by L J Andrews
“I need to get outside,” she muttered, running her hand along the back of her neck.
“You okay?” My palm opened on her back. “Jade, you’re boiling. What’s wrong.”
She covered her face. “Teagan, I don’t feel right. I need to get outside—I think I should shift or something.”
I shot to my feet, catching the warriors’ attention. Mitch noticed Jade hanging her head and reached a hand out to touch her. He cursed loudly, causing Cassia to flush, and shook his palm. “She’s like fire. Can fire bleed through your skin?” He asked Thane.
Thane shook his head. “Not unless something is happening that is not normal.” Thane stood at my side and helped me stand Jade.
She gasped and leaned against my shoulder. Now Ivy, Kunal, and Cassia were standing. “I have something that can help,” Ivy quipped and darted toward the back of the underground cave.
“Jade, what’s happening?” I breathed against her head.
She winced. “I don’t know. I feel like I’m bursting through my own skin.”
“Should she shift?” I whispered toward Thane.
He was holding Jade’s arm scanning her pale face. “I don’t know. We should get her outside though.”
“Wait,” Ivy called, waving something that looked like purple blossoms and spinach leaves. “Don’t shift yet, Queen Jade. Try this first. At least until they can get to your people.”
“What is this?” I snapped when Ivy started inching toward Jade’s mouth.
“I’ve nicknamed it dragon vine,” she snickered. I wasn’t amused. “Anyway, it cools the body with the mint and lavender—I added a bit of energy, of course, but this nightshade here will ease the ache and help her rest until you can get to the elementals. They will know what to do.”
“Know what to do about what? What’s wrong with her?” My voice was frustrated, and desperate, especially when Jade seemed to have trouble standing.
Ivy ignored me and shoved the dragon vine into Jade’s mouth. “Chew it slowly. Yes, it’s bitter,” she chuckled when Jade made a face. “There now. Let’s get you outside.”
Jade chewed the root and stumbled against my side toward the outer hatch. Raffi seemed like he was just as pale. For a moment, I wondered if he might be getting sick too, but when he helped Jade settle on the grass, it was clear it was just worry. Jade clutched her middle, groaning and gasping.
“What is it? What are you feeling?” I asked, my forehead pressed against her boiling forehead. I was grateful for the dragon blood tonight. I could tolerate the burn. Donovan knelt down, drawing in a deep breath from the scorch when he touched Jade’s shoulder.
“It hurts,” she rasped. “I feel as though I’ve been stabbed.”
“What did you give her?” I shouted at Ivy, who had followed behind us.
“It will help, give it time,” Ivy insisted with more fervor than she’d had all night. “Teagan, you must not let her shift until the elemental wyverns or mages can help her. The dragon vine will help her resist the shift. I assure you, she will be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” I snapped, turning toward the brush of wind when Thane shifted. Raffi was already helping Jade onto his back. “Not everything is sunshine and roses like you people want to believe. Sometimes bad things really do happen. I swear, if you’ve given her something that…”
“I haven’t,” Ivy said calmly. “I am only easing the pain for now. It will get easier. She is not well, but I do not believe this illness is one of the bad things you speak of. Now go. She will need you to hold her has she sleeps. It was an honor to meet you, Teagan. You all have my blessing to travel home in safety.”
I didn’t bid Ivy farewell—maybe rude—but my head was swimming. I’d never seen any of the dragons behave like Jade. I’d never even seen any of them sneeze. This was the moment that was waiting to combust all these weeks. I’d known something was wrong, and now something terrible was happening. Damn Ivy’s assurances, there was nothing normal about what was happening tonight. This was definitely one of the bad things.
“Teagan,” Jade whispered against my neck after we’d flown for a few hours. We were nearly back to the cave, I could feel the tug of my own energy protecting it from view.
“Jade, how are you feeling?” Her body had cooled shortly after we’d left the Skog mages, and she’d fallen asleep against my chest.
“Weak,” she admitted and her body started trembling. “I think I should shift. It might ease the pain.”
