Something in me relaxes as if her words were just the salve I needed to heal my restless heart. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” I head for Kresley and watch as she lies back down. The pain on her face steadily defuses until she gives an exasperated laugh.
“I can’t feel it anymore.” She shakes her head with a delirious grin blooming over her face. Her hair is darker again. She might have surgically reconstructed herself to look like Laken, but her mannerisms and facial expressions are still very much her own.
“I’m glad.” I land a soft kiss to her forehead. Once upon a time, I tried to convince myself that I loved Kresley. It was while we were at that haunted boarding school, but even then there was something gnawing at me, preventing me from falling fully, and that something was Laken. “I’m sorry about everything, Kresley.” Tears rain down from me without my permission. My lips twitch uncontrollably as I struggle to hold it together. “I don’t want to get into it right now. I certainly don’t want to upset you further, but I just need you to know that I have deep regret over my actions.”
Her face slicks with tears in an instant as she nods through a pained smile. “I know, Wes. I never doubted you regretted it. I just wish you had it in your heart to love me the way you love her.” She gives a little shrug and breaks my heart in the process. “I love you enough for the both of us.”
Kres cuts me to the bone with those words. That’s exactly how I felt when Laken left me for Coop.
An ear-splitting cry comes from the next room, and I bolt upright.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake”—Kres grunts—“get the little bitch some narcotics, would you?” She pulls the thin blanket Heathcliff gave her to her chin.
“Yes, ma’am.” I head out and meet up with Ezrina at the door. “Hey”—I tick my head deeper into the hall as we head out of earshot—“I need you to give Kres her face back.”
An incredulous huff comes from her. Those crazy eyes of hers get squirrely as if she were about to knife me, and knowing Ezrina, she might. “Can’t.”
“Don’t give me that. You’re the best damn plastic surgeon in the country, and you know it.”
“World,” she corrects, shaking out that shaggy red mane of hers that adds another psychotic layer to her persona. “We’ll see. It won’t be easy. Is she willing?”
“She will be.” I’m afraid she was never a fan of taking on the likeness of the woman she hated, whom she accused of stealing me. And as far as throwing her to the proverbial wolves to save Laken, I’m not sure I can consider that anymore now that she’s the mother of my child. No, I’ll have to protect Kres as fiercely as I do Laken. Chloe is on her own. “Hell, give her whatever she wants. Make her look like the Queen of England if it floats her boat. Just make sure she looks nothing like Laken.”
“Will do.” Ezrina gives a mock curtsy. “Now get in there and calm the next one.”
Laken gives a sharp cry, and I rush into the master bedroom only to find Cooper lying next to her, his arm around her chest as they breathe through the contraction together.
“Out,” I say it crisp and clear.
“Oh, thank God.” Laken reaches for me, and just like that, any insecurities Coop may have given me just went out the window. “Cooper has to stay. He’s got this magical touch that just calms me.”
And back in through the window they come.
Ezrina and Skyla are buzzing about something in the corner, and judging by the wild-eyed look Skyla is throwing this way, it’s nothing good.
“Hang on just a sec.” I head over and peg the two of them with an accusation before ever opening my mouth. “Spit it out.”
Skyla shakes her head violently at Ezrina. “I forbid you.”
“And I am Tobie’s father,” I remind Ezrina in the softest tone I can. It’s true. Anytime I utter those words, Ezrina is as good as on a leash. “What is it?”
Ezrina’s jaw stiffens a moment as she glances to Laken and Coop. “Skyla doesn’t think we should give Laken any artificial relief.”
“No meds?” I look to Skyla who’s busy glowering at me.
“That’s right,” she hisses. “I want nothing but the best for Laken and her baby, and I’d hate to think of what might happen to that precious babe of yours if you poison it with toxins!”
I wince a moment. “You’re lying. You just advocated heavily for Kres to get relief. And I don’t buy for a minute that you’re that vindictive. You would never have suggested it to Kres if you thought it would hurt the baby. Ezrina, what’s really going on?”
“Pain.” Ezrina nods with a marked sadness. “It may dislodge her memories.”
