by Amber Lynn
“Who is keeping it from her? Don't you think she has a right to know?” I don't like the sound of either of those questions.
“She has other priorities right now. We saw no reason to worry her until we got back to our home,” Alex replies. It sounds like someone is going to need a spanking. I just wonder how far this secret spreads and if I have enough paddles.
“I almost understand that reasoning from someone with a penis, but, Hilda, you had to have picked up on it too. I am pretty sure that breaks the girl code.”
Adeline must have been let in on the secret that I just love to listen to people talk about me like I am not in the room. This is getting ridiculous.
“I agree with the guys that they are handling it the right way, for now. It could be a while before anything happened anyway,” Hilda says.
Just before I announce I have had enough, Addie yells, “She is in labor. I don't care if it saves a pod of bottlenose dolphins, you don't keep that from a woman.”
“Um. What? That doesn't make any sense.” That is one thing I am certain I would know was happening. Sophia hasn't been kicking too much and should just be taking a nap. I have always heard there is a first time for everything. This would be the first time she napped for more than an hour at a time.
“Which of you guys is taking away the pain? I know it is one of you,” Adeline says squinting her eyes first at Alex and then at Sebastian. “It's you. I am guessing it is her first child and you thought you could get away with hiding it for a while.”
Sebby is holding my hand and I look up to meet his eyes. The thought of him experiencing labor for me is pretty funny, but the mushroom feeling isn't.
“How long?” I really haven't felt anything other than maybe a couple of funny movements from the peanut gallery.
He smiles not letting my tone faze him. Stupid mate. I really need a button I can push that says that out loud for me. “First, just to clarify it is our child and I will do what I think is best for my mate and the baby. Your contractions started while you were sleeping. I thought you could use the rest if today was going to be the day. When we found out about your dad, it was best that you not be troubled by anything else. Really, with you refusing to stay behind there was no choice.”
“Sophia isn't done cooking. There is no way she has had enough time to develop. A month and a half does not make a well-rounded baby. I know she has her fingers and toes, but what about her little lungs? Will she even be able to breathe on her own?” Now I am feeling paranoid. No matter how large I get, she cannot be more than a handful. Well, not one of my small, little girly hands, but for sure someone like Walt’s.
Alex moves his right hand to my stomach. He crouches down and puts his ear to my stomach while rubbing with the one hand.
“She is going to be perfect. Your mom suggested she may take two months, but no one tells little Sophia when she should make her debut. Everything will be perfect,” he reiterates. “Let’s go get your dad and get you back home so we can welcome her into the world.”
“You act like taking a couple of hours to go find Aaron won’t matter to the baby people are claiming is trying to escape from my womb.”
“Your contractions are still pretty far apart. I think we will be safe,” Sebastian supplies.
I am sure he is an expert on what is going on with a woman’s body while she is in labor. I look up to the ceiling asking an unseen force for a little guidance. When we walked into this room, it was as dreary as the rest of the place, but the walls seem to have changed. They are light green now and vines seem to be painting themselves up to the ceiling. Colorful flowers litter the vines. It is closer to what I was expecting this place to look like. We are going to have to talk about the situation later. Other than halting everything and demanding to have the baby now, there isn't anything I can really do.
“The Dark Forest is still not a place I would recommend visiting for someone even just pregnant. The creatures that dwell within were also brought back to life. If they are aware of what happened to them, they will not be too happy to come across outsiders,” Queen Adeline warns.
I glance over and notice that Killian is glued to her side. I hope she is a touchy person because I don’t think that is going to end anytime soon. I actually understand how strong the desire to be near her, while she is up and moving around, would be for him, given that it sounds like it has been a few years since the last time he saw her mobile.
“I think we have enough force to make it through unscathed,” Alex points out. “We have vampires, werewolves, a witch, and an angel rolling with us. Oh, I almost forgot the Hellhound; we have one of those too. I don’t see how a few ogres or trolls would stand in our way.”
“I will send a few of my people as well. With magic flowing again, they should be able to assist if need be,” Adeline offers. “I would, however, like to know the woman’s name. I think we will end up being great allies in the days to come. You have a regal air around you.”
I like her better than her sister, so the allies thing might not be too terrible. “I am Nyx Slaughter slash Gentry slash deYork slash Monroe, I guess. Maybe I should throw my mom in there as well, but I don’t think the Queen of the Underworld has a last name.”
“You could add Lucifer in for a middle name,” Jake suggests from the hallway. Such a helpful boy that one is.
“Are the order of the names negotiable?” Sebastian asks. “I didn’t even know we were adding on to Slaughter already. I think you should alphabetize them. DeYork hyphen Gentry hyphen Monroe hyphen Slaughter, last names don’t have slashes.” He takes a second to slide my knife back into its sheath.
Evidently, I opened up a can of worms just trying to voice all of my connections. “I don’t think any names are going to be changed right this second. Let’s just go get the Gentry part of my lineage back and get home.”
