by Eric Vall
“Is Vala in labor?” Trina asked without opening her eyes.
“No, Alyona is pregnant!” I declared as I spun her around and then set her on the ground. “Oh, gods, sorry, did that make you nauseous? Are you feeling okay?”
“I feel fine!” she laughed and kissed me. “But it seems our child has heightened my abilities considerably.”
“No way,” I exhaled. “That must be why I kept feeling those surges of power. I mean, I know I’m not pregnant, but… I don’t know. Maybe that’s crazy.”
“No, no, that makes sense!” Alyona exclaimed. “We’re bonded by the soul bridges and the Redimi Vincio ceremony. Anything that increases my power should increase yours as well. And the gods know this baby has to have a lot of power coming from you.”
“Damn, this is amazing news!” I cried out, and I was grinning so much it felt like my face might crack in half. “What do we do? Do you need to lie down? Do we know how long it takes? Should I make you some tea or something?”
“I don’t need anything right now,” she giggled. “Thank you. And I’m not sure how long gestation will last. Typically, the baby will be born at forty weeks, but with you being a dragon, I’m not sure. I know I’m not laying any eggs, though.”
“That would be horrible!” Marina gasped. “But what a relief!”
“Yes, when it’s our turn to have Lord Evan’s babies, I wouldn’t want to lay an egg,” Trina agreed and scrunched up her face.
“Our bodies couldn’t do that,” Alyona assured them with a smile. “We aren’t made for laying eggs, only for carrying the child. So, we’re all safe from that except for Valerra and Ravi.”
“Well, we have to tell everyone!” I declared. “I want the world to know!”
“The world?” my wife laughed and grazed her fingers along my jaw. “I think first we should tell my father.”
“Oh, gods, of course!” I agreed as I slapped my forehead. “Should we fly there?”
“No, silly,” Alyona giggled. “We can just use my mirror.”
“Oh, right.” My face warmed up before I shook my head. “On second thought, I don’t know if we should tell the world. I mean, I want to, but I don’t know if Lord Calvin should be made aware yet. I don’t know what I think about him, and I don’t want to do anything that could risk your safety or the baby’s.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” she said with a nod before she turned to the dryads. “Polina, Trina, Marina, would you lovely ladies mind excusing us so we can talk with my father?”
“Oh, of course not!” Polina said with a warm smile.
The dryads leaped from the bed and searched for their scattered clothing, and once they were dressed, they hugged Alyona and then breezed out of the room.
I pulled on my trousers and tunic while the princess pulled her white jade hand mirror from her spatial storage, and we sat together on the bed as she began the spell that activated the connection to her father.
The surface of the mirror swirled and appeared to turn into liquid mercury before the image changed into that of King Rodion’s face. His long, white hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and I recognized the chair that sat on his balcony overlooking the Breach. His amethyst eyes were surrounded by wrinkles of worry, and he peered into the mirror with concern.
“Are you alright, my daughter?” the king asked as soon as the images were clear.
“Yes, Father,” she replied with a smile. “And we have news for you. Some very good news.”
“Ah, you are with child!” Rodion’s expression changed just slightly to show a hint of excitement as he guessed what this call was about, but his worry quickly returned. “You must come back to the temple at once.”
“Father, don’t be ridiculous,” Alyona argued. “I’m not spending my pregnancy without my husband.”
“You can’t go dallying around the country on a dangerous mission while carrying my grandchild!” he gasped. “That is too much risk.”
“I would never allow anything to happen to either of them, Your Eminence,” I vowed. “I would gladly give my life to ensure their safety. You have my word.”
“While I trust you, dear son, I worry about the mission you are on,” Rodion explained. “There are people who still side with the demons in this battle. It isn’t only the Noble Spirits you have to be watching out for.”
“We’ve already faced a few battles in the last few days,” I said carefully. “I beat some kind of lava beast that we suspect came from the underworld, and I dispatched a tribe of bandits. Alyona wasn’t in any danger.”
