by Lexi C. Foss
“Well, if you’re going to be human, then you might as well act the part,” I said to myself, leaning on the counter to make sure my reflection heard my determination.
I didn’t have a human hair dryer, so I snatched up a towel and scrubbed until my hair went from soaking wet to damp. I plaited the strands into a complex braid, wrapping it around my head like a crown. The style was popular with the Water Fae, who preferred to leave their hair wet. I had learned it from one of the students—Artica.
That done, I put on a loose-fitting blouse and matched it with a blue skirt that complemented my eyes. I didn’t allow myself to linger or let my thoughts drift. I propped my hands on my hips and surveyed my bedroom filled with decorations.
Yes, a distraction would suit me well.
I SEPARATED the decorations into piles based on theme.
Halloween—even though it had already passed. However, Exos liked the skeletons.
Autumn Solstice to represent the fae.
Then Christmas and Winter Solstice decorations made up the third pile. Christmas was just around the corner—plus it was my favorite of all the holidays—so I liked to start sneaking in hints of tinsel and garland wherever possible.
I started wrapping the pumpkin lights around one of the pillars in the living room, then took to the other with one of the Christmas silver stars. I finished off the third and fourth with standard fae lights, although they were more like dull orbs since I couldn’t access my magic to activate them.
A problem to deal with, um, later.
I had nearly finished up with the kitchen when Titus, Cyrus, and an unknown fae walked in. They all stopped in their tracks and openly gaped at me. I’d just scrambled up the countertop to put the finishing touch on the room. I’d dragged a massive red ribbon in tow, determined to affix it to the arch that ran along the ceiling above the stove.
“Claire!” Cyrus shouted, his tone panicked. “Get down immediately!”
Ignoring him, I kicked off my shoe and hooked my toes into one of the unused shelves, gaining a bit more height. “I’ve almost got it,” I insisted out loud. “I survived the end of the world. I can survive tying up a bow.”
“Vox!” he yelled, turning to the Air Fae, who had just walked in with Sol on his heels. “Help me get her down.”
Titus rubbed his temples. “Will someone talk some sense into her before we yank her down with Vox’s faulty magic?”
“My magic is fine,” Vox replied, glaring at the Fire Fae. His element only acted up when he became stressed or emotional—a side effect he’d never quite gotten over since mating with me. And given the panic flaying our bond, he was definitely feeling a bit emotional right now.
Exos entered last, his smirk a sharp contrast to the looks of raw panic from my other mates.
“Well, it looks like I was right,” he said, sounding amused. “Claire has officially entered phase two, and the child is definitely a troublemaker.” He slapped Cyrus on the back. “Well done, brother.”
Vox worked a careful strand of wind magic, swirling pressure around my body to give me a lift. The extra boost of height allowed me to loop the ribbon’s tassel through the slat, and I secured it before Vox guided me to the floor.
“There!” I said, slapping my hands together as I surveyed the finishing touch on my decorations. The massive red ribbon brought it all together. “Perfect.”
I turned, and the smile on my face melted when I saw that my guys most certainly didn’t share my festive enthusiasm, except maybe Exos, who was still pleased with himself.
The unknown fae—who I assumed was the Healer—cleared her throat. “Well, suffice it to say, I do think your mates are right. You’re exhibiting all of the typical phase two traits.”
I blinked, then glanced around at my still-displeased mates. “Yeah, so, will somebody explain to me what all these phases mean? Where I come from, there are three trimesters, and I’m definitely not in the second one. I’m only, like, a little over a week pregnant. That’s hardly enough time for anything to happen.” Not to mention there were certain concerns yet to address.
Cyrus took one of my hands and placed a kiss on my knuckles. The gesture made me soften a little. “Little queen, things are going to move fast now. Once the Healer checks you out, we really should start making preparations.” He glanced around the room. “While I’m sure the faeling will appreciate a festive atmosphere, we should be focused on the nursery. We don’t have a crib, clothes, or any of the items we need for a newborn.”
Exos crossed his arms. “It’s important to keep Claire happy. Plus, fae furniture is just fine.”
I propped my hands on my hips, catching a loose strand of tinsel in my fingers. I looped it around my throat like a necklace. “We have nine months before we have to worry about any of that, so will you all just simmer down and let me celebrate the holidays?”
My guys all took on various expressions of shock. Sol went pale. Vox’s mouth parted. Exos and Cyrus shared a long look, and Titus tightened his jaw.
My fire mate nudged the Healer forward. “You’d better have her sit down,” he said, his voice coming out strained. “I think there’s a human-slash-fae difference we all forgot to consider.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
The Healer released a nervous laugh as she took my hand and guided me into the living room. She paused, staring at the array of festive pillows shaped like Christmas ornaments before managing to clear a space for us both to sit down.
She waited until I was fully seated and all my guys had followed us into the room before she spoke. “It seems there is a key detail your mates may have failed to mention,” she said, her tone scolding as she glanced at the male fae.
Cyrus folded his arms. “She’s a Halfling, but she’s also a queen and a goddess of the elements. Informing her of all the possibilities seems presumptuous on our parts.”
