alone. It isn’t safe.”
“Watch me!” I say, trying to get around him.
But he won’t move.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I growl.
“I’m sorry,” Orion says behind me, and there’s something so raw and vulnerable in his voice, that I can’t help but turn back around. “It’s just so...wonderful. It’s hard to believe that something this good could happen.”
“You think it’s good?” I say, heart hammering.
He smiles. “Of course it’s good! We’re going to have a child.”
“Well, you’re an ass for implying it wasn’t your brother’s,” I say, mad even though I’m starting to calm down.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
“I’ve always liked kids,” Blaise blurts out. “I kind of pictured myself as more of the fun uncle than a dad, but if Orion is the strict, grumpy one, and Andros actually knows how to take care of a kid, then I can keep the baby smiling.”
I look back at him. “You paint a beautiful picture.”
Blaise takes my hand, and we walk back to the ring of stones. Orion hugs me, and then Blaise hugs me too. When I draw back, they’re both looking at my stomach.
I can’t help but laugh. “I’m not far along. Just a few weeks.”
Orion’s gaze snaps back up to my face. “And you’re sure?”
I nod. “A doctor told me and everything.”
I swear Orion gets the silliest grin on his face, and Blaise smiles while he goes around and picks up firewood. I lay my cloak back down and sit down, touching my stomach and chest where it struck the ground. Everything feels okay. I only hope that means everything is okay.
Before a few minutes pass, Blaise has a fire going, and Orion sets out to make soup in a pot over the fire.
I go back to the small lake where the falling water has pooled, drink, then undress and bathe.
The two men join me after a few minutes, and it’s kind of cute when they can’t seem to decide what to look at, my stomach or my boobs.
When the soup smells too delicious to ignore any longer, we all dry and dress, then return to the fire. Orion spoons out food to everyone, and I notice he gives me a bigger helping than usual.
I lift a brow and look in his direction.
“What?” he replies grumpily. “You should have told us before. A pregnant woman needs certain things...like more food and water, and more breaks. We shouldn’t have been pushing you at this pace.”
I laugh. “I’m pregnant, not broken.”
His frown deepens. “We should’ve been more gentle with you. Even the sex…” His eyes widen and his gaze goes to my stomach. “Could we have hurt the baby when we were...when we were?”
I laugh until I’m crying, my bowl of soup in my lap. “You’ve seriously lived this long and know that little about how a woman’s body works?”
He glares.
I try to stop laughing, but can’t. My words come out broken between laughter and gasps for breath. “You’re both well-endowed, but the baby’s too far for you to hurt.”
Blaise starts to laugh too, then eats his soup, grinning between us.
Orion gives an angry humph, but he’s trying to hide a smile.
We all eat, and the conversation moves to other things. By the time the soup pot is empty, we’re all yawning. Orion cleans out our pot and the plates, then puts them away. When he’s done, he hesitates, then glances at me, looking nervous.
“What is it?” I say, lying on the cloak by the fire.
These guys might not realize it, but even grumpy, they have a way of treating me like a princess.
If I have to spend the rest of my life with three men cooking, cleaning, and caring for me like I’m someone special, I think I’ll be the happiest woman alive.
And that thought creates such a sense of relief inside of me.
Orion clears his throat. “Would it be okay if I laid by you tonight?”
“Me too,” Blaise says, perking up.
I laugh. “Of course.”
We readjust our blankets so that I’m sleeping in the middle of the two guys, and it’s absolutely wonderful. If Andros had been lying there with us, it would’ve been perfect. But I sigh and close my eyes, loving how safe I feel between. Loving how we all seem to fit together.
“We should have done this from day one,” Blaise says, wrapping his arm around my waist.
I snuggle closer to them. “Yeah, we should have.”
“So is this all your spell?” Orion asks, his voice sleepy.
“No.” I smile against his back. “This is just us.”
Sleep tugs at my thoughts. I feel warm and safe in a way I only ever dreamed of back in that cold cell. This cavern between the Underworld and the surface could really be some strange kind of paradise for us, if not for the uncertainty of Andros.
Just the thought of it makes my muscles tense.
What if we get to the surface and he’s not there?
What if all of this is for nothing? I don’t want to think about what it could mean if Andros could never come to the surface.
Because at any other time, I’d simply go back to be with him.
But with the child inside of me, I couldn’t condemn him or her to a life in the Underworld.
Which means...I can’t think about it.
Blaise’s hands are suddenly on my shoulders, and those magical hands of his begin to rub the tension away. I feel my body relax. If I wasn’t so exhausted, I might ask him to let those perfect hands of his wander to other places on my body. But instead, I feel sleep’s call and move towards it.
Which is exactly when I feel the magic inside of me go wild.
I jerk, sitting up.
“What’s wrong?” Blaise asks.
Orion turns around and frowns at me.
My heart races. I stretch my magic out and feel something dark and evil. Something far too close.
“It’s come for us,” I say, my voice trembling.
It isn’t just that the mysterious enemy Persephone’s lover warned us about is here. It’s that my magic can sense the evil and power that radiates from it, and the strength of it is more than I expected.
After everything we’ve been through, I’m not sure this force is something we can defeat.