“Not yet,” he insisted. “I don’t like it, Alyona. I want you safe.”
“I will be, Father,” she replied. “Besides, my family needs me for this mission. I have the most magical knowledge of all of us.”
“That’s true,” I agreed with a frown. “Even if I felt like anyone else could keep her safe, she is crucial to understanding what we need at every step of this journey. I couldn’t close the Breach without her.”
“Gods,” Rodion muttered and clenched the arms of his chair. “I know you’re right, but I still worry. This is my first grandchild. I can’t bear the thought of something happening.”
“And this is my child and wife,” I said softly. “I meant my promise. I would rather die than let anything happen to them. You can count on me, Your Eminence.”
Rodion inhaled a long, slow breath before he let it out with a whoosh.
“Okay,” he finally agreed. “But if anything goes wrong, Alyona is to portal here immediately. Can we agree on that?”
“Absolutely.” I nodded and looked to Alyona.
“Yes, of course,” she conceded before she furrowed her brow. “Father, how did you already know why we were calling?”
“I know a lot of things, my child,” Rodion chuckled. “And I also know you have another question for me, so ask it.”
“We do?” I looked at my wife in confusion.
“Well, I figured we could ask him about the ceremony,” she explained and turned back to her father. “Do you know how we could use it to bind the baby’s bloodline ability with Evan’s power? We’ve already agreed we won’t age the child, so we have to find another solution.”
“Yes, aging the child is very dangerous,” Rodion murmured as he twirled his white beard around his finger. “I’m not sure how else to do the Redimi Vincio without it. I will have to do some research, my daughter.”
I was stunned. The king always had an answer to our problems, but this one was outside of even his league. We were dealing with some pretty serious stuff, and now, we had to wait a while longer to figure out just how we were going to do it.
“Please, hurry,” Alyona told him. “Vala will be due to give birth in just a few days, and the child is a son. Even if we wait until he’s older, the ceremony doesn’t always work with two men.”
“I know,” Rodion assured her. “I promise, I’ll work on it immediately. Castor has already gone to retrieve some of my texts as we speak.”
“Thank you, Father,” Alyona breathed with relief. “We’ll look through our texts as well. There has to be something.”
“I’m sure there is.” The king smiled and then exhaled slowly. “I didn’t even say congratulations.”
“I know you were worried,” she replied.
“I was, but it’s no excuse,” he chided himself. “Congratulations to both of you. A child is a great blessing upon us all, and you two will make wonderful parents.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I said with a grin. “We’re pretty stoked.”
“I assume stoked is a good thing,” Rodion chuckled. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I know something.”
With that, the king ended the mirror connection, and a few seconds later, our faces were the only ones reflecting back at us.
“Well, at least he’s happy for us.” I smirked and kissed her on the cheek. “Now, I need to make sure my pregnant wife gets her breakfast.”
“Oh!” she giggled as I lift
ed her from the bed and carried her to the door. “I can walk!”
“Not once my big dragon baby gets to growing,” I laughed before I set her on the ground, bent down, and pressed my lips to her still flat stomach. “Hey, little buddy. It’s your dad here. Just checking in.”
“Do you think the baby can hear you?” she wondered with her head cocked to the side.
“The doctors back on Earth always said so.” I shrugged and kissed her belly. “I’ll do it the next nine-ish months, just like I talk to the eggs.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Alyona giggled.
I stood up and offered her my elbow. My wife linked her arm through the crook of mine, and we headed downstairs to the dining hall. The aroma of eggs and pastries wafted through the castle, and Alyona practically took off at a sprint toward the dining hall to eat. I stifled a laugh and followed behind her.
If my baby had my appetite, she was in for a lot of food.
We walked into the room and found Lord Calvin and Vala at the table, and I started to intervene when I realized they were both smiling and laughing.
Holy hell, were they actually getting along?