“Shit,” I hiss without meaning to, shooting a quick glance back at Coop petting my very pregnant soon-to-be wife on my bed. “Get the meds in her now,” I bark, my voice shaking as if my sanity were about to derail, and it is.
“What’s this?” Laken calls over to us. “Are you thinking about medicating me? No way, no how.” She pats her stomach carefully and grimaces. “Coop here has studied up on non-transitive pain techniques, and so far they seem to be working.”
“They won’t. It’s just the beginning,” I say, stalking over. Why does it suddenly feel as if the world is ganging up on Laken and me once again? “You’ll take an epidural like Kresley. I won’t have you in that kind of agony.”
“I’ll take?” Her brows hike in a manner that assures me I’ve pissed her off.
“Laken.” I pinch my eyes shut. “Trust me. After a certain point, you’ll beg for the medicine, and we won’t be able to give it to you. That’s exactly what happened to Skyla, isn’t it?” I glare over at the blonde witch who’s busy conspiring against me at every turn.
“Maybe.” She shrugs. “But my boys are the brightest and the best, and they were so clear those first few hours. Not sluggish or drugged at all. I think a natural birth is a wonderful idea. I can’t wait to do it again.” Her lips pull back as if the thought made her sick.
“What?” Gage steps into the room, and Skyla bolts for him, presumably to keep him from spilling the truth. “Skyla.” A laugh rumbles in his chest as he walks over and gifts her a kiss. “Maybe we should get out of here and make a few babies of our own?” He winks, and she swats him.
“Maybe you should all leave.” I pull Laken’s hand up and kiss it just as she begins in on another panting spree. This time, it’s me telling her to look into my eyes and steadying her with my words. Hours drift by, and Laken’s pain hikes up markedly, but she’s stubbornly stoic about it.
“It’s time,” Ezrina calls from the door. “Kresley’s child is upon us.”
I look to Laken with my heart in my throat, my own breathing in a panic. “I’ll be right back.”
“Go.” She gives me a gentle shove. “I have Skyla and Coop.”
Gage knocks his arm against mine. “I’ll go with you.”
I take off and glance back just as Laken turns to Cooper, his hand lovingly on her cheek as he whispers something to her and she nods. No sooner do Gage and I get out the door than I shove him to the wall without meaning to.
“You’ve got to help me. Ezrina said if she doesn’t take the meds her memory might be jarred back into place.”
His eyes expand with the revelation before closing altogether. “Wes”—he shakes his head—“let this play out however Laken wants. If it’s not jarred into place now, that means it’s a time bomb waiting to go off. You said yourself you wanted her to be whole again.”
“I do.”
The sound of grunting emanates from Kresley’s room, and I speed on in to find her legs spread, leaning on her elbows, chin on chest as she pushes with all her might.
“Come,” Ezrina calls from the base of her legs. Heathcliff stands beside her and washes my hands in a basin of hot water.
“Wes!” Kresley cries as she gasps for air.
“I’m here.” I step up next to Ezrina and note the dark triangle of hair at the base of Kresley’s thighs bulging unnaturally.
Kresley lets out a wil
d cry once again and out pops a dark head of hair. Tears blur my vision, but I blink them away. Ezrina suctions the nose and mouth. That face. Beautiful, beautiful face. Shoulders out.
Ezrina takes my hands and places them on the baby. “Bring your child into the world.”
And just like that, I do. I latch onto the slippery flesh and pull out a seemingly lifeless infant who suddenly bursts into existence with a lusty wail. My eyes sweep over this perfect tiny being.
“It’s a boy!” I shout as I pull him to me and land a kiss to the top of his sticky head.
Ezrina does what’s necessary with the cord. “Place the boy on his mother.” I do as I’m told, and both she and Heathcliff get straight to work washing and drying as my sweet son roars to life like a fierce lion ready to claim what’s his. The tears come fast and hot. I can’t stop. Can’t help it.
“We did it, Wes.” Kresley pulls me down, and I gift her a kiss right over her lips.
“We did. He’s beautiful.”
“He needs a name.” She pets his dark capful of hair as he lies over her bare chest.