“Hold on, if you can,” I soothed. “We’re almost there.” Hot moisture soaked my neck, and I tugged Jade tighter against my chest when I recognized she was crying. “Jade, you’re going to be alright. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I’ve never felt ill in my entire life,” she gasped. “I think…Teagan, it feels like my body is failing me. That something isn’t right.”
“No.” My voice broke, and I clutched her hard and strong. “You’re going to be fine. My mom will help you, Ced will help—you’re going to be fine.”
She released a rattling breath and nodded, her arms wrapping gently around my waist.
We’re crossing through the barriers now, Thane’s voice came to my mind.
We need to hurry, I shouted back, though Jade wouldn’t hear my emotions fail me.
Thane dipped quickly, and I saw the cave come into view as the dawn was just brimming over the mountaintops. Without a pause, I leapt from Thane’s back and waited for him to settle before gently easing Jade off his back. She crumbled, and I caught her in my arms. Mitch jumped from Raffi’s back and darted into the cave ahead of us. Jade’s head rolled against my chest, and her breathing grew shallow. Raffi didn’t shift into his human form. I watched the warrior plod around desperately. I understood exactly how he felt.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Mitch showed up down the tunnels with Ced. The prince rushed to Jade and touched her face.
“You need to heal her,” I mumbled, still walking while Ced rushed his hands along her shoulders and neck.
“Your mother is waiting for you with Eisha. Take her there,” Ced instructed.
It seemed to take forever to get to my parents’ room, but as Ced promised, Gaia and Eisha were there bustling about. When my mother saw me, she ushered me to rest Jade on the bed. Jade groaned, her eyes closed now and her skin like new snow. When her body was out of my grasp, I noticed for the first time how terribly my hands were shaking. Thane clutched the back of my neck, steadying me as I watched Gaia press her hands on Jade’s middle.
Silence surrounded us until Gaia looked toward Eisha and nodded. “She needs nourishment, and ask Johan to make the tea I mentioned.” Gaia reached for the jade stone. “Teagan, you will need to keep this for a time.”
“What, why?” I muttered, taking the necklace from her outstretched hand.
“The energy is too much right now, it will only make her feel more ill.”
I noticed Jade breathed a sigh of relief when the stone left her skin, though her eyes remained closed. Eisha returned swiftly. Was she smiling? I wanted to scream at her.
Gaia took the goblet from Eisha. Ced was holding onto Jade’s arm while Gaia tilted her head up and encouraged her to swallow the drink. It smelled like candy canes had been dipped in vinegar. Not pleasant exactly, but not the worst smell I could imagine. Jade coughed, but her eyes cracked open the longer she sipped the drink.
“That is helping,” Jade muttered weakly.
Gaia smiled and took a strip of jerky from Eisha. “Good. Eat this too, I’m certain you’re hungry.”
Jade ripped the meat from Gaia’s hand with ravenous speed and breathed out a sigh of pleasure when she rested her head back. “I should shift. Perhaps that is what happened. I waited too long.”
Gaia brushed Jade’s hair out of her eyes and smiled just like Eisha. Ced backed away, his cheeks flushed, and I thought he was intentionally not meeting my eyes. I saw his grin. He was trying to hide it, but I saw every beaming face in t
his room when I felt like I was ready to combust in worry.
“Can you please tell me what is wrong?” I snapped at the two women hovering like hens around my mate.
“Nothing is wrong, Teagan,” Eisha said wistfully, but never looked at me.
Thane cleared his throat and met Gaia’s eye. He cocked his head, as though they were speaking telepathically. She only beamed at my father and I felt like I was missing some great secret that no one wanted to tell.
“Jade, you shouldn’t shift,” Eisha crooned. “I’m afraid it’s too late.”
Jade furrowed her brow, her eyes drifting to me, and I sensed her panic. I wanted to hold her hand, but my mother and Eisha were huddled around her like she now belonged to them.
“What do you mean, too late?” I snarled.
