by C. M. Owens
“She’s starting to smell like too much heaven,” Hale grumbles while flipping through a magazine.
“It sounds like parenthood is having a poor effect on the otherwise salacious couple,” Deacon adds humorously while staring at a magazine of his own.
I roll my eyes at their remarks, but they’re right. It’s been several days, and I know my scent has been driving everyone crazy.
“What are you looking at?” Gemma asks as she walks in the room and snuggles into Ther’s lap while he studies a brochure of some kind.
“Cars,” Kry murmurs vaguely.
Devin’s lips fold over mine as we try to tune out the conversations around us. I know we need some alone time for everyone’s sake - especially ours.
“What kind of cars?” Faith muses.
“We just wanted some ideas for Aster’s first car,” Deacon chimes in.
Devin and I both burst out laughing when we can’t help but overhear, and I turn to shake my head at them.
“She can’t even hold her own head up yet, and you’re looking at cars?” I tease.
“Yep,” Kry replies shortly while studying the page with tedious intent.
“How about we wait until she’s at least teething before we start planning her first vehicle,” Devin snickers.
“Nope,” Kry says with a smirk.
“Apparently Ther is reading up on colleges,” Gemma giggles out.
Devin rolls his eyes, but he can’t stifle his grin. I just laugh at their far too advanced planning.
“I’m surprised you’re not feeling any stronger yet,” Devin murmurs into my ear while straying from the group conversation.
“Do you?”
“Very much so. It worries me that you’re not,” he utters so warmly while stroking my hair.
“It’s probably because she’s still so drained from the pregnancy and labor. It’s a very intense process for an immortal,” Persia chirps from across the room. “Maybe you should let Aster sleep with me tonight so you can rest.”
“You could let all of us help out more to be honest,” Theia scolds.
I’ve been a little possessive - possibly too clingy. I can’t help it though. I never dreamt of what it would be like to have a child, and now I have the daughter Devin and I made together.
I just wish I knew why someone drugged me to bring her about.
“Sorry,” I mumble a little sheepishly.
“Where are we on that lead you guys were so sure would pan out?” Devin asks Kry and Ther to deter the conversation, relieving me from the fuming grandmothers in the room.
“It was a bust. A son of Hermes - being the vague man of riddles he is - told us we could find her close where the water ran dry, but the deserts were completely swept. Camara is sleeping off her exhausting night. She occupied over three hundred animals at once,” Ther answers.
“Wow,” I murmur with a bit of shock.
“Yeah. There’s no stirring in the deserts around here, and she would have caught whiff of anything with that many eyes and ears,” Deacon yawns out before flipping another page.
“Take your wife away,” Kry grumbles to Devin while shifting uncomfortably.
“What?” I squeak.
“Your scent is killing me, and I’m doing good to stay away from Ember as it is,” he gripes.
“Great,” I mumble.
Devin smirks a little, and then he pulls me into his arms before whisking me away from the room. The padded door to the bedroom closes, and I giggle a little at his eager and menacing eyes.
“Finally,” he murmurs while pulling my lips to his again.
I giggle a little louder, and then I feel the bed pressing against my back.
“It’s only been a week,” I tease.
“You have no idea how hard it is to be without you for a week, especially when I’m right beside you,” he exasperates.
“Aster has just needed-”
“I know. I know. It’s not bad to want a minute alone every so often though. Then you can sleep,” he says with a menacing smirk.
“Aw,” I tease. “Is my husband feeling neglected?”
“Yes,” he says with a playful pout that’s almost too hot for my body to handle.
The sheets sear beneath me, and he shakes his head to warn me of my overheating state.
“Maybe this will help you get your strength back. After all, Aphrodite has probably felt neglected as well,” he jokes.
I feel the burning graze of his touch tempting my body as it slowly crawls upward, and it’s all I can do to stay still.
