Hidden Heir

by Amy Patrick

  The lower half of her body was draped with a blanket. Wickthorne sat on a stool at the end of the bed near her feet while Asher stood beside her with his hands on Ryann’s belly, massaging it and pressing down to facilitate the birth.

  He glanced up at me with sorrowful eyes. It should only be a few more minutes for the delivery. Then he added, She hasn’t regained consciousness. I’m so sorry. I wish I’d been able to do more for her.

  I couldn’t respond with anything beyond a nod. Turning my full attention to my bond-mate, I stepped close to the bed and placed one hand over her heart. With the other, I stroked her hair back from her face and caressed her cheek.

  She was so beautiful, even now when the life force had nearly left her body. The crippling pain I felt was joined by a sweet ache so deep I could barely breathe around it.

  Nox was right. I would have been eternally sorry if I hadn’t been here at the end, sharing these last moments with her. And I was glad it was peaceful, that we were alone except for the two silent healers.

  Touching her bare hand, I remembered the ring in my pocket. I withdrew it and slid it onto her finger.

  Lad?

  A faint whisper tickled my mind. At first, I thought I’d imagined it, that my intense longing for Ryann was playing tricks on my psyche. But then I heard it again.

  Lad… is that you?

  Ryann’s voice. It was unmistakable this time. She had felt my touch or at least my presence. My chest surged with a flood of emotion.

  I’m here, my sweet girl. I’m here with you.

  I couldn’t feel you. I thought you’d left.

  It was a good thing we could communicate mind-to-mind because I was choking on tears. Never. I’ll never leave you. Not ever. Where you go I will follow.

  The baby…

  Don’t worry. Just conserve your strength. Don’t try to move, don’t try to speak, okay? Just rest.

  To Asher, I said, “Ryann is conscious. She just spoke to me.”

  He leaned toward Wickthorne, passing the message along, I assumed.

  Ryann spoke again. Lad, I have to tell you… I need to…

  It’s okay. You can tell me later. Be at peace.

  No. I have to… Lad. Please. It’s… important.

  What is it, love?

  I don’t recognize you.

  A dart of terror pierced my heart, followed by a tidal wave of despair. This was it. She was dying.

  I fought to hold back a sob. I didn’t want her last memory to be of a weeping stranger. I gripped her hand, which was cold. It felt like I had only minutes left to express an eternity of emotion.

  It’s me, Lad. I love you, Ryann. Know that. Know that I’ve loved you my whole life, and I always will—until the sun no longer rises and sets.

  You’re different, she said. You don’t feel the same—inside. You’ve shut down your heart. To everyone. Don’t. Please… don’t change. Don’t stop being the man I fell in love with. Don’t become someone I wouldn’t recognize. I want our baby… I want our baby to know the you that I know.

  I couldn’t help myself. I begged. Please don’t leave me, Ryann. Don’t say goodbye.

  Promise me…

  She paused so long before continuing I feared she wouldn’t say any more, that her final words would be an unfinished request I could never fulfill in her honor. I wanted those next words so badly. I would do anything—anything in the world she asked.

  Then I heard her voice again, and what she said stunned me.

  Falene is evil. She wanted to hurt us. But not everyone is. Not everyone does. I’ve seen so many good hearts. Promise me you’ll go on living. And trust people, love people… even those who are different from us. I want you to keep your heart open. For me. Judge people based on what they do… not where they’re from. For me. Promise me, Lad.

  All the air left my body. I swayed on my feet, dizzy and convicted to my very soul. Even in her weakened state, in her last moments of life, Ryann was still trying to help me. To save me.

  And she was right. The Ancient Court had nothing to do with what had happened to her. Yes, there were bad apples among them, but not all of them were bad. Some of them, in fact, had dropped everything to help in my hour of need, were still offering to help.

  If my heart hadn’t been so hardened toward them in the first place, this whole thing might never have happened. Asher would have trained Alessia here, and Wickthorne wouldn’t have needed to bring in a new apprentice. I couldn’t deny my own role in this nightmare.