Gaia stood, sauntering toward me, and rested her hand on my shoulder. “If she shifts now, it could do more harm. There is a certain time period where a wyvern can choose how she will have a child. The traditional way in wyvern form, or to carry it in her human body. I’m afraid we missed the signals for too long, and it is past that point.”
I’d been punched in the gut many times. But I was certain my own mother had reached into my lungs and vacuumed out all the air. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. “What…what do you mean…how she will have a child?”
Thane’s grip tightened on my neck. I needed it now—really needed it now. Gaia clasped my face and grinned. “Jade’s pregnant.”
Chapter 10
Pain tore across my thumb when I ripped the fingernail to the bed. My knee was bouncing, and now I believed the muscles were on autopilot when my nerves dug through my body. Thane leaned against the wall next to me, just staring at the bustle of the cave. Behind the wall, Jade was finally sleeping. The color had returned to her face, and Eisha insisted on catering to her every whim—though Jade had yet to have a whim.
“I don’t understand how…” I finally tried to speak.
Thane laughed, his smile nearly as wide as Jade’s had been when she’d heard the words. I wasn’t sure I’d smiled yet. “I know we were parted for several years, but I guess I just assumed I didn’t need to have those talks with you being grown and all.”
I shoved his shoulder. “I know how it happened. I just…”
He nodded. “Your face, right here, was me the moment I was told the same thing by your mother. Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible.” He slung his arm around my shoulders and tugged me against him a few times. “This is a good thing, son. It is.”
“Is it?” I asked, the tremble in my voice noticeable to everyone who might have heard. “Look how sick she is. That’s not a good thing.”
“She’ll be much better now,” Gaia’s voice interrupted. She sighed, folding her arms over her chest and staring at a nearby sconce with white flames. “The drink Johan made will ease the pain of the clashing energies from her and the child.”
“That’s what’s happening?”
She nodded, though kept her smile. “Yes. Just like every mother, there is a change when a new life grows inside. The child has its own energy, and it was draining Jade’s, making her ill and weak. The drink will help buffer that.”
“So all the strange things that have been happening…that’s because she’s been…” I couldn’t even wrap my head around the idea enough to continue.
Gaia nodded. “Yes, it fills in a few questions. I sensed something when you left to the earth mages, but I wasn’t sure until you brought her back.”
I sighed, leaning my head against the wall and closing my eyes. “I thought she was only overwhelmed.”
Thane chuckled. “Well, she might not be anymore, but it’s clear you are.”
I dragged my hand through my hair and leaned forward on my knees. “I can’t even describe what I’m feeling right now. What am I supposed to do?”
“You be the man I know you are,” Thane muttered. “You’re going to be a father, Teagan.”
“I know,” I moaned. “And how am I supposed to do that? I know I’m not seventeen, but right now, I feel like I am.”
“Son, Jade will need you right now. She’s scared just like you,” Gaia offered. “I didn’t expect something like this so soon, but I’m afraid it’s quite possible it could have happened even before the mating ceremony.”
Color heated my face. This wasn’t the conversation I wanted to have with my parents, yet it was exactly the conversation we needed to have. “Having a kid never even crossed my mind whenever,” I cleared my throat and looked ahead. “You know. This just isn’t the best timing. So many things could go wrong—I mean look what happened to us! You had to hide me to keep me alive,” Thane and Gaia looked pained, but I kept ranting. “I don’t know if I could…survive that, or if Jade could.”
Thane cleared his throat and looked ahead. “You would, for your family’s sake, you would. But that won’t happen, Teagan. I will see to it no one in this family is ever lost to Bron again. I promise.”
“I won’t let anything happen to Jade,” I mumbled.
“I have complete confidence in you, son,” Gaia said. “Just remember, your bond now goes to another.”
I shook my head, feeling bile rising in the back of my throat. Feeling sick was the last thing I wanted right now. Leaning forward once more, I drew in several long breaths.
“Hey man, what’s up with Jade?” Mitch’s voice barged into my haze. I shook my head, not even sure how to explain what was happening. It was worse when Raffi, Leoch, and every single royal had followed him.
