Page 29 of A Drink of Destiny
“Annila told me that,” I nodded.
“I think… I think she’ll come back when Andy’s older. When she thinks he’s learned enough magic to be a good sacrifice to her own greedy ends.”
“We have time to prepare then,” I sighed and rubbed away the goosebumps rising up on my arms.
“Hell, I need an amulet to teleport me to Dern,” Mori sighed and rubbed his eyes.
“Don’t cry. Does he have a mirror over there?” I asked, wrapping one arm around his shoulders.
“I think so.”
“Good, come on. I’ll show you a trick. Arrick is better at it than I am, but I can help you. I’m sure Dern can get you home once you’re over there.”
“Are you going to shove me through a mirror?” Mori laughed.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Then you won’t be astrally over there and you shouldn’t be as tired when you get back. Just remember, time will still move differently than it does here on Earthside.”
“Thanks,” Mori hugged me tight in a big bear hug before I shoved him through the bathroom mirror, showing him how to find the tiny valleys in the glass that magic traveled.
Now, it was time to get back to my mate.
Chapter Eighteen
Raiel
Pierce’s Family Estate
Alvis came upstairs and took a nap after Mori left. I hated to admit that I eavesdropped on them, but I had and the thought of Sharon Claudis laying in wait until her grandson was old enough to sacrifice left a sour taste in my mouth. Also, Annila had left without telling me. I hadn’t known her for long, but she’d become a part of my life even if that was mostly ensuring she hadn’t rolled off the bed in her sleep.
“She has her own path to walk,”my lion said inside my thoughts.“Perhaps her mate will find her before she completely goes off the rails.”
I hoped the maned guy was right, but I wasn’t holding my breath. I would have never been in the right place had a fortune teller not pointed me in the right direction. As I watched Alvis sleep, I couldn’t help but to think how lucky we had been. The stars don’t line up for everyone. Now, we were together, planning to travel Earthside and probably my home world too. We were probably pregnant. He smelled pregnant and his heat had receded. The idea of him leaving the house made me want to rip, tear, and shred whatever lured him out. The safest place for him and our unborn baby was by my side. Together we were stronger.
Eventually I dozed off too. Our sleep schedule was ‘sleep when you’re tired’ and it was going to take some adjusting before we ever had a sleep schedule that was actually a schedule again. I dreamt that I was flying with Alvis on my back and woke up to the beeping of a timer.
“Babe?” I called out because his warm, familiar weight wasn’t pressed against me.
“Just in the loo,” he called back.
“Uh… Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
I was too drowsy and unfocused for our normal game of back and forth. I yawned and poked around on our mating link. It took a few tries because Alvis was trying to be sneaky but a moment later, he laughed as phantom fur tickled him. Then through his eyes I caught the split-second glimpse of the pixelated baby wrapped up in a purple blanket. All the colors meant a certain type of test – some were faster, detected pregnancy sooner, told you if you were ovulating. Some were even getting half-ass decent at predicting eggs vs live births if Nic was to be believed.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I sprinted to the cracked open bathroom door.
“Because you and Mori could’ve been wrong,” he grinned. “It was unlikely but stranger things had happened and I don’t feel like I’ve felt before. Normally, I’d be all ‘give me all the blood and all the sugar.’ I spent most of my last pregnancy dipping doughnut holes and chocolate-covered pretzels into blood, mate.”
“Well,” I said, leaning on the door frame with both hands. “Were you eating the sire as often as you eat me?”
“Uh… What does—Oh! No, they weren’t donating blood,” Alvis said, blushing. “You did that on purpose!” he said and playfully slapped my chest. I caught him in one arm and pulled him close to me.
“How do you feel about it?” I asked him, pressing my forehead against his.
“Happy,” he said and then dropped his voice to a whisper. “Is it wrong that I’m a little relieved that Annila decided to do her own dirty work?”
“Nah,” I shook my head and kissed him. “She needs to figure out what her shit is and we need to focus on our family. Wait! Do you have another job lined up?”
