Chapter 27 #3
“I know,” she murmurs. That part is not for me. “You and Melek were mated for a reason. You have a destiny far greater than the Fairy Lands. You and Melek will bring about great change if, and only if, you leave Sunny here.”
“That sounds so ominous.”
Sera’s eyes come back into focus. “She only wants you to be prepared, and she can only share what she knows. Way-showers cannot share facts that alter life directions. They can only offer guidance.” Her emerald eyes study me closely.
“Can she at least tell me why we need to go back? There are still a couple of weeks until her birth. Maybe more. I never wanted that place for her.” Compassionate hands glide down my bump to find a foot pushing on the underside.
Lips twitching, Sera adds, “It doesn’t matter where she’s born. Her destiny is still the same. The babe cannot tell you more than she already has. She wants you to promise to stay with Melek. He won’t make it without you.”
If I didn’t think she would be a Papa’s girl before, I know for sure now.
“I can’t walk out of this place heavily pregnant and leave Sunny with Nix, basically a stranger to him.” I lament the ultimatum my baby is giving me.
“It’s already decided. She’s telling you what will be.”
I throw my hands up, my breath coming quick and fast. Is it possible to be aggravated with your child before they are even born? “What do I do, Sera? She’s telling me everything I don’t want to hear.”
The healing fae smooths my dress out, her presence reassuring amidst the tempest war raging in my mind.
“My mother used to tell me that to live in its most natural form is to survive. It’s a constant healing and breaking of chains from history’s misgivings.
There’s no way we’ll ever be able to catch up to our past within one lifetime, and if we don’t keep moving forward, nothing will change.
We will never find peace in this world or the next.
The only option is to keep going, surviving, living.
And let me tell you something about the little girl in there that you already know.
She is pure strength, pure fight, pure love.
She doesn’t want you holding back on her account.
I know you only think she’s one-fifth fae and mostly human.
She’s not. Your girl is fae, through and through.
Magic runs through her veins as thick as Ren’s or mine. She’s stronger than you know.”
“How?” The word is merely a breath, but it lands thick in the air.
“One drop of fae blood could result in a full-blooded fae. It’s rare, but it happens.
” She says it so flippantly, as if anything is possible.
In the Willow, it is. In Halo, not so much.
“Melek and Sunny probably don’t even realise their full potential, having been suppressed by Halo since birth.
I suspect that if you’d tried to breed with a human male, you wouldn’t have been able to conceive. ”
Her news doesn’t surprise me. However, it does intrigue me.
“How many times has Melek given you blood?” she asks.
The question is totally out of left field. I croak, “How did you know that?”
“The one drop of blood I gave you will linger through your system for a full moon cycle. Though what I already sense in your blood is him. More than your children. More than a mate bond. He vibrates in your veins. His blood will not heal deep-seated or ancestral wounds, but because you are human, it is an effective healing tool for newer, superficial injuries. And it’s also great as a mate marker.
No fae will be able to miss what you two are to each other. ”
“You’re kidding.” My words continue to stumble out. He’ll love knowing that.
“You may as well have Melek tattooed on your forehead.” A whistle leaves my lips, followed by the beginnings of a heavy chuckle.
“Really, Sera?”
“Just telling you like it is. You own that male.” A cunning smirk forms on her lips. “Not a bad male to own either.”
“Hey.” I push on her arm. “Get your own eye candy.”
“Fine. I’ll have to stick to your brother.”
“Eww. Please stop.”
Cackling echoes through the room, and the door swings open, a flying projectile—also known as Sunny—coming crashing onto the bed next to me, pulling at my arm.
“Mama, Mama. Papa, Uncle Nix, and I played football outside with other kids!” he excitedly exclaims. “It was so fun. I love this place.” Curling up into my side, I stroke his sweaty head and rue the day his world comes crashing down.
The world that, according to his sister, doesn’t involve his father or me.
How will I live without my sunshine? I wasn’t strong enough to live without him once.
He saved me. How can I believe the vagueness of a baby’s words when everything I know to be true lies right before my eyes?
A broad set of shoulders blocks the doorway, rumpled wavy hair atop a face of pure, rugged masculinity. I’ve never had this before. We never shared our love. I’m not alone anymore.
The once stoic commander graces me with a smile to end all smiles as he regards us, and I can’t help but return his dangerous glint.
The bed moves as Seraphina stands. “What did I tell you, Stormy? Owned with a capital O.”