Gage offers me a quick embrace, wiping his own tears away. “Good job, man. Lucky for you, he’s got my good looks.”
Kresley gives a little laugh. “I’m lucky, too.” She runs her finger over the rim of his ear. “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
And I know she means it. Deep down, Kresley has an insatiable love for me—obsessive even. I know that will carry over to her love for our child for all time.
Chloe pops into the room. “Knock, knock.” She’s still holding Tobie hostage, and I can’t help but frown. Chloe uses Tobie as a device, and I have a feeling that will carry over for all time as well. “Rumor has it, there’s another monster on the loose.”
She heads over, and I take Tobie from her. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Chloe cheered as Tobie used her new baby brother’s head like a soccer ball.
“That’s yours, Tobie.” I kiss her forehead as she struggles to reach him. “That’s your new baby brother.”
“Brother!” she squeals and claps her hands, and everyone in the room lights up with laughter. “I’m going to eat him up!” She rubs her tummy, and I can’t help but frown at Chloe. I’m sure she’s been coaching my poor child on exactly what to say.
Chloe smirks to Kres. “Don’t forget to put that in the baby book. They’ll be close, I can tell. A girl just adores her brother. I do love mine.”
I happen to know that’s true. And just the same, Brody seems to adore Chloe no matter what mischief she gets herself into. I guess, in that respect, blood really is thicker than water.
“So what’s his name?” Chloe asks just as Skyla enters the room and fawns over the precious bundle of joy. “Oh, that’s right. You let Messenger name your children. Isn’t that right?”
Skyla glowers at her nemesis. “Only because you wouldn’t take the responsibility. I’m sure Kresley has had a name picked out for months.”
Kres shakes her head. “I was afraid they were going to take him away. I was trying hard not to get attached.” She pulls him closer and lands a protective hand over his back as he burrows over her chest.
“You’ll come up with something.” Gage gives my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Take your time. Get to know him.”
“Can I hold him?” Skyla asks, her eyes wet with tears.
Ezrina bundles him in a soft white blanket and hands him to Skyla.
“Oh my, you are light as a feather.” Her lips press together as if fighting off a deluge of emotion. “Enjoy this precious stage. It goes by way too fast,” she says, rocking him in her arms, mesmerized by his tiny precious face. Those almond-shaped eyes blink up at her a murky shade of blue. His perfect lips, those divots in his cheeks are already digging in deep. “He looks exactly like our boys.” She laughs as she looks to Gage. “He could be another brother.”
Something about that warms me. I love Nathan and Barron. And I love that my own son has two built-in brothers of sorts, and an older sister who can’t wait to get her hands on him. I never had any siblings, and I always felt I was missing out. I was close to Laken’s brother, Fletcher. He was my brother for a time, but now we’re virtual strangers to one another again.
“My baby,” Tobie says, miffed, and we all share a laugh.
“What do you think, Skyla?” I ask as Tobie and I get close to her and the baby. “What does he look like to you?”
“Maybe something with an E to go with Edinger?” She pulls him in close and smells his hair, her eyes closing as if it were a divine experience. “Elias or Ezra?”
“Elias? We can call him Eli?” Kres looks up at me. “I love it. It’s beautiful like him.”
“Elias,” I try it out on my lips and my heart explodes as if I’ve just said my son’s name for the very first time, and I think I have. “Eli it is then.”
Kres nods. “Elias Wesley Edinger.”
I set Tobie down and pick up my son, bowing down so that my precious little girl can look to him in wonder right along with me.
“I love him, and I love you, Tobie. I love you both.”
“Mommy’s gonna have another baby, too,” Tobie wails as if she’s about to cry. “I’m gonna have this one. Eli’s—baby Eli’s going to be in my room.” She points hard to herself, jabbing her thumb into her chest, and we all share a laugh.
“I’m sure the baby will be in Kresley’s room at first, but I know she’ll share with you.”
“No, no! Mine!” she belts it out, hostile and angry, and as much as I want to laugh, I don’t. I can’t reward behavior like that.
“Give your brother a hug, Tobie. I need to be with Mommy now.”
Tobie gives little Eli a careful embrace before I return my son to his mother.