My hands tangle in his hair as I pull his lips back down to mine, and the passion that never fizzles pours free. His delicious body rubs against mine, and the wind caresses our bodies as he frees us from our weighted clothing.
I smile as I stare into the eyes that have held me even closer for so many reasons, and then there’s only the desire we have for each other left in the room as all the anxiety, worry, and dread flees.
I feel so complete in so many ways as I stare at the enormous picture of us laughing. I giggle a little when I think back to the weddings, and then I sigh before climbing out of the wonderful bed Devin forced me to stay in after our wondrous sexcursion.
I hope my strength returns soon, but at least not all of my skills have been forced to lie dormant.
A colorful paper flower lies across the pillow where Devin had been while holding me until I fell asleep. I smirk as I pull away the singed sheets, and then I laugh at the fire resistant cover that lines the mattress.
I toss the old sheets before pulling on some clothes, and then I pick up the handmade flower Devin left behind.
Each petal has a word, and together it reads: For all eternity, Devin, Adisia, and Aster.
He’s almost too amazing for me to believe, but the fact that he’s mine is even more surreal.
The door is barely cracked, and I can hear a few rustling whispers which lets me know Aster must finally be getting a little sleep as well.
Just as I’m about to walk out, I feel queasy, dizzy, and severely faint. The walls seem to be getting closer to me, and the bulbs in the room burst as my eyes roll back in my head.
I scream out as I feel the piercing pain of a vision not meant to be seen forcing its way to my mind. I hear panicked footsteps and distant voices surrounding me as warm, familiar arms wrap around me protectively.
I scream once more when the vision finally finds a resting place in my mind for viewing.
The veiled face of a slender woman in white stands too far away for me to see clearly. Smoky air clouds the view that much more, and the clothes worn seem so oddly fashioned.
I feel as though I’ve traveled back in time.
Her chimed voice echoes through a hollow tunnel as she addresses a bowing servant in need of guidance. It’s her words, though, that chill me the most, and I scream again as I struggle to hear better.
“To restore life to that of which you seek, you’ll need to take a life both mortal and weak. Aphrodite’s passion must dwell somewhere within, but you’ll need to find her before the bleeding rain begins. By then your hope will have run dry, for there will no chance left - no time. If eternity is the truth of your desire, then find the daughter born of water and fire.”
More images swirl through my mind as a warning of what’s to come, and it’s hard to keep up with the changing pace. The circle returns to the point where it started, and I’m staring at the original scene once more with more clarity.
This time, I notice something far more horrid, and the realization of what’s to come knocks me into a spiraling fall.
I scream again as the vision flees, and the fading glimpse of the veiled woman isn’t the figure I fear. The humble servant bowing to her is the true source of my terror, for she is no humble servant at all.
It’s the young Pyrrha, and it’s my daughter she wants.
I gasp for air as the light in the room slowly returns to a dim glow before my eyes, and then I hear the panicked voi
ces in a muffled volume.
I’ve not fully left the inside of my mind, and this vision has been the worst I’ve received so far.
“Adisia, please talk to me, baby,” Devin shrieks as if he’s been repeating the same phrase in mantra.
“No,” I cry, and then the weeping howl deepens as I bury my face into his chest.
“What? Tell us what you saw?” Hale urges.
“She wants her,” I choke out in between my wails.
“Who?” Devin softly prompts while stroking my hair.
“Pyrrha. She wants our baby,” I force out, and then my sobs take on a whole new deafening roar as silence chills the room for everyone else.
“What the hell?” Deacon finally blurts out, but I can’t say anymore.
My sobbing has taken on a motored roar, and I can’t catch a breath long enough to recompose myself.
Devin’s eyes are trembling in terror, and he scoops me up from the floor to carry me into the living room.
“Where’s Theia?” Gemma inserts worriedly. “She can view it and tell us what she saw.”
“Theia and Phillip have gone with Persia and Kahl to buy more baby stuff. I can do it,” Jace interjects, and I feel his hand taking mine.