I glared at him. “Presumptuous?” I turned back to the Healer. “What is it that you’re trying to tell me? Is there a huge difference between fae and human pregnancies?”
The Healer gave me a weak smile as she patted my hand. “You’re exhibiting all the signs of a typical fae pregnancy. There are three phases. The first is incubation, which happens while asleep. From Titus’s testimony, you’ve already surpassed that during your three days of rest, although usually it’s only twenty-four hours—”
“Three days?” I repeated. “I’ve been asleep for three days? When was somebody going to tell me that?”
Cyrus gave me a sympathetic smile. “We thought it best for Titus to be there when you woke up. It’s normal, I assure you.” He gave the Healer a nod. “Please, continue.”
She cleared her throat. “Right, well, the next phase is nesting, which I would say by all the, uh, decorations, you’ve officially started.” She turned my hand over. “May I?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat before I nodded my permission.
She ran her palm over mine, sending a pleasant silver glow into the room. I sensed spirit magic working over me, although it felt more distant than usual. She hummed with thought, then ran her glowing hand up my arm and down over my stomach. She smiled. “Yes, you’re progressing nicely.”
The tension in the room eased. “So… I’m still pregnant?”
Yes, little queen, Cyrus murmured into my thoughts. Definitely pregnant.
The Healer laughed. “Yes, dear, and you have a healthy fae child blossoming in your womb. If no one has said it yet, congratulations.”
I swayed against the wave of relief that swept over me.
I was definitely pregnant.
With Cyrus’s child.
And the baby is okay.
The solace that swept through me was strong enough to make me feel giddy. “So, I’m in the second phase?” I asked, my voice wavering. I needed something practical to hold on to right now before I turned into an emotional puddle on the floor. “I’m, uh, nesting?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes. You’re pr
eparing for your child to be born, and that means creating an environment your instincts find conducive to a relaxed and joyful ambience.”
A strong gust of wind swept through the room, a testimony to Vox’s stress levels. He batted at the retaliating hanging decorations while Sol pulled out a strand of fae cherry puffs from his bag and started eating them off the string.
“Those are supposed to be hung up,” I told him.
“And eaten,” he agreed, inhaling another mouthful.
“I wouldn’t call this relaxed,” Vox said slowly, looking around at all the decorations and the mass of bags they’d just brought home with them.
I frowned. “What do you mean, this isn’t relaxed?”
“It’s… sort of busy?” he replied, deepening my frown.
Did he not understand the point of the holidays? “Titus?” I asked, pointing at the dull orbs wrapped around the nearest pillar. “Could you light those for me, please?”
He arched his brow but didn’t ask me why I hadn’t done it myself. Instead, he obeyed and flicked his fingers, sending the swirl of orbs alight. Cyrus silently activated the second one, giving the room a complement of fire and water that made my shoulders relax.
“See?” the Healer asked with a smile. “That makes you feel better, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, sighing. “I’ve always liked decorating for the holidays. That doesn’t mean anything.” I leaned in. “So, you’re telling me I’m past the ‘incubation’ period and now I’m nesting. How can I be nesting if I’m only a week pregnant?”
Well, technically, ten days since I apparently slept for three of them.
She patted my hand again, this time more forcefully. “Your pregnancy will be similar to that of a fae, not a human.” She glanced at my pointed ears. They had transformed years ago after I had accepted the fae side of myself. “You’ve lived in the Elemental Fae realm for quite a few years now, and you have fae mates. Therefore, it makes sense for your pregnancy to run a similar course to a fae’s.”
I glanced around the room and found that none of my mates would meet my gaze. Finally, I zoomed back in on the Healer. “And what does that mean, exactly?” I demanded, suspecting this was the part my mates had “forgotten to mention” to me.
She chewed her lip before appeasing me. “You say that a human pregnancy lasts for nine months? Well, a fae one runs a bit shorter.”
“How much shorter?” I pressed.
Cyrus took pity on me and massaged my shoulders. His gaze said that he took full responsibility for this situation, being the one who’d impregnated me. “You’ll likely be delivering our child in about two months, little queen.”
My entire world screeched to a halt, and my stomach dropped.
“I’m sorry… What?”
“NINE WEEKS.” Claire repeated those two words over and over again, her feet moving swiftly over our bedroom floor as she paced back and forth.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
“Nine weeks.”
More pacing.
More mumbling.
I glanced at Exos, and he gave me a look that said, “What did you expect?”
I had expected her to understand and believe she was more fae than human. I had also expected her to be pleased that she would come to term in nine weeks, not nine months. Who would prefer nearly a year as an incubator when they could be done in roughly two months?
Of course, I wouldn’t say that out loud now. Not with Claire in her tender condition. My usual go-to of pushing her to accept fate wasn’t going to work this time. She might not feel it yet, but her hormones and body were already changing. Adding more stress to that transition wouldn’t be helpful for either of us.
So rather than speak, I wrapped a blanket of mist around her and allowed the droplets to tease her exposed skin. She wore a cute little skirt and button-down shirt that I very much wanted to remove from her body. But something told me that would not be welcome in this state.
