Page 52 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
Elias leaned forward, taking her hands in his. “Teddy and I are expecting our first babes.” He said it gently and held his breath as he waited for her to say something.
“You’re going to be a grandmother to two little boys,” Grandma Richter added.
At Grandma Richter’s words, Renee seemed to shrink further into herself. She ran her trembling fingers through the length of her dull black hair.
“You are to be a father?” she asked Elias.
“Yes.”
“You will make a fine father, dearest.” Her words came out dreary, matching the heavy smile she gave us.
“If I am a good father, it is only because of the example you and Father set before me.” There was so much hope lingering in every word he spoke.
Slowly, Renee turned her gaze to Grandma Richter, and Elias blew out a long string of breath.
“I think I need to rest,” the queen said.
Elias stood with her, offering his arm as he led her away with Grandma Richter striding behind them. His mother’s spine curved forward, and I couldn’t help but feel that she’d given up on living.
I swallowed the sorrow I felt from Elias and pushed it down while it tried to claw its way up my throat. It didn’t help, and with our family and friends around us, I felt Elias’s heart break so much harder and louder than before.
I reached for him with my magic, wanting to soothe whatI wasn’t sure could heal. Even from rooms apart, I felt it when the threads of his magic coiled around mine in desperation. While I wasn’t sure what I was doing, I used my magic to send him love and calm. His magic clasped onto it while his heart thrashed in pain.
When he returned, he smiled at everyone before he bent down to kiss my temple. With my hand in his, he sat beside me. We ate, talked, and laughed while I felt the edges of Elias’s soul stumble and shatter around me.
It made me wonder if, along with mind-speak magic, I also somehow had empathic magic, but it only seemed to work with Elias when his emotions were heightened. Maybe it was simply our soul-bond connection, something I cherished but was still learning about.
Not knowing what else to do, I stood to sit on his lap. His arms engulfed me, and when he ran his nose across the back of my neck and inhaled, his limbs began to relax.
“I love you.”I sent the words to him through my mind.
His thumb grazed over my stomach.“Mo elma. Love isn’t a large enough word for what I feel for you.”
His unspoken thoughts filtered through as well, with him wondering if our connection could somehow cross through the realms so that our souls could stay entwined. I wasn’t sure if such a thing existed but for him, I’d try. For him, to bring him even the slightest bit of peace, I’d sew myself into the very fabric of his soul.
Chapter
Ten
ELIAS
It took longerto reach the compound than I had initially anticipated. Hayden and I had to bend space several times to get everyone as close to the compound as I would dare. Thankfully, the nyxx were able to travel through the snow they formed out of and made it to our meeting spot long before I bent space with the last of our small army.
Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t convince Brenton or Everly to stay in Niev. While George wasn’t pleased with my decision, he stayed at my command because we needed someone I trusted to handle the affairs I couldn’t while I was away. And selfishly, I needed him close to Teddy to protect my pregnant mate should trouble arise.
With Hayden’s and my magic somewhat spent from bending space so many times, we waited until well past midnight to make our move. I reached out to Teddy one last time to see if she’d managed to press her magic through the realms. She hadn’t.
There had been something peaceful about braiding the threads of our magic together the previous night. A sense ofsolace I still desperately needed. It was the only thing that kept me together after witnessing my mother fall apart once again.
For a moment, one foolish moment, I’d thought the joy her empathic magic had picked up on would lift her enough so she could join us. So she’dwantto join us in celebrating her first grandsons.
I forced myself back to the present. “Okay.” I ran a hand over my stinging face, focusing on the billow of white smoke that blew from my mouth. Guardians, the cold in the human realm, took some time to get accustomed to. “Once we step out of the forest, the lirio can no longer camouflage us, but with the humans’ poor vision, especially in the dark, we should be able to reach the compound doors before we’re seen. Finley and I will kill the guards standing watch.” I pointed toward the six guards standing atop a high platform beside the wall doors. They each held rifles and shields.
“You can’t just kill them.” Sebastian held his arms close to his chest, tucking his gloved hands beneath his underarms, but I noticed the way his muscles ticked in fear.
I gritted my teeth, taking my time to roll my shoulders and stretch my neck even though it did nothing to loosen the knots beneath the surface of my skin. “What would you have me do?”
“N-negotiate with them,” Sebastian stammered out. “You can’t . . . they have families, people who love them.”
