Page 137 of A Baron of Bonds
A light knock came to the door, and Karus poked her head inside. “I heard Ilyenna’s ill?” She looked at me with the same concern.
“I’mfine,” Ilyenna grumbled, taking her hand from her companion and crossing her arms at her chest in her bed. “Just tired.”
“And nauseous. You couldn’t keep your dinner down last night,” Talon added, looking back at us.
Karus cocked her head, eyes narrowing. She opened her mouth to say something and hesitated. “Talon, Revich, I need a minute alone with Ilyenna please.”
Talon sighed, bending his head forward, his two long black braids following the movement. He rose and left the room, an exasperated look on his face just for me.
I turned and left as well, waiting with Talon right outside the door. He paced back and forth across the hall.
“She’s probably right. I’m sure it’s nothing, Talon. Something she ate didn’t sit well.” I did my best to convince him, attempting to convince myself just the same.
“What if it’s not? What if itisthe Black Lung? You said you destroyed the Blight that caused it in the first place and?—”
“We did. Pompeii is cured. This must be something—” I stopped my reassurance, confused. Karus was relieved, excited, and stern all at once in that room.
I pulled myself from the wall and waited for her to exit.
A brilliant smile lit her face as she opened the door. “Talon, Ilyenna has something to tell you.” She was practically beaming with joy as she moved aside and let him enter.
She took my hand, pulling me down the hall to the staircase.
“What is it? What’s wrong with Ilyenna?” I asked.
We got to the bannister that looked down many levels below to the foyer and she kissed me. “Nothing is wrong. Ilyenna is growing a child.”
“What?”
She laughed, falling into my chest. “In eight months or so, the Fortress will host its first baby.”
Relief and shock sifted through me as I wrapped my arms around Karus, shaking my head.
“How…how did this happen?” I murmured in disbelief.
She pulled back to look at me. “You know very well how this happened.”
“Talon assured me they had styris tea.”
“Ilyenna assured me that their first night as companions, they did not.”
I huffed, trying to process what I’d never had to think about before. When a child came in several months, Ilyenna would still not be ready for her conduit trials. She’d need time to rest and they’d need help taking care of the baby. Maybe some of the staff would be willing to help take care of the child. We’d also need to move her and Talon to a room on the first level?—
“Revich,” Karus interrupted my thinking. “Say your thoughts aloud. I’d love to know what you’re thinking.”
“What does she need? What can we do to help her right now?” I pulled my hands through my hair, leading Karus down the stairs. “We need them to choose a room on the ground floor. She can’t be walking up all these stairs several times a day. And what about her nausea? I’m sure Lia knows something that can help. She won’t be ready for the conduit trials by the time the baby comes, so we need to enlist help from the staff so she can take breaks to train. Unless of course, she wants to spend more time with the baby, and?—”
Karus was glowing.
I realized this when I finally glanced at her as we hurried down the stairs to get to the kitchens. Her joy had always shown itself as green. There was a warmth in the color that radiated from her fingers, often forming over her shoulders as well.
I stopped, pulling her to me. “You’re glowing.”
She laughed. The sound was the purest flutter of beauty I’d ever hear. “I don’t know if you know this, my love, but you make me glow. It’s almost always you. I know joy from you.”
She kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck, and I didn’t hesitate to pull her chest against mine.
“You are the best Baron Felgren has ever seen.” She kissed my cheek and pulled herself into my neck.