“Connections Upstairs, Downstairs, and everywhere in between. Yes, I think we will make really good friends. Killian, arrange for ten guards to escort their party. Keeping my fellow queen safe is our top priority.”
“Right away,” Killian says and then rushes off to do her bidding. I really thought there would be some hesitation, but there was none at all. Why don’t my guys respond like that?
“I didn’t say anything about being a queen,” I point out.
“No, but you included deYork in your name. I am well aware of who Sebastian is. I am surprised he has chosen a mate, but I can see he has good taste, as always. Let’s walk, shall we?” She slides her hand to move Sylvia out of the way and deposits her on the platform the queen recently rested on. Without another word, she exits the room.
“How long do you think she will take?” I ask not wanting to be stuck wandering the castle the rest of the day.
“Addie will make sure we get there in time. Come on, I want to see how many improvements she has been able to make already,” Hilda says and rushes off to join the queen. I guess we don’t have a choice if we are going to use Hilda’s magic to play dress up later. Outside of the room, the hallway is full of light and my guards. This is going to be a scary tour.
Chapter 12
Questions about leadership
“I think we should discuss the issue of me being in labor. Do we have a backup plan in case Sophia decides to rush out?” I ask. I want to put my hands on my belly and feel Sophia in there, but I am afraid I will add too much pressure and she will just shoot out onto the floor.
“You cannot believe I was actually carrying around weapons this whole time,” Alex says waving his duffle bag in front of him. “I got towels, diapers, clothes for you and baby, baby wipes, and everything else I could grab in thirty seconds.”
“Did you bring scissors to cut the cord or were you expecting to do that with your teeth?”
“Technically, that is father’s choice, but I did grab the garden sheers in case we need them.”
“As appealing as doing the task myself sounds, I think it will be best to use the more traditional scissor r
oute. He is joking about the sheers and I have it on good authority we will make it home before anything comes screaming out of you,” Sebastian says trying to erase the image of him chomping into the cord with his fangs.
Bad. Bad. Bad. I need to clean the image out immediately. It is my own fault for asking the question sarcastically. I should know by now the guys turn everything around and make me visualize things no one should ever imagine.
“Nyx, come up here with us girls,” Queen Adeline calls. “Those guys can live without you for a few minutes.”
Ha. She doesn’t know the guys very well, but I waddle up to join her and Hilda. “What interesting topics are you talking about?” I ask when I join them.
“You, of course. Hilda was filling me in on what a special person you really are. Do you have any idea where the baby will end up in the spectrum of beings?”
“I am fairly certain she won’t be Fae, but that is about all I am certain of. Since her daddy is a vampire, I would think her leanings are closer to that species. Like most parents, I really don’t care as long as she is healthy.” I have pondered many late nights what Peanut would end up being. My mom said I was carrying a new species, but I don’t know if she considers me part of that species or not.
“I wouldn’t put the idea of her being a little bit Fae out of the picture. Hilda mentioned you had vampire added to your makeup after you were already in the cell multiplying phase. Do you think maybe there were other goodies added?”
“I think the term used was experiments. Is this walk and talk really necessary? We really do need to get moving,” I have said the same thing just about every way possible by this time. I am starting to worry that we won’t find our way out of this crazy world.
“I am leading you out. Killian should have my men gathered and waiting by the entrance to my home. I was hoping you would like the updated furnishings, but you haven’t been noticing them,” Addie says.
“Nyx isn’t one to pay attention to flowers and fresh paint. If the walls suddenly became lined with swords and axes, you might catch her eye. From personal experience, I have found pastels also do the trick,” Hilda teases.
“You are an evil woman. I think we will leave you behind when we leave, or maybe I will convince Gabe to take you home with him.”
“You wouldn’t make Marcus choose between the two of us and I doubt you could enforce either of those options. Plus, Gabe has told me all sorts of things about your future and I know you would love to hear about them.”
I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder that tells me the other female annoyance in my life has joined us for this girl time. I am surprised it took her so long.
“I really love the changes you are making to the place, Queen A. I like to think I have a little bit of interior designer in me, so if you need any tips, let me know. With this much space, I could be dangerous.”
She could be dangerous with a cupboard at her disposal. She has a Bedazzler and I have seen her using it. The sparkles caused nightmares for two nights straight.
“I will keep that in mind, but I am restoring things to what they were before. I don’t want my people to be disoriented when they start returning to their home.” Adeline pauses our progress by suddenly coming to a halt. “What kind of leader do you consider yourself, Nyx?”
“I am good about bossing my guards around, but I don’t really lead anyone. The guards fall under Alex and Sebastian’s commands.”
She starts walking again and stays silent for about a minute. No one else decides to talk so there is only a bunch of footsteps to be heard. They are a steady beating and I find myself setting my breathing to the balanced steps.
“They march to the beat of your heart. I think that indicates you lead them more than you claim. Even the dog, sorry Hellhound, follows. My question is whether they do it out of fear or devotion. A good ruler is able to find a happy medium between those two extremes. My sister would never be able to pull something like that off. She believes you can be feared or loved, but not both.”
