My lips curved up. “You’re right.”

He returned my smile. “I was thinking that, other than telling Nektas, we should probably keep the news of this quiet. This isn’t information we want getting out.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Aios won’t say anything until I tell her it’s okay.”

The quiet came again, and his fingers made those soothing circles and lines across my belly. Our children, be they sons or not, would want for nothing. Even though the idea of parenting still freaked me out, I would do everything in my power to be a good one. And I would do everything to become deserving of this…blessing.

Because it still seemed unfair that I got to have this. Like fate had messed up somehow, rewarding instead of punishing me.

“Ash,” I said, my voice cracking under the weight of the emotions welling up inside me. “I’m so grateful for this, for us. For everything.”

“Me, too, liessa.” His head dipped, and he kissed me. “Me, too.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

“Nyktos said you wanted to see me,” Aios said as she crossed the fourth-floor antechamber, the hem of her sky-blue gown whispering over the stone floors.

She sat beside me on the couch while I sipped the juice Ash had insisted I finish. “You’ve made your choice?” she asked.

My heart fluttered. “We’ve made our choice. We’re going to do…the parent thing.”

Aios was quiet for a heartbeat and then squealed, causing me to jump. “I knew it!” She made another noise that sort of reminded me of a kitten, and then threw her arms around me. “Sorry! I’m so happy to hear this.”

“I can tell.” I only managed to hold on to my cup by sheer luck. “How did you know?”

“Nyktos sent Rhain to summon Kye,” she explained, squeezing me until I was the one close to squeaking. “He told Rhain he wanted Kye to check you over to ensure you were healing, but…”

“But you knew better.”

“I did.” Sitting back, she clasped her hands and tucked them under her chin. “I would’ve supported you either way. Truly. But I am so excited and happy for you—for both of you. For all of us. Do you even know the last time a Primal had children?”

“When Nyktos was born?”

Aios laughed. “Of course, you know.” She drew back. “When will you tell everyone? Please say soon because not telling Bele will drive me mad.”

I laughed, setting my cup on the side table. “I’m not sure when, but with everything going on, we want to keep it quiet. Can you help with that?”

“Of course. I won’t say a word, even though it will drive me mad.” Her cheeks were flushed. “How did he take the news?”

“I think he almost passed out,” I shared.

Aios giggled. “Fates, what I would have given to see that.”

I grinned. “It was something else, but other than that, he was…he was perfect.” Recalling his reaction once he got over his shock had my smile growing. “He’s actually very excited.”

Her smile faltered a bit as her gaze swept over my features. “Are you not excited? Now that you’ve talked to Nyktos?”

“I am,” I was quick to say. “I’m also a little terrified.”

“Understandable,” she said, patting my knee. “Did you guys talk about how this does and doesn’t affect things?”

“We talked about feeding and stuff,” I told her. “That’s something we have to ask Kye, but we haven’t gotten to the part where I tell him that I won’t be backing down from anything yet.”

“How do you think he’ll respond?”

I laughed. “Not at all well.”

Aios nodded. “At least you’re expecting him to put up a fight.”

“I am. And I understand why he won’t likely agree with me fighting. I get it. But if something happened to him and I wasn’t there?” Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “I can’t even think about it.” I blew out a breath. “Anyway, I know he will be an amazing father.”

“And I believe you will make an incredible mother,” she said, her voice unwavering.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “I don’t know.”

Her delicate brows furrowed. “I do.”

“I’m going to try. I want to because I…I love them already.” A nervous laugh left me as Aios’s features softened. My face warmed. “I do. And that makes me even more terrified,” I admitted, my fears rising then. I couldn’t put a lid on them. “I will do everything to be a good mother, even though I am possibly the worst and most undeserving person to have a child, let alone two of them.” I frowned. “I don’t even know how to swaddle one.” I looked at her. “Do you?”

“Yes.” Her lips twitched. “I can show you, but parenting is something you sort of learn along the way.”

That sounded chaotic and unpredictable, especially when I was involved in learning along the way.

I swallowed hard. “Yeah, but it’s more than that. I’m an anxious mess most days, and I can only imagine that will be, like, amplified, but…I guess being a nervous mess is normal when it comes to having children.”

“It is. I can swear to that,” she said. “I’ve known mothers on their sixth child still being incredibly anxious.”

Sixth? My eyes widened, and I shook my head. I glanced at Aios, opened my mouth, and then closed it.

“What?” She nudged me with her shoulder.

“Nothing.” I smiled. “I have no idea what Kye will do when he gets here.”

“It won’t be anything too invasive,” she said. “Just a general exam. Mostly, he will likely talk with you and Nyktos.”

I exhaled slowly. “Okay.”

Aios left so I could change into something other than a robe. I dressed not for the appointment with Kye but for what would come afterward, donning thick leggings and a white vest over a black linen blouse. I was finishing with the last of the hooks on the vest when I felt Nektas.

Leaving the top hook undone because it wasn’t entirely comfortable, I returned to the antechamber.

The moment the draken walked in from the balcony and our eyes met, I knew Ash had told him. It was the softness in his features and gaze. I stopped halfway to the raised platform, a knot of emotion lodging in my throat.

In less than a breath, Nektas held me in his arms and lifted my bare feet off the floor. The hug surprised me, but I got over it quickly, throwing my arms around his neck. He smelled of wind and earth.

“Sera,” he said in his gravelly voice, pressing his cheek to the side of my head.

I squeezed my eyes shut, soaking in his warmth. “Crazy, huh?”

He chuckled roughly. “It is, but in the best possible way.” He lowered me to my feet and drew back, his hands moving to my shoulders as his thin pupils dilated. “I thought I scented something from you before but wasn’t sure what it was.”

My brows snapped together. “When you smelled death on me?”

“No.” His laugh was low. “As I told you before, that was because I smelled Ash on you.”

“Oh.” My face warmed. “I probably could’ve lived without you bringing that up again.”

“It was when you returned from the riders and we were on the balcony,” he explained. “Your scent had changed.”

“Do I even want to know what that means?”

One side of his lips curved up. “Your scent was richer and more of a mix of you and Ash than it ever was before. It has been so long since I’ve been around a Primal who was with child that it didn’t even cross my mind.” His hands slid to mine, and he held them gently. “I am so incredibly happy for you and Ash. This is…” He took a deep breath, his voice roughening even more. “This is something I never dared to dream for him.”

“He said the same,” I whispered, blinking back…what else? Tears. Gods, the crying thing was getting annoying. “How was he when he told you?”

“Eager,” he said, letting go of my hands. My lips curved up. “As soon as we were alone, he blurted it out. I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly at first.”

“Were you as still as a statue?” I asked. “Because he was when I told him.”