“Is everything alright with the queen?” Sapphire asked. I heard the concern in his voice.
“She’s going to be just fine,” Gaia insisted, her hand on my back when I stayed hunched over.
“Uh, is Teagan alright?” Athika was there. Yes, everyone was there to hear the announcement that I couldn’t wrap my own mind around.
“That goes without saying,” Thane chuckled.
I sat up, sighing and leaning my head against the wall again. Gaia brushed a soothing wave of her strange energy through me. It helped, but not even mage energy could take away the nerves tumbling through my blood.
“In a few short months, there will be a new royal in our midst.”
Silence. Like a warrior, Gaia and most mages spoke so indirectly, it took time for people to understand what was really being said.
Then, as predicted, the dam burst.
“Oh. My. Power of the Earth!” Athika shrieked slowly.
“You impregnated your mate,” Mitch laughed, punching my shoulder.
“How…how is that possible?” Sapphire breathed.
“A baby!” Ruby and Amber squealed together.
“I knew you’d get Jade in trouble one of these days, always sneaking away,” Raffi grumbled.
All at once—all the comments tumbled in my head. Finally—and thankfully—Thane stepped forward. “Let’s give them a little time—you can see it’s a bit of a shock to Teagan, and Jade is just the same.”
“I’m going to talk with Jade,” I murmured, ducking away from the small crowd.
“Wait, we have some questions,” Athika called after me, but Gaia shushed them and led them away. I closed the door, sighing on the other side when I entered my parents’ room.
Eisha chuckled and busied around the room. “The mob found out, did they?”
I nodded glancing to where Jade sat on the edge of the bed. She was staring at the mineral crusted wall. I couldn’t read if she was upset, happy, still sick. I didn’t know anything anymore.
Eisha stroked Jade’s head, offering a motherly smile before trudging toward me. “I’ll give you two a minute.”
I whispered a thanks and slowly lowered into the spot next to Jade. The fact that she was smiling but her eyes had just as much fear in them as I felt in my heart was comforting.
“How are you?” I whispered, suddenly uncertain how to even speak to her.
Jade’s fingers tangled with mine, and the familiar breath of ca
lm rushed through my body. It was Jade’s energy, not the wild burning that had ravaged her body for weeks. “Honestly,” she began, pausing just long enough to cause panic again. “I’m…ecstatic.”
I sucked in a breath and dared meet her gaze. “Really?”
She smiled softly, still with the fear in her eyes, but a genuine smile. “Yes. The moment I realized what was happening, I was overcome with this…this joy I can only compare to when I first met you. But a little different. I’m scared out of my mind, but I’m so…happy.” She brushed a hand over my face. “How are you? Are you disappointed?”
“No,” I breathed out, kissing her fervently. When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers, my thumb brushing over her jaw. “No, I’m not disappointed. I’m just…I guess I’m still stuck in the scared out of my mind spot. You were so sick, Jade, I thought for a second…”
“I felt like I was dying,” she chuckled. “That drink that your mom brought me though, it’s a miracle.”
“How can we do this?” I finally showed a little vulnerability as I wrapped my arms tight around her shoulders. “We’re in the middle of a war. If Bron finds out…”
“Teagan,” she gasped. “Bron has no control over our lives. Just like I will sacrifice my life for yours, now I would do the same for our son or our daughter.”
The words crashed over me like a fiery river. For the first time, it sunk deep into my brain that I really was about to be a father. I wiped at my eyes, the radiant energy overwhelming every sensation in my body, and I slid off the bed. I knelt in front of Jade, my hand passing over her middle. Leaning my head against her stomach, I held her. “I would die for both of you, too,” I whispered. “I will never let anything happen—not to my family.” Jade kissed the top of my head, and I felt her hot tears fall onto my neck. We stayed quiet for a moment before her quivering voice broke the silence.
“There is a concern I have.”
“What is it?” I asked, leaning back to meet her gaze.
Her hand gently brushed over my face, and she offered me a watery smile. “I can’t shift, Teagan. Not until the birth.”