“I haven’t led a life where people smile and jump for joy when they see me walking down the street. It was my job to deal with the scum of the earth when others wouldn’t, and I was good at that job. I feel that I have grown a little since my days as an assassin. I didn’t have a family back then and now look at what I have,” I say pointing my thumb towards the people behind us. “Most of these people would give their life to protect me and they know, no matter how many times I threaten it, I wouldn’t ever kill any of them.”
“You have even made friends with the pixies. Sebastian is in love with you and I could have sworn his heart was deadened years ago. You have to understand that I don’t offer what I am about to ever. Not that I have had a lot of chances to before, but this is a special case. You are going to be a leader in your world very soon. I can sense it, even though I claim no precognition ability.
“Before my little catnap, I governed this entire land and had very little difficulties. I would like to offer you a mentorship of sorts. I am willing to make myself available for advice and answers to questions whenever you need them. There aren't a lot of other women out there in our positions, except maybe your mother. We need to stick together,” she explains.
“Just what do you want in return?” Sebastian asks rudely so I don't have to. I am a little suspicious myself. It feels like she has been leading us around in circles on our way out of here, which makes me a little distrustful. It did take Killian a while to lead us back to the room the queen recently slept, but the glumness of the place made it seem faster.
“Why can I not just be offering out of the goodness of my heart?” Adeline's voice holds about as much sincerity as a toddler covered in chocolate denying they were the one that ate all the candy.
“You really need to work on your lying skills, Addie,” Hilda tells her. “Your nose just kind of grew an extra inch.”
“Sure it did, Hilda. I control my looks just as well as you. I didn’t think for a second I would be able to convince Sebastian that I didn’t have an ulterior motive, so I wasn’t trying. I do actually want to get to know Nyx better and I wouldn’t mind imparting some of my wisdom to her, but I would like something in return.”
I am finally recognizing the halls we are passing and I know we should be to the room with the big table soon. The place is nothing like the catacombs we have down in our dungeon back home, but I bet the queen could let her guests get conveniently lost if they were annoying her.
“Were you planning on telling us your request before or after we left the castle?” I ask. The flowers that are appearing around us are starting to alarm me a little. I know I was expecting them when I arrived, but I was enjoying the scentless air.
“It would be best if it was before since it is next to impossible to fulfill my wants without you here. I would like you to let me have your blood analyzed. If you happen to have any Fae in your interesting blend of DNA, there may be something that will help us keep our forms for longer in your world. I really miss visiting my lochs. Are they still as beautiful as I remember?”
I don’t know if America actually has any lochs and any foreign trips I have taken were to kill someone, so sightseeing wasn’t high on my priority list. Nowadays, I imagine there are still remote locations where you can see the land’s original beauty, but they are getting harder to find.
“It has been a few years since I have been over to Alba,” Sebastian states. “I hear your good friend Nessie is still causing havoc whenever she can.”
“Better your world than mine,” Queen Adeline says laughing. “We had so much trouble keeping her under control. I hope she at least tries to keep it under wraps for the humans. She would cause a few questions about just how alone they were in the world.”
“Oh, Addie. We have been out in the open for a while now. You would have a blast in the new world. We could tear up the town.”
Hilda has been taking some happy pills or something because I didn’t think she was on terms quite
that friendly with the Queen of Faerie.
“That would be so cool. You guys have to call me if this grand event ever comes to be,” Phee says rubbing her hands together like a villain mastermind. This is why I hang out with the guys. Normal females’ minds scare me.
The idea of the three of them burning up the town has zero appeal, especially since I see them trying to con me into going with them. I should be able to play the mom card soon and that should get me out of future girls' nights.
“Menfolk who have a stake in my general well-being, do any of you see any issues with me granting the petition?” They, specifically Sebby, are probably more prepared to make a pro/con list in this situation. For all I know, giving my blood away may lead to the creation of a super weapon. Hilarious thought, I know, but stranger things have happened.
“The Collective has had access to the stuff for years, so I don't think we will see any explosions from giving up a vial of it,” Alex reasons.
True, but my blood might have been different back then without my wolf, vampire, and angel bits scratching in the foreground.
“I think it would be a nice gesture,” Will adds.
“Yeah, you can always use brownie points with the leaders of other species,” Jake agrees.
“I don't know,” Walt says. “My brother is still out there in danger and she is just leading us around taking her dear sweet time. We need to get out of here and take care of our own business.”
Funny. I was only expecting to get responses from my mates. The guards do have the threat of death looming over them if anything happens to me, but I would hope this situation doesn't count.
“Calm down, wolfy. The Faerie world outside of this castle is frozen until I decide to release it. When you leave, things will start up again. As far as what I assume is your worry about me using your blood for nefarious deeds, I don't need your plasma to create chaos. If you want, we can even make a truth pact to ensure my motives.”
