by Elin Wyn
If a nurse came by, he watched her intently, almost as if he were judging her, or at least trying to figure her out. He did the same to the doctor, to Renna, to Amira. He did the same to me. The only person he didn’t stare at with those judging eyes of his was Jeneva.
He looked at her with adoration. I probably looked at her the same way, honestly.
But, I swear, that boy was judging me. He was sizing me up.
“You want to hold him?”
I looked at Jeneva, then at the baby. I shook my head.
“He’s not that fragile,” she laughed at me. “Just hold your son.”
My son.
I reached out for him. “Careful,” she said. “He’s fragile.”
The room erupted in laughter and even I shook my head as I got a hold of him. His eyes locked onto mine as I held him. He was so light, so tiny. It was amazing how little he was.
“Don’t you dare say that he’s tiny, light, or little. That amazing little shit ripped me open, and damned if I’m doing that again anytime soon,” Jeneva said as she watched me.
“Oh,” Evie cut in. “That reminds me. No sex for at least six weeks.”
“Well, I think we can find other things to do,” Jeneva cracked. “Maybe for even longer than that.”
I smiled at the baby. “You sure?” I asked. “You don’t want another one like this?”
Even though my eyes were on my son, I could see Jeneva smile at me. “I do, but not now. Maybe later.”
I kept looking at him, trying to figure him out. What kind of a man was he going to be? What kind of issues would he go through as a child, a hybrid child? How would he be treated? How would he act?
I looked up at Evie. “Evie?”
“What, Vrehx?”
“Skotans go through a rather painful transition where they shed their scales again around the age of five years. It’s a sort of rite of passage moment.”
“How bad?”
I looked at her and her face blanched.
“That bad?”
“If I remember mine correctly, getting shot is a kiss on the cheek in comparison.”
“So, you’re wondering how bad his might be?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I don’t know,” she said with a headshake. “Your son is different from anyone there has ever been. Unless there are other Skotan mixed babies out there.”
I hesitated. “Not that I know of. Certainly not on Ankau.”
“Then your son is going to be the central topic of a lot of new things. But,” she said with a hand up to stop me, “let’s not worry about that for now. Enjoy your family, okay?” She ran one finger down his soft cheek.
“What’s his name?”
“Vrandel,” Jeneva answered Evie. “A combination of his grandfather’s names, Vranx and Randell. A new blend for a new future, just like he’ll be.”
I couldn’t look away from our son, staring at his light skin with tiny red, feather-like scales. Then, there were his eyes, staring at me, taking me in.
Making me feel uncomfortable.
And then he smiled. There was that amazing, mind-bending, heart-stopping smile that I had always thought were simply fairytales told by parents that were too stupid to understand that their children weren’t special.
That they weren’t some massively talented, highly sophisticated, phenomenally spectacular being.
I had always found people that thought those things about their children to be delusional.
And here I was, sharing in the delusion, understanding that it wasn’t a delusion and that my child, my son, was completely and totally real and more special than even the word’s definition could possibly describe.
I sat down and held him and stared at him. He was by far the most beautiful little creature I had ever seen in my entire existence.
“You two are so cute,” Jeneva whispered.
“He looks like you,” I said.
“Oh, bullshit,” she laughed. “He has your chin, your brow, and your scales. The only thing I can’t figure out is where the hell he got those eyes.”
“I know,” I smiled at her. “Certainly didn’t get them from my side of the family.”
“Family. Any idea if we might ever be able to see them?” she asked. “I mean—sorry.”
“No,” I said. “It’s okay. My family would love you, and this little one. And if they didn’t, I would convince them to.”
I thought about what this little boy would go through. I was worried about him, but I also knew that I would be there for everything he did. Every step he took, I wanted to be there. Everything he learned, I wanted to be there.
I wanted to teach him how to protect himself, how to protect others, how to properly hold a weapon while also knowing how to use tools to build. I wanted to teach him how to be respectful as well as how to live up to his word.
What my father taught me as a child, I wanted to pass on to this little boy in my arms. I wanted to teach him how to grow things, how to build things, and how to protect what he’d, created.
I wanted to teach him how to treat women. I wanted to teach him how to be there for his friends, for his teammates, and how to think on his feet and be prepared for nearly anything that could come his way.
“I love looking at the two of you together.”
I looked at Jeneva. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For all of this. For you. For him.”
She smiled at me. “You’re welcome. You know that I would do this again.”
I nodded. “And you know, that even though I was a bit overbearing and annoying this time, I’d do it all again with you.”
She chuckled. “I know. How about the next one, we try for a little girl?”
“Why? So I have to kill every boy that looks at her?”
She shrugged. “Like I won’t do the same to the girls that look at him.”
“Good point. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I was talking to him,” I laughed. She joined in my laughter and I handed our son over to her.
This was my family. My heart and my home.
And any quest I’d ever had, every journey, all led to here.
Perfect.
Letter from Elin
I hope you enjoyed a little break from the action and time with our first set of new parents!
The story of the Conquered World resumes in Zarik, out September 19th.
If you're impatiently waiting, take a look at my Star Breed series — keep reading for links!
Don’t miss a new release! You can sign up for release alerts at both Amazon and Bookbub:
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Xoxo,
Elin
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