Page 384 of Never Kiss a Fae
I swallowed past the lump in my throat before I nodded my permission.
She ran her palm over mine, sending a pleasant silver glow into the room. I sensed spirit magic working over me, although it felt more distant than usual. She hummed with thought, then ran her glowing hand up my arm and down over my stomach. She smiled. “Yes, you’re progressing nicely.”
The tension in the room eased. “So… I’m still pregnant?”
Yes, little queen, Cyrus murmured into my thoughts.Definitely pregnant.
The Healer laughed. “Yes, dear, and you have a healthy fae child blossoming in your womb. If no one has said it yet, congratulations.”
I swayed against the wave of relief that swept over me.
I was definitely pregnant.
With Cyrus’s child.
And the baby is okay.
The solace that swept through me was strong enough to make me feel giddy. “So, I’m in the second phase?” I asked, my voice wavering. I needed something practical to hold on to right now before I turned into an emotional puddle on the floor. “I’m, uh, nesting?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes. You’re preparing for your child to be born, and that means creating an environment your instincts find conducive to a relaxed and joyful ambience.”
A strong gust of wind swept through the room, a testimony to Vox’s stress levels. He batted at the retaliating hanging decorations while Sol pulled out a strand of fae cherry puffs from his bag and started eating them off the string.
“Those are supposed to be hung up,” I told him.
“And eaten,” he agreed, inhaling another mouthful.
“I wouldn’t call this relaxed,” Vox said slowly, looking around at all the decorations and the mass of bags they’d just brought home with them.
I frowned. “What do you mean, this isn’t relaxed?”
“It’s… sort of busy?” he replied, deepening my frown.
Did he not understand the point of the holidays? “Titus?” I asked, pointing at the dull orbs wrapped around the nearest pillar. “Could you light those for me, please?”
He arched his brow but didn’t ask me why I hadn’t done it myself. Instead, he obeyed and flicked his fingers, sending the swirl of orbs alight. Cyrus silently activated the second one, giving the room a complement of fire and water that made my shoulders relax.
“See?” the Healer asked with a smile. “That makes you feel better, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, sighing. “I’ve always liked decorating for the holidays. That doesn’t mean anything.” I leaned in. “So, you’re telling me I’m past the ‘incubation’ period and now I’m nesting. How can I be nesting if I’m only a week pregnant?”
Well, technically, ten days since I apparently slept for three of them.
She patted my hand again, this time more forcefully. “Your pregnancy will be similar to that of a fae, not a human.” She glanced at my pointed ears. They had transformed years ago after I had accepted the fae side of myself. “You’ve lived in the Elemental Fae realm for quite a few years now, and you have fae mates. Therefore, it makes sense for your pregnancy to run a similar course to a fae’s.”
I glanced around the room and found that none of my mates would meet my gaze. Finally, I zoomed back in on the Healer. “And what does that mean, exactly?” I demanded, suspecting this was the part my mates had “forgotten to mention” to me.
She chewed her lip before appeasing me. “You say that a human pregnancy lasts for nine months? Well, a fae one runs a bit shorter.”
“How much shorter?” I pressed.
Cyrus took pity on me and massaged my shoulders. His gaze said that he took full responsibility for this situation, being the one who’d impregnated me. “You’ll likely be delivering our child in about two months, little queen.”
My entire world screeched to a halt, and my stomach dropped.
“I’m sorry…What?”
“Nine weeks.” Claire repeated those two words over and over again, her feet moving swiftly over our bedroom floor as she paced back and forth.