My eyes are too blurred by tears to see, and my erratic breaths only work to heave out more cries. I feel his grip tightening, and I know he’s just seen it all as I have.
He stammers backwards shaking his head, and Faith comes over to help him steady himself.
“What did you see?” Devin says emergently.
“She’s right. Pyrrha wants your baby,” he murmurs as a ghostly shade infects his normally tan body.
“Why?” Devin blares.
“She needs the child of Aphrodite born from fire and water to restore the fountain of youth. The time frame is limited, and she grew impatient. That’s why she drugged you. She’s not looking for the two of you; she’s just looking for Adisia. She doesn’t know Adisia had her early, and that’s why she’s been so relentless in her search,” Jace explains.
“What the fuck?” Kry gasps as he grips his head. “Why does she think Aster is the key to restoring the fountain?”
“An oracle prophesied it,” he murmurs while still gaping at me.
“Where the hell did she find an oracle? They’ve been extinct for centuries,” Camara rattles out.
“The vision isn’t from recent past, it’s ancient - before the dawn of the immortal wars against Rhea and her armies. Adisia saw an oracle’s prophecy. That’s never been done before,” Jace murmurs in astonishment.
“Damn it,” Deacon growls, and I see everyone shaking their heads in distress.
“Where’s my baby?” I whimper.
“She’s asleep in the bassinet,” Hale answers softly.
I free myself from Devin, and I grab up the sleeping beauty bundled in far too many blankets from the overzealous concern of the immortals without a true grip on a child’s preferred temperature.
I peel her out of the overstuffed wrapping, and then I hold her precious little body to my chest as I try to make sure she’s still real. My lips press against her wrinkled brow over and over as the tears from my weary eyes fall to her face.
Devin pulls the two of us into his lap, and his lips repeat the same motion of overwhelming her with too much affection.
She whimpers slightly from the stimulation, and he pulls both of us against his chest.
“When and where?” Kry urges.
“I don’t know. It’s not exactly like watching a movie. Past and present mixed together in the visions. The background is blurred, but the faces and words are more distinct,” Jace answers. “I could tell from the ramblings she doesn’t know Aster has been born yet. We need to capitalize on that one edge.”
“How?” Hale interjects.
I feel the tears falling as the silence in the air answers the question Jace cannot.
My heart pounds fiercely against my chest, and Devin’s grip tightens against me. We stare down at the beautiful creature we’ve created, and the pain stings us both when we know what we have to do.
“We’ll take her to my parents,” I whimper. “She’ll be safe with them until we finish this,” I sob, and Devin fights the tears in his eyes as his lips console my quivering ones.
“When?” Kry sighs too softly.
“Now,” Devin breathes, and I know he’s struggling with this decision just as gravely as I am.
I cry harder, and he holds me in his arms while helping me to my wobbly feet.
“I’ll get her stuff,” Camara whimpers, and Deacon flashes in behind her to aide her in her packing endeavor.
“We’ll leave now to cause a scene on the beach south from here. If there’re any eyes watching close by, they’ll be distracted,” Nina offers, and then her followers flash in behind her as they filter out without another word.
“Call Persia and Theia,” I murmur to Hale, and he nods solemnly while patting my shoulder.
“Are you going to be okay?” Devin almost whispers.
“Are you?” I counter.
“Fair enough,” he almost whispers, and then he takes a deep breath to restrain his terrified and pained tremble.
The long flight and drive has been lengthened by the silence and reluctance smothering out the air. Each mile is a painful cross, and every second we’re getting closer to the inevitable relinquishment of the daughter we just got.
It isn’t fair to her or us, and for the first time, I really understand the turmoil and difficulty of the decision Persia and Kahl had to make so long ago. I only pray my daughter can return to me soon instead of when she finds her own immortality.
Devin’s arms haven’t released me the whole journey, and I’ve barely let anyone else hold Aster. This could be the last time we see her for a long time.