“Oh, good morning, Lord Evan!” Calvin bellowed once he noticed us in the doorway. “It’s so great to see you! And Princess, I must say, you look absolutely ravishing this lovely day!”
“Uhh, yeah, same to you,” I murmured as I turned to Alyona with a cocked eyebrow.
Did I wake up in yet another alternate world?
Before I could ask anything more, Nike, Niall, and the rest of my women trickled into the room behind us and took their seats. Alyona and I joined them at the table, and she quickly filled her plate with heaping piles of eggs, sliced ham, and puffy jelly-filled pastries.
“Are you a bit hungry this morning?” Rebecca waggled her eyebrows at Alyona and smiled.
“Famished,” the princess replied before she tore into her meal.
Yep, that baby definitely had my appetite.
“It’s almost like you’re eating enough for two people,” Aaliyah purred and then winked.
“I can’t imagine why you’d be doing that!” Laika feigned innocence.
“How do you…” I trailed off as I tried to keep the secret from Calvin’s prying ears.
“The soul bridges keep us very in tune with each other,” Miraya explained with a smile. “I knew immediately, but everyone else figured it out pretty quickly.”
“And we’re all very excited,” Ravi whispered and grinned.
I couldn’t help but smile back at my lovers, and my mind drifted to thoughts of all my future children with my women. There would be a dozen kids of all kinds that roamed the halls of the Lunar Palace, or maybe the White Jade Temple, but I shook my head to bring myself back to the present.
“So, what happened to the other women we brought in yesterday?” I asked as I realized I hadn’t seen them since we’d left for the desert.
“Well, we tested the blood of the older children, and they weren’t a match for Lord Calvin or Baron Niall,” Naomi explained when Alyona didn’t stop eating to respond. “And that angry pregnant woman?”
“Sarahi?” I supplied.
“Yeah, the one who smacked the baron,” Polina confirmed.
“It turned out she was kicked out of the harem over a year ago,” Laika continued.
“So, it couldn’t have been either father or son who got her pregnant,” Ravi said with an eye roll. “She just wanted to see if they would give her some money or gold.”
“Ruthless,” Aaliyah said with a curl of her lip. “But I don’t think she’ll show her face around here anymore.”
“The princess told her what’s what,” Trina agreed.
“Yeah, she told her that using a child for personal gain was selfish and disgusting,” Marina added.
“She’s not wrong.” I smirked and looked at my wife, who grinned before she shoved another bite of fried egg into her mouth. “So, the only woman left is Vala?”
“Other than a woman named Isabella,” Nike pointed out. “But we don’t know for sure where she is.”
“I think it might be time to figure that out,” I decided.
“You could talk to Rosie,” Lord Calvin suggested and shrugged when I turned to look at him. “She’s the wench at the pub where most of my women have spent their spare time. Even if she doesn’t know where Isabella went, there might be a few there who do.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “We’ll go as soon as we finish eating.”
I glanced over at Alyona, who had already begun to fill a huge plate for the second time, and I laughed as she took a bite of bread and sighed.
“I don’t know when I’ll be done eating,” she whispered. “I feel like I’ve barely touched anything.”
“I understand the feeling,” I chuckled. “You don’t have to go with us. I can tell Laika to stay here with you. Actually, they can all stay. Nike and I can go alone.”
“Are you sure?” Alyona asked and chewed on her bottom lip. “What if the women don’t want to talk to you?”
“Vala hated us at first, but she came around.” I smirked. “Trust me, I think we’ll have this in the bag.”
“I don’t know what bag you’re putting it in, but if you say you can do it, then you should go,” my wife agreed. “Besides, we need to have a backup plan in case my father doesn’t find an answer soon enough.”
“Okay, Nike, you’re with me,” I said as I rose from the table.
“Wait, I can help,” Niall offered.
“I think you’ve helped enough,” I replied and narrowed my eyes on the man who actually looked sober. “You can try to figure out how to talk to your dad without screaming at each other.”
