Ryatt
Seeing King Isaac go pink in the cheeks after his exceedingly pregnant mate gave him a look that could make the fiercest warrior cower made me feel slightly more whole.
I even felt a flicker of sympathy for the man. If the situation had been different, I would have empathized with him about the trials of being mated to a pregnant woman, but we’re not friends.
I don’t have friends. I prefer it that way. I guess Granger would be the closest thing I have to one, and he’s on the other side of the veil right now, hopefully alive and doing his duties as my Beta.
My head still feels heavy, my senses blurred. My power is nothing but a whisper in my veins as Isaac leaves the room behind Ella and Maddy.
Ella turns back to look at me before her brother closes the door, her eyes shining with concern.
With the barrier closed, I hear a lock slip into place from the outside.
I turn to the window and watch the waves beyond this strange house built into a cliff. I want nothing more than to get Ella alone and talk about what needs to be done. I shouldn’t be alive. It might have been easier for her if I’d died, honestly. She would stay here with her family if that had been the case.
I run my tongue along my bottom teeth as I watch a shockingly large boat slowly float by in the distance in the glare of the sun.
King Kane is dead. I know that without having to be told. I have fractured memories of Ella donning the mask. I remember stroking her cheek, thinking it would be the last time I ever touched her. The regret I felt was immense. Something grave had happened to her during her time with the king, and I hadn’t been there to save her.
Instead, she’d saved me.
I get off the bed and stumble into the bathroom, stepping over shattered glass and broken furniture left behind from my fight with Isaac. I steady myself with my hands pressed against the counter and slowly raise my head to look at my reflection. My hair falls over my shoulders. The humid, salt-filled air causes my hair to curl more than usual.
I’m developing a black eye and sporting a split lip, but otherwise Isaac’s punches only did damage to my chest and stomach. Bastard. If he wasn’t my wife’s brother, I would have killed him.
I’ll have a chance. He wants to duel. That’s fine. He only wants me back in fighting shape so it’s a more satisfying fight.
I shake my head and turn on the faucet and splash water on my face, but I hear the door to my prison open and close, then soft footsteps edging toward the center of the room.
Isla’s scent fills the space as I step out of the bathroom.
“Oh,” she says, her cheeks going rosy as she balances a tray of food in her hands. “You’re awake. I wasn’t sure you would be.” She looks around the room, frowning. She’s probably looking for the little wooden table Isaac and I threw ourselves into. “I see that Isaac paid you a visit.”
“He did.” I cross my arms over my chest. It hurts, but I don’t let it show. Isla’s face was the first thing I saw when I came back to lucidity after Ella brought us through the veil. She’s beautiful. Dainty, soft, and smells like a garden in bloom. But she’s so different from Ella. I find that interesting. Isla is shorter than her daughter. Her hair is golden blonde, like the sun, and her eyes are an icy blue. She and Isaac favor each other.
Ella is her father’s daughter, through and through. She has none of her mother’s sweetness. Graceful, sure. Beautiful, the most. But Ella is all fire. She’s bossy, demanding, and sometimes cold. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I thought I’d lost her. When I opened my eyes to find Isla hovering over me, pleading with me to stay awake, I’d realized where my mate had brought me. Ella had brought me home to her family. She was safe. I readily prepared to die knowing she, and our daughter, were finally out of danger and could live in peace.
Now I’m locked in a room in an unfamiliar place, alive at least, but waiting to face her father.
I’m not afraid of Isaac.
But Maddox?
I purse my lips as Isla looks for a place to set the tray. “I can take it.”
“Maybe you should just come eat with the family,” she suggests, but her eyes tell me that it’s probably not a good idea. She’s just trying to be kind.
“I’m not very hungry.”
“That’s just all of the medication you’re on for the pain,” she says, turning and setting the tray on the bed. “You haven’t eaten in days, I’m sure. At least not since you’ve been here.”
I chew my lower lip. The last time I had a meal, and a shitty one at that, had been in a camp outside of Twin Rivers before we crossed into Rifthold.
Memories of Westfall come rushing back to me. I blink, forcing myself not to dwell on him. I can’t face it yet.
I clear my throat. “Thank you. I’m fine eating here.”
She nods, smiling grimly. “I’m sorry about this, Ryatt. Oh, is it okay if I call you that? Or do you prefer your title?”
“I don’t know what my title would be at this point.”
She purses her lips. “Can you tell me why?”
I roll my lower lip into my mouth and cross the room, but I keep my distance from her. The last thing I need is for her mate to pick up my scent on her clothing. “You have an exceedingly powerful and… uncontrollable daughter.”
“Hmm,” she hums, a real smile brushing over her lips. “I do, don’t I?”
Now I’m smiling, but I stifle it and look out the window over the ocean. “She’s confident she killed the Alpha King of Eastonia. I believe her. She wouldn’t have been able to take the mask from him otherwise.”
“The mask is here,” Isla cuts in. “It’s in a vault on Maatua. It’s safe.”
“I don’t care about the mask. It can be dismantled and dropped in the ocean,” I tell her, looking at her over my shoulder. “In fact, I recommend it.”
I can feel her gaze on the back of my head as I turn toward the window with a sigh. “Your mate and your son want to know if there’s a threat from Eastonia. There’s not. Ella and I are the only people capable of crossing the veil. Whatever is happening there is contained. As for my title… I spent my early childhood being paraded around as the king’s heir. I am not his son by blood. I am not the Alpha King of Eastonia.”
Isla makes a little noise in her throat. I turn to look at her, noticing her confused expression. “Then who is?”
“There won’t be another.”
Now, she’s very confused, and I’m not sure I want to stand here and explain everything. I’m weaker than ever, and being in the presence of food makes me realize how long it’s been since I’ve eaten. But, given the fact this woman is not only, technically, my mother-in-law but also a very kind and hospitable host, I tell her what I can.