  Both my hands gripped Ryann’s as if my strength alone might hold her in this dimension.

  I promise. I promise my love. I’ll make you proud.

  I lifted my eyes to Asher, my heart filled with a new resolve. “I need you to do something for me.”

  “What is it?”

  “Go to the surface as quickly as you can. Alessia has returned. Bring her inside. Bring all the Dark Elves back inside. Tell Alessia I’m sorry and that I beg her help.”

  He gave a quick nod and darted from the room.

  When I looked back down at Ryann’s face, her lips were upturned in the faintest hint of a smile.

  17

  Chapter Seventeen

  LAD

  Within minutes, Asher came back with Alessia. The two of them went right to Ryann’s side.

  “Lad, if you’ll just let us…” Asher said.

  “Yes, of course.”

  I stepped back, and they both placed their hands on Ryann. Wickthorne stayed in position, focusing on delivering the baby.

  “Thanks,” Asher breathed and then closed his eyes. “Oh, wow. There’s a lot of internal bleeding.”

  “I know,” Alessia said, her eyes closing as well as she prepared to employ her powerful glamour. “We’ll do our best. Are you ready?”

  He nodded then went motionless. A hum, like nothing I’d ever heard, filled the room. The two young healers stayed impossibly still, deep in concentration. Asher’s hands enveloped Ryann’s head while Alessia’s rested over her heart.

  At first, I was frozen in place. But I couldn’t stay still. I paced the room, eyes trained on my bond-mate and the healers who fought for her life.

  Please please please. Let her live. Let me keep her. Give power to their hands, make their glamours stronger than they’ve ever been. Don’t take her. Please.

  I knew bargaining was useless because I had nothing of value to offer in return, but I did make a promise.

  I vow to honor Ryann’s request and open my heart—to everyone. I’ll be less afraid and more loving. More welcoming. More forgiving. I’ll be the leader I should be and the bond-mate and father my family needs me to be.

  * * *

  The humming noise quieted. Asher and Alessia stepped back from the bed. Ryann’s eyes opened, and my heart stopped.

  Then she took a deep breath and lifted a hand to her left temple. “My head doesn’t hurt.”

  I laughed out loud, filled with joy. Rushing to her side, I took her hand and kissed her face again and again.

  “You’re going to be okay.”

  She looked up at me and smiled. “Lad.” Then her face contracted in confusion. “Lad, the baby. Where’s the baby?”

  She lifted her head and looked toward the foot of the bed where the draped blanket concealed her lower half.

  Wickthorne stood, coming into view. I’d been so consumed with Ryann I had stopped noticing what he was doing. Instead of wearing a smile like everyone else in the room, the old healer’s expression was grave. And then I saw why.

  He lifted a tiny body above the drape. The baby wasn’t moving. Her skin was blue.

  A daughter. My daughter.

  Ryann let out a sharp, brief scream. “What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she crying? Why isn’t she moving?”

  Immediately, Asher and Alessia moved toward Wickthorne, who had laid the infant on an exam table against the back wall. I gripped Ryann’s hand and tried to keep her from getting out of the bed. It wasn’t easy.

>   “Let me see her. I want to see my baby,” she shouted as she struggled against me.

  “They’re trying to help her,” I said. “Have faith, my love. Trust them.”

  “Bring. Me. My. Baby.”

  I’d seen her use her persuasion glamour only a few times, but it had been memorable, and I recognized it here and now. Wickthorne lifted the limp baby from the table and carried her to Ryann, laying her on Ryann’s chest before he and the other two healers continued their work.

  I propped Ryann’s head and shoulders as she stroked our daughter’s wispy blonde hair and spoke to her, still employing her powerful Sway.

  “Wake up Maggie. Mommy’s here. Daddy wants to meet you. Please, baby girl, wake up. Wake up for Mommy and Daddy.”

  I stared at my tiny, perfect daughter, tears streaming from my eyes. “It’s Daddy. Wake up and say hello, baby.”