“I’d much rather go talk to the women,” he muttered and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Well, you can pout about that later,” I scoffed. “We’ll be back.”
I caught Laika’s attention, and we shared a silent agreement. She wouldn’t leave Alyona’s side for any reason. I knew my women would love my baby, but I couldn’t say the same for Lord Calvin or Baron Niall. They didn’t care about their own kids, so I didn’t know how they’d feel about mine.
Nike and I walked out of the palace and headed toward the pub.
“I don’t like leaving Vala there,” he muttered suddenly.
“You don’t think she’s in danger, right?” I wondered as I turned to watch my best friend struggle with his stress.
“No, I don’t,” Nike replied with a frown. “I just can’t believe someone so great is growing inside of her, and I want to make sure nothing happens to him.”
“I understand,” I murmured. “What do you think she’ll name him?”
“Maybe Nikolaus the Second,” he suggested.
“Then I’ll save Evan the Second for my kid,” I laughed as I clapped him on the shoulder. “Alyona’s pregnant.”
“Oh, wow!” the noble exclaimed and stopped to shake my forearm. “That’s great news, brother!”
“Thanks, man.” I grinned as we clasped arms and went in for a bro-hug. “I’m pumped. She’s pumped. I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“No one ever does,” Nike replied sagely.
We continued toward the pub, and Nike pointed to a fancy building with green, pink, and neon-yellow paint around the wooden door. A single mug had been painted onto the door, and I put my hand in the center of the cup as I pushed the door open and walked inside.
It looked like every medieval movie interpretation of a pub I’d ever seen. A series of small wooden tables were scattered around the room, and a handful of women in short skirts rushed from table to table with their fingers wrapped through the handles of mugs. I motioned to one of the tables, and Nike and I sat down to wait for one of the women to come check on us.
“Do you think we’ll figure something out for Vala’s baby?” Nike asked.
“For the ceremony, or for his life?” I clarified, but then I shook my head. “It doesn�
��t matter. We’ll figure out both. If we can’t use him for the Redimi Vincio, we’ll keep looking. Your grandfather wasn’t sure that was a complete list, and we may be able to squeeze a few more names out of your father.”
“I doubt it,” he said with a grimace. “He seemed pretty certain that he hadn’t had as many lovers as Grandfather, so I don’t think he’d want to embarrass himself any further with adding random women to the list.”
“Then I suppose we better make sure Vala and her baby work out,” I surmised just as the wench appeared at our table.
“It’s not even lunch time, Lord Nikolaus,” she said with a smile. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Of course,” he laughed. “We’re looking for Rosie.”
“Oh, she’s in the back getting everything ready for some party she agreed to host tonight,” the woman replied. “Want me to get her?”
“Yes,” he confirmed before she scurried off to the back of the building.
A few minutes later, a small head appeared just above the tops of the tables and bobbed toward us, and when she made her way around to our table, I realized she was a dwarf. She was no taller than four feet, and her almond-shaped eyes watched us with growing curiosity while she approached us.
“My lords, it is surprising to see you at my establishment,” Rosie said as she dipped into a curtsy. “I apologize you had to wait to see me.”
“Don’t worry about all that.” I waved my hand dismissively. “We just need to ask a few questions about Isabella.”
“Ohhh, the sweetheart,” the woman said with a fond smile. “She had the biggest heart and the fastest feet I’ve ever seen.”
“Fastest feet?” I raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Because she got out of here so fast,” Rosie explained. “Listen, I was in Lord Calvin’s harem, too, but it wasn’t so bad Isabella had to leave the whole damn city. We got free food, jewelry, gold, you name it, we had it.”
“So, why did you leave?” Nike wondered.
“I had a big dream to build this pub,” she replied and shrugged. “Once I had enough money saved up from my earnings, I bought this building and opened my pub. I never looked back.”
“What about Isabella?” I pressed. “Did she ever look back? Or come back to Leyte?”