“I’ll be back in a bit.” I kiss the top of her head. “Ezrina.” I lead her to the hall and look sternly at her, trying my best to communicate the severity of what I’m about to say. “Laken wants a DNA test once the baby is born.” I offer a solemn nod, letting the silence eat away any comfort that might lie between us. “No matter what it says, that child is mine. Are we clear?”
Tobie runs out of the room and bolts right for us. I don’t hesitate in picking her up and making Ezrina look into her own biological child’s eyes.
“I see.” Ezrina lifts her chin in defiance before looking to Tobie, and her affect weakens to something just shy of sobering honesty. “Let thy will be done. Let all curses fall upon you, Wesley Edinger, if need be.” She leaves, and I stand there a moment until Chloe, Skyla, and Gage emerge.
Chloe takes Tobie from me and sets her on the floor. “Let’s get some dinner, kid. All that blood and gore got my appetite going.” I watch as they take off down the hall.
Skyla ticks her head toward Laken’s room. “I’d better head in. Congratulations, Wes.” She offers a quick hug. “August twenty-fourth is turning out to be a really big day for you. Let’s see if Laken makes the deadline.” She gives a cheeky wink before disappearing.
Gage starts to follow her in, and I pull him back. “Laken wants a DNA test.” I shrug as if it were no big deal. “I just told Ezrina to run it. I’m not afraid. That baby is mine, and I know it.”
“Good. No fear, man. That’s how you gotta live. At some point, you have to realize not everything is in your hands. You just got to have faith it will all work out in the end the way it was meant to. It’s fate.”
And that right there is the difference between my brother and me. He believes in fate. I believe in making my own version of it.
“What about the war?” I ask, breaking my own code of conduct for a moment. I’ll talk shop on my own terms.
Gage glances to the room with Skyla in it. “I overheard Dudley and Lizbeth talking about some Halloween party at his place.”
I stare at him a long while. That’s a few weeks before the prospective wedding he’s to have with Skyla. We both know Demetri suggested they bond in union before he fires off the first shot. I guess this is
where Gage goes off the script. In truth, I didn’t think he could do it to Skyla. Enter into a binding covenant and then stabbing her in the back. No, Skyla believes she’s about to get seven years of peace. I actually feel sorry for the both of them.
“Gage”—his name hisses from me with despair—“think about this.” I know that Gage loves Skyla as much as I love Laken. “There’s no going back, man. She’s going to hate you.”
His gaze bolts to the wall as if I struck him. “That’s not my chief concern, and you know it.”
I do know it. His chief concern is spending eternity with the woman he loves. My chief concern is the same.
“She’ll forgive you. Her love for you is strong.” It’s true. Skyla could forgive Gage of just about anything. “If you tell her about—”
Gage slams his hand to my chest. “I’m not telling her a damn thing,” he grits it through his teeth. “And if you do, I swear on all that is holy I will destroy you right along with her people. She can never know, Wes.” Tears swell up in his eyes. The pain, the ripe anger on his face is palpable. “I need her to fight.” His voice breaks. “Skyla is a warrior. I couldn’t live with myself for eternity knowing I led her to lay down her arms. And that’s exactly what she would do for me. She loves me just as fiercely as I love her.”
Gage and I stare one another down for a few good minutes. Skyla is his war. Celestra is mine. They’ll have to settle this among themselves. I’m sure they will. Or, at least for my brother’s sake, I hope so.
“Halloween,” I say, removing his hand from me. “That’s Tobie’s birthday. It’s perfect. What better gift to give my daughter than a war and a win to follow.”
His dimples depress with a wry smile. “The win will come. I can guarantee it.” He thinks on it a moment. “I want boots on the ground. Picking them off slowly isn’t scaring anyone.”
“A massacre.” I examine this new and improved version of my brother, and for a moment I wonder if I’m the one being played. He’s either fooling me or Skyla. I don’t like the math. “I like how you think. We’ll need a cover.”
“Logan gifted us one tonight when he rescued Kres. The Spectators have been bastardized. They’re trouble, but we need them now more than ever. You and I will do the transports.”
Throne of Fire Page 65