  Whether it was from the healers’ combined efforts, Ryann’s glamour, or my desperate hope, I’d never know, but the baby moved.

  And then she cried.

  Loudly.

  The room filled with exhalations of relief, shouts of joy, and laughter. Wickthorne, Asher, and Alessia hugged one another.

  “I think we can stop worrying about the health of her lungs,” Asher said, smiling with tears running down his cheeks. “I’ll bet the crowd gathered outside the palace can hear her.”

  I kissed the squalling baby’s head and then Ryann’s and then the baby again. Maggie.

  “You named her Maggie?” I asked Ryann.

  “Magnolia. Maggie as a nickname. If that’s okay with you. While Falene had me locked away, I kept my mind busy contemplating baby names.”

  “It’s perfect. Princess Magnolia.” I laughed out loud, kissing each of them again. “Ryann… we have a daughter!”

  She laughed now, tears of joy glistening in her eyes. “Yes, we do.”

  Ryann allowed Asher to take the baby and clean her up while Wickthorne tended to her post-delivery care. After a few minutes, Asher brought Maggie back to me and placed the swaddled infant in my arms.

  “Your daughter,” he said. “Congratulations, Your Highness.”

  I smiled at him then at Alessia, feeling more grateful to the two of them than I could ever express.

  To Alessia, I said, “I don’t know how to thank you—or how to apologize enough for my treatment of you. Please forgive me.”

  She nodded and touched my arm. “Don’t give it another thought. I have some regrets of my own—many, actually—and I’ve had to ask forgiveness for far worse things. I’ll spend a lifetime trying to make up for them. I’m just thankful you gave me the chance to help and be a part of this moment. I only hope Wes and I are so blessed one day.”

  “I believe you will be,” I said. “I believe in a lot of things today. Anything is possible.”

  I took a deep breath, smiling at my friends and more certain of that than I’d ever been. “There are going to be some changes around here. For one thing, I’m lifting the restriction on travel in and out of Altum. For another… well, come with me. You’ll see.”

  I leaned down and kissed Ryann once more. “I’ll be right back. I’ve got to present the princess to her people.”

  “Elven tradition?”

  “You got it. But I have a little surprise for all those traditional Light Elves out there.” I finished telling her my plans mind-to-mind.

  Ryann’s face lit up in a brilliant smile. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but I think I just fell more in love with you.”

  When I stepped out onto a balcony facing the grand cavern, it seemed every resident of Altum was there below, waiting outside the palace for word on the fate of the queen and the royal baby.

  One of them must have spotted me and spread the word because all their faces turned up toward me. Moving to the edge, I lifted my tiny daughter high, for all her subjects to see.

  I projected my voice to each and every mind, making the official pronouncement.

  This is Magnolia, daughter of Lad and Ryann, granddaughter of Ivar and Mya, great granddaughter of Neena, and direct descendant of Davis and of Dierk, whose family lines go back all the way to the First Ones. She is the new princess of Altum.

  After a pause for effect, I added. And the heir to the Light Throne.

  There was a collective gasp, moving through the underground kingdom like the wind blowing through the pine trees overhead. It was followed by a roar of cheers and applause.

  I turned around to wink at Asher and Alessia, and at Nox, who’d stepped onto the balcony behind me. He closed his open jaw and formed a smirk, clapping me on the back.

  “Boy, when you make a turnaround, you do a thorough job of it. You just changed several millennium’s worth of royal succession rules with a few words. Cute kid, by the way.”

  Then he clasped me in a back-pounding hug. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you. And happy for me—I wasn’t looking forward to splitting my time between Malibu and the Kingdom of Mud here.”

  We both laughed and moved back inside, where my bond-mate—and my entire future—waited for me.

  18

  Epilogue

  Mom and Grandma are doing a remarkable job of holding it together.

  If I had to cook Christmas dinner for this many people, I’d be having a nervous breakdown right about now. But the two of them insisted on providing a “real family Christmas” for those “poor deprived Elves,” and Mom seems to be in her glory, bustling about the kitchen dressed in her red and white Mrs. Santa sweater.