I also adored her hairstyle choice. It was a damp braid commonly worn by Water Fae. All she needed was her crown to fit her role as queen of my kind. She didn’t wear it often, only to formal events. But I sometimes fantasized about her wearing those jewels… and only those jewels.
Something about this woman always sent my mind to my groin, which perked up with interest as she turned around to reveal her dampening shirt.
No bra.
Fuck.
Exos’s sapphire gaze flashed with interest.
He’d misted back to the Water Kingdom with us. It was technically my night with Claire, and I had intended to take her to dinner with my father and his mate, but I’d postponed that dinner to brunch tomorrow. I needed to calm my little queen down first.
“Nine weeks,” she said for the umpteenth time, shaking her head.
“Yes, that’s roughly sixty-three days,” I informed her dryly.
So much for my calm approach.
She spun to face me as though she’d forgotten I sat on our bed a few feet away. My gaze immediately dropped to her tits, those beautiful dusky nipples were completely visible beneath her shirt, and she hadn’t even noticed.
Perhaps my mist blanket had been a bad idea.
But I absolutely didn’t regret it as the fabric started to mold to her chest.
“Days?” Claire repeated.
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, little queen. Sixty-three days is plenty of time. Nine weeks. Would you prefer to be carrying around a faeling for nine months? That’s an awfully long time to be pregnant, don’t you think?”
Exos grunted beside me, whether in agreement or to chastise my directness, I wasn’t sure. I also didn’t care.
“How am I supposed to gather all the requisite approvals for the Interrealm Fae Academy in sixty-three days?” she demanded. “You should have told me about this before I agreed! You knew how important that academy is to me. And now there’s no way I’ll be able to get this done, Cyrus. I’m going to have a baby in nine weeks!”
“Technically, it’ll be closer to seven now,” I murmured, which was apparently the wrong thing to say, because she screamed.
I flinched.
Exos groaned.
And I recalled the warnings from the Healer about Claire’s impending hormonal changes. Phase two came with a lot of physical and mental imbalances, nurturing instincts, and general nesting practices. It was the longest of the pregnancy periods and the hardest.
Phase three was the one I rather looked forward to.
But I wouldn’t get into that now with her.
Instead, I focused on what her real concern was here—the Interrealm Fae Academy.
“Little queen,” I said softly.
“Don’t you ‘little queen’ me,” she snapped. “You got me pregnant!”
I chuckled. “Indeed, I did. And I don’t regret it.” Even with you yelling at me, I thought, pushing off the bed to stand in front of her. “Little queen,” I repeated, taking hold of her shoulders. “You have five mates.”
“I’m aware, but you’re the one—”
“No, Claire. That’s not what I mean. You have five mates who can help you and will help you with the academy. We all know how important it is to you. The hard part is already done. Now we just need to arrange meetings with the fae to encourage them to agree. Do you know what Exos and I happen to be very skilled at?” I arched a brow, waiting for her to consider my words and hear what I was saying to her.
She nibbled her lip, her blue eyes flashing with consideration as she fought her instinct to rage instead of reason with me. “You… you like politics.”
“Yes,” I replied, lifting one hand to her heated cheek. “And we are very skilled at convincing fae to do what we want.”
“Like make babies,” she grumbled.
My lips twitched. “You want a faeling just as badly as the rest of us do. Don’t let a little time shift convince you otherwise.”
Her mouth parted to argue my choice of “little”—something I cau
ght in her mental voice as she began to rage in her head again—so I silenced her with a gentle kiss, one that ended in her biting my bottom lip.
I soothed the ache away with my tongue before kissing her again and sliding my fingers back into her braid to hold her to me. There were so many things I could do with her hair in this state, all of them sexual in nature.
But I chose to merely embrace her, to allow her to feel my love and tranquility, to surround her with my inner element, and to allow it to soothe her inner turmoil.
We’re in this together, I reminded her softly. We all want the Interrealm Fae Academy to prosper. It will be a great place for our children to attend school. So trust us to help you, little queen. That’s why we’re here. The world doesn’t always need to rest on your shoulders.
She sighed, her arms slipping around my waist as she began to melt into my touch, her mind quieting.
I languidly deepened our kiss, drawing her into a state of contentment that I felt to my very soul. Exos stood, his heat blanketing her back as he clasped her hips before dropping his mouth to her neck.
She moaned between us, her smaller form surrounded by royalty and Elemental Fae power.
His palm slid between us, going to her lower belly, his mouth brushing her ear. “I can feel the faeling,” he whispered to her. “I know you were worried earlier, Claire. I could sense it through the bond. But our future baby is healthy and growing, just as he or she should.”
Our, she repeated in her mind, smiling. I grinned against her mouth, liking the sound of it, too. Because it didn’t matter that I was the one who had fathered the child; all her mates would look at the faeling as our child.
“Let us take care of you,” I said against her mouth. “That’s why we’re here.”
“We’ll handle the fae meetings,” Exos added. “Just let us know what you want to be part of, and you’ll be there. Otherwise, leave it with us. And focus on taking care of our faeling.”