Eastonia is an ancient place full of ancient magic. I tell her about the Firestone witches, and their queen, and the Alphas who rose up against her to enslave the people of Eastonia. I tell her about Kane’s rise to power and his suspected immortality, since he held his throne for close to a hundred years. All that time he spent looking for a Firestone witch, someone capable of charging that mask to its full potential. When he wore it, he was immortal, so he never took it off.
But Ella had been able to kill him. How she did it so easily, I’m not entirely sure. I tell Isla what her daughter is, and how her mate and his ancestors are to thank for that.
“Ella is our queen,” I say quietly, my eyes still searching the water for more of those massive boats I saw earlier. “Our daughter is her heir.”
“What?”
Isla’s voice is a whisper full of shock and confusion. I realize what I’ve said a moment too late. She’s not confused about her daughter’s title, no.
“You didn’t know?”
“She’s pregnant?”
“Yes–” I turn to face her, my stomach twisting with a sudden feeling of dread. “Does anyone know?”
“The healers–they didn’t run those kinds of tests.” Isla sucks in a breath and turns for the door. “Oh, Goddess, the baby!”
No one checked. My body goes numb as I watch the blood drain from Isla’s face. She looks between me and the door, struggling with what to do. “How far along is she?”
“Three months at the most,” I say hurriedly. “Do you have a way to find out if the baby’s still alive? A healer or mystic?” The journey through the veil could have killed us both based on how weak we were after battling Kane. Ella had been drained of her powers by Kane. She would have tapped into the baby’s powers without realizing it when she cut through the veil.
“We have ultrasounds,” she breathes, “and healers, of course.”
I have no idea what an ultrasound is but I nod, my heart starting to race. Surely, Ella would have told someone about the baby. She isn’t showing yet. No one would suspect at first glance that she’s pregnant, and with our bond severed, I’ve had a hard time not only picking up her scent, but being able to feel those changes through our mate bond. I can’t feel either of them anymore, and it’s tearing me apart.
“I need to see her,” I say.
“I will go,” Isla says briskly. “But you will come with me, now, to see Maddox.”
“No,” I shake my head. “Not until–”
“I will make sure your–your daughter… is safe.” Her eyes glisten with tears, but her mouth pulls into a smile that drips with pure, unadulterated joy. It surprises me immensely to see the happiness in her expression. “Oh, a girl,” she whispers. “I always knew Ella would have daughters. She’ll be the best mom to girls.”
My heart aches as I watch Isla nod to herself, having some internal conversation only she can hear. She says, “Ella would know if anything was wrong. There would have been signs. She would have said something.”
“Yeah,” I say, but I’m not sure I believe it. Ella can be secretive sometimes. At least, she used to be like that around me. She tends to bottle things up until they explode, but this is different. We’ve been through hell and back the past two days, neither of us fully lucid. She probably didn’t even think anything could be wrong. But now the truth of what accured is crashing down around my feet as I follow Isla to the door.
“Everything is going to be fine, I’m sure. She’s with Maddy and Hannah right now.”
“That’s good.”
“You need a shirt–”
“It doesn’t matter.” I detest having to see Maddox and Isaac right away. But Isla might be right. If something is wrong with the baby, Ella is in better hands with the women.
What do I know about babies? Absolutely nothing. Being a father was never something that crossed my mind. The idea of Ella being in pain cuts me to the core, however. The idea she could end up grieving the loss of our child makes me want to put a hole through the wall and tear a few of the guards watching Isla and I swiftly exit my room to ribbons.
Isla ends up having to keep up with me as I move as quickly as possible down the long hallway. Every step aches, but I’d be sprinting right now if I knew where I was going. An archway leads out onto a wide terrace, and I briefly stop to gawk at our surroundings.
This building is one of many, all of them connected by bridges that lead to the main house, which towers in front of us. Turquoise water surrounds us completely. A small city is visible in the distance along a white sand beach, but that’s it. Isla passes me in her haste to reach the main house.
I race after her, ignoring the view all around me, and follow her through a large exterior door. Everything is all cream paint and light wood paneling with huge windows overlooking the endless ocean. “What does your mate need to see me about?”
“Oh, probably political matters,” Isla groans as I follow her up a flight of marble steps. “To make sure Isaac doesn’t need to deploy any armies. He’s not going to kill you.” She abruptly turns, and I almost run into her when she comes to a stop. “Don’t touch him, please. Isaac, I mean. I love him dearly, but he probably deserved the black eye you gave him today. He’s fair game, in my opinion, but he’s also about to be a new father, and I’m sure his mate would be livid if you maimed him in any way.”
“I’m not here to hurt your family,” I grind out, losing my patience. All I want to do right now is see Ella and make sure she’s all right. I’ve been down for far too long. I’m supposed to be the one protecting her, making sure she’s healing, not the other way around. “You have my word, but–” I take a cautious step toward her. “If anyone hurts Ella. If King Isaac–”
“I understand,” she says softly, meeting my gaze. “They had a rough time before she left. Their relationship was never the same after the war. She wasn’t the same. You have to understand that.”
I exhale through my nose. She straightens her shoulders and turns to lead me down an airy corridor with arches open to a sweeping terrace overlooking the water. She raps her knuckles against a heavy wooden door three times before opening it and shoving me inside. “I’ll come back in a little while,” she says, then slams the door shut behind her.
Two men rise from their chairs.
I sneer at Isaac, who sneers back, but then I shift my gaze to the man standing closest to the windows. He slowly raises his coffee mug to his lips, peering at me over the rim.
Yeah, Ella takes after her father.
And if she takes after him personality wise, I’m royally fucked.