  I hope we’ll have enough, Grandma confides to me mind-to-mind.

  Looks like there’s enough to feed twice as many, I tell her. And it’s true.

  The spread on the kitchen island consists of an enormous turkey, two Honey Baked Hams, cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, fresh buttered corn, roasted asparagus, buttery whipped potatoes, cranberry sauce, and too many desserts to count.

  Of course, there’s plenty of sweet tea. Wouldn’t be a holiday meal without it. The house smells heavenly, and my stomach growls.

  “Too bad I’m not eating for two anymore,” I say to Lad.

  We’re sitting together on the living room couch near the decorated tree. Maggie is in my arms. She’s been sleeping for a while, but you can bet she’ll wake and want to nurse right about the time we all pull up our chairs at the dinner table.

  Lad kisses my temple. “Eat for as many as you’d like. You’re my queen. Besides, you’re providing Christmas dinner for the royal heir. You need the nutrition.”

  I laugh. “I’m not sure sweet potato casserole counts as nutrition. It contains more butter and sugar than sweet potatoes. But thanks for the excellent excuse.”

  “Nothing is too sweet for my sweet girls,” he murmurs and runs a finger lightly over our daughter’s barely-there eyebrows and down to her button nose.

  I kiss him then smile down at our tiny princess, letting out a sigh. Not only will Magnolia be the Light Court’s first female ruler someday, I’m afraid she may also be the most spoiled Elven child ever.

  Lad continually orders new miniature dresses to be made for her, despite my insistence she can’t possibly wear the ones she already has before growing out of them. The toys he commissioned from the Elven artisans had to be moved to their own room in the palace because they were overflowing the nursery.

  “Christmas presents,” he insisted when I protested over the excess. I made him promise to stop before all the gifts overflowed the palace itself.

  And he finds every possible excuse to hold Maggie and parade her through Altum, accepting every single word of “well-deserved” praise from its residents on her exceptional beauty and “obvious” intelligence.

  I suppose there are worse things. In fact, I know there are. We’ve lived through them, and thankfully, come out the other side.

  The other side is nothing short of beautiful. The festively decorated living room is crowded with family and friends. Ava and Asher
will be heading to his family’s farm soon for their own dinner, but they’ve stopped in for appetizers first.

  “I’ve always wanted to celebrate a big family Christmas,” she says, beaming and leaning into Asher’s side. “Now I get to have two.”

  Alessia, Wes, and Olly put off their trip home for a couple days so they could join us. Olly seems quite taken with Magnolia and probably would make a wonderful babysitter if she weren’t returning to England.

  I hope she’ll be okay. She’s apologized to me several times for “failing” to help when I was missing. I feel terrible for the poor kid and assured her I was grateful just that she was willing to come here and try.

  Estelle and Anders are here, too. I keep watching them for signs of couple-dom, but it’s hard to tell with those two. They flew in from California along with Nox’s other two bandmates, Rolf and Matteus. Looking at the hungry expressions on the faces of those huge boys, I’m wondering if we will have enough food after all.

  Emmy and Shay dropped by to see the baby, but honestly, they’re spending more time gawking at the Elven guys in the room. I can’t blame them. I’m almost used to it by now, but if you’re not accustomed to seeing them all the time, they are kind of dazzling.

  Nox and Culley are taking it in stride, sticking close to their bond-mates. Laney looks over at Vancia standing beside her and laughs. I know what she’s thinking. This is weird.

  It’s also wonderful. The fact that we’re all here together. The fact that we’re here, when we came so close to losing it all. I almost feel like I need a re-do of Thanksgiving. But this holiday will do just fine. Starting the new year with gratitude isn’t bad timing either.

  Daddy picks up a long-handled spoon and taps it on his iced tea glass. “Folks, if I could get your attention for a moment… it’s almost time to eat, and I’d like to say the blessing.”

  All conversation ceases, and a peaceful hush falls over the room. Heads bow as my dad starts speaking in his low drawl.