“We’re here,” Camara almost whispers to ease the force of the painful blow.
Devin takes Aster from my arms while Persia and Theia sniffle together. Two dark vehicles follow us down the dirt ranch drive, and we all climb out together.
I take the lead, and my breath hitches as I try to control the surge of emotions choking me to the point of being physically painful.
“Adisia,” Clara squeals, and right behind her comes my mother zipping toward us with excited eyes.
“Is it over?” Mom gasps as she throws her arms around me in a relieved embrace.
I strain so incredibly hard to stay strong in front of them, although strength is my most lacked quality right now.
“Not exactly,” I quiver out, and my imitation of strength begins to waver.
“Then why are you here? Is something wrong?” Mom worries.
“Yes, but there’s been something wrong since I turned immortal. It’s going to be fine just like it always is. I came to introduce you to someone, and I wanted to ask for another favor,” I tremble out.
“Anything, dear. What’s the matter? Who do you want us to meet? Is it another child?” she babbles.
“Angel!” Nadia squeals in interrupting delight, and I smile as I wrap her up in my arms. “Are you taking me home to Momma?” she asks with heartbreaking hopefulness.
“Not yet, but soon, Nadia,” I promise, and stabs of pain shoot through my stomach.
Devin walks up behind me, and all eyes fall on the precious baby in his arms. The others start carrying in all of the tiny baby’s overwhelming amount of supplies, and my mother oozes out her baby-fever symptoms as she gushes over her.
“Oh my. She’s so precious. What’s her name?” she giggles out.
“Asterius Kaylana… Cole,” I murmur with suspended hesitance. “Aster for short.”
“Cole?” she muses and Devin hands Aster to me.
His arms wrap around my waist as he stares lovingly over my shoulder at our sleeping beauty who has finally learned how to rest.
“Yes,” I murmur, and then I choke on the thick air as I gently place her into the come-hither arms of my mother. “She’s your granddaughter.”
Her eyes almost pop out of her head, and my slowly approaching father walks up just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation. He almost stumbles in shock, and Clara gasps loudly while covering her mouth.
“We just saw you a few weeks ago. You didn’t even have a tiny bump,” Clara argues.
“I know. I didn’t know until just before I had her. Apparently there are still numerous things I have to learn about our world, but I need her to stay here,” I answer strongly, my words only slightly crackling in the end.
“Of course,” Mom hurriedly answers without hesitance.
“You okay, Daddy?” I ask to the pale man stooped on the ground.
“I just need a minute, but I’ll be fine. I wish you had told us,” he dryly replies.
“I didn’t want to reveal her to the world until I had to. I knew this day would come, but I had hoped I had longer,” I whimper, and Clara takes Aster while my mother’s arms fold around me.
“Honey, please tell me what’s going on,” she pleads.
“No. It’s bad enough you have to hide out here. Just take care of my baby,” I whisper through the tears.
“You know we will,” she assures, and Jake walks over to investigate the scene.
“I’ve got a niece?” he says so helplessly cautious.
“Yes,” I cry with a hint of a laugh.
Clara gently places Aster into Jake’s arms, and then Devin’s eyes begin to water when he glances at his watch.
“We can’t stay long,” Theia cautions with tears starting to stream.
“You can’t stay for a little while longer?” Mom asks softly.
“It’s not safe. The longer we’re here, the more of a chance someone has to sniff out our undiluted power,” I whimper, and then I take Aster back in my arms.
“I love you, little girl,” I whisper softly, and then another one of my tears dampens her smooth cheek.
Devin wraps his arms around me from behind as he holds the both of us, and then everyone comes to pick her up and hold her one last time before we have to go.
Devin wipes away my lingering tears as Persia and Theia take one last look at their granddaughter. Kahl and Phillip quickly resume the grandfatherly role by kissing the angelic wonder with hesitant release.
