Page 79 of A Fate of Blood and Magic (Fated #2)

Chapter

Thirty-Four

TEDDY

While today hadn’t exactly gone the way I’d hoped when Elias and I first went to see Leah, having the kids and our friends around eased a lot of the fear I’d felt after hearing one of our boy’s hearts was struggling. More, I enjoyed the stories Kieren told me about the military school.

How the boys had had to wash their own clothes, and Aidas, never having done it before, turned every white item a bright pink because of a red shirt he’d washed with it.

Or when they were all woken up in the middle of the night for a drill, and a newly enlisted fae kid of fourteen couldn’t find his clothes fast enough and ended up doing his drills in nothing but a shirt and his underwear.

But my favorite was when Guenthrie had underestimated Javier and assumed he couldn’t shoot a bow and arrow.

Guenthrie lined target after target for him, taunting him the entire time Javier set up, only for him to shoot each one dead on.

Unfortunately, it didn’t garner any favoritism, but he’d been proud of himself while his friends boasted about him the rest of the day .

I hated that he hadn’t been the one to tell me any of these stories, but I ate each one up, absorbing them as if they were the very air I needed to breathe.

“Why don’t we eat outside?” I asked the group before everyone started serving themselves.

I couldn’t help but wonder if my son’s heart complication was because of the trauma I’d endured since we found out I was pregnant.

It’d been one disaster after another. The man who’d attacked me in my own home had slammed my back against the wall.

And killing him . . . I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

Not guilt exactly but something else I couldn’t yet name.

While Alastor had done his best to shield me from the smoke that day of the explosions, I must’ve inhaled some.

Pietro abducting us still gave me nightmares, especially terrifying when I repeatedly lost Elias.

And Javier’s words of hatred and betrayal when we told him the truth? Yet another heartbreaking hit.

I wouldn’t be surprised if my own heart was struggling to keep up with everything, but ultimately, this wasn’t about me. How much stress can a fetus endure?

But both Leah and Dela had been able to help my baby boy, and they would continue to use their magic to help him until he was strong enough on his own.

With a quick kiss to my forehead, Elias scooped me up in his arms. I laughed nervously, patting his shoulder for him to let me go, but he only held on tighter.

It was endearing how much he loved carrying me, especially since the attacks.

I wondered if it was his way of reminding himself that I was safe.

Once outside, he put me on the porch swing.

“I’ll make your burger,” he said and went inside. The others stayed inside, presumably preparing their own food, while Kieren followed me and leaned against the post.

“You’re not hungry?” I asked him.

He scratched his neck. “I’ll get food when everyone comes out.”

“I’m fine, Kieren.” I smiled. “I appreciate you staying out here with me, but you don’t need to babysit me.”

He shook his head. “ I’m not babysitting you. I know you’re upset about Javier, but something else is wrong. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone.”

“Dammit, Kieren.” I ran a finger under my eye to catch the single tear that fell.

He huffed out a nervous laugh as our front door swung open. Elias’s frantic eyes fell on me.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

I peered back at the door, sighing in relief when no one else was behind him. “Kieren’s being sweet.”

Elias narrowed his eyes at Kieren in a way that made Kieren back away.

“Elias,” I said, my tone serious. “He stayed out here so I wouldn’t be alone. It was a sweet gesture.”

“Why are you crying, then?” He handed me a plate.

With a nervous glance in Elias’s direction, Kieren rushed into the house. I shook my head, secretly amused by Elias’s protectiveness.

“I’m not crying.” I turned my cheeseburger in a circle over my plate.

“I cried, as in a single tear came out, because I’m a woman, and sometimes women cry when we’re happy or touched because someone does something kind for them.

Not to mention, I’m pregnant, and there’s a thing called pregnancy hormones that make women feel a little crazy. ” At least, that was what I’d heard .

He drew his brows together and frowned. “I do kind things for you all the time. I’ve never made you cry.”

I laughed. When he grinned, I took an appreciative bite of the juicy burger, moaning at how amazing it tasted. I brought the burger to his mouth, and after taking the offered bite, he gestured for me to eat more.

The kids and our friends joined us outside, each sitting on either a chair or somewhere on the floor of our patio. Nalari stood from her spot in our yard and came to settle closer to the house. Her golden eyes fell on me.

I poked Elias’s side, never tiring over the way he jumped or yelped.

“Go get yourself a burger,” I told him.

Thankfully, Elias did as I asked and went inside to serve himself. I’d never known someone to hover as much as Elias hovered. He would be an exceptional father who could assemble burgers in record time since he was already back from the kitchen.

“What do you think of the burger?” I asked Kieren and Alastor.

“Delicious,” Alastor said between a mouthful.

“So good,” Kieren answered.

“Do we have enough so you can take a burger back for Javi?” I asked Alastor.

Elias tipped his head. “There are four left.”

“Will you take him one?” I asked, and Alastor nodded. “One for Aidas too in case he stops by.”

Because Aidas was also understandably upset with us. It made me happy to know Javier was surrounded by good friends, though.

“He shouldn’t get any if he didn’t want to come,” Jasmine said. Out of her and Juanita, she was the one who missed him the most. While she argued against it, I saw the way him leaving hurt her.

“It’s not that he didn’t want to come,” I said. He just couldn’t be around Elias and me.

“Can we have fries next time?” Victoria asked, unknowingly changing the subject.

It did nothing to prevent the twist in my gut or throbbing in my chest.

“I’d give my left tit for some fries.” Ryenne’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth when Kieren choked on his burger.

Alastor patted his back until Kieren gave him a thumbs-up.

“Oh, fries smothered in cheese and bacon,” I added with a groan.

“And onions.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Keep your dumb onions.”

“Cierra, do you think we could get cooking oil from the human realm to cook fries?” I asked.

Grinning, she popped up a single brow. “What do you have to barter for it?”

“What do you need?” Elias asked.

“I heard you can make long-sleeved shirts, gloves, and beanies with a fairly thin material that still keeps you warm.” She pursed her lips. “Make me one of each, and I’ll grab you a gallon of oil.”

Elias grinned. “Done.”

“I knew you were our mysterious seamstress in Colina,” Ryenne said, pointing at him. “Please tell me you also made those disfigured toys the kids were always playing with.”

“They weren’t disfigured,” Elias grumbled.

“They really were,” Nate said.

Ryenne cackled. “Please don’t make your boys those toys. ”

“I like my dog and sled,” Victoria said. “I named my dog Elias because it looks like you.”

I barked out a laugh while Elias chuckled softly beside me.

I smiled at the conversation that flowed so easily but turned back to my food and forced myself to eat.

After every couple of bites, I stopped to breathe.

Just breathe. When we finished, Kieren offered to take Elias’s and my plates inside.

Slowly, everyone followed him. I stood, arching my back before I took Elias’s hand.

I stood outside our front door, my hand shaking over the knob before I turned back to Elias.

“Should we tell the girls?” I asked. “I don’t want to scare them.”

Hell, I didn’t want to tell anyone. Didn’t want to make this reality any truer than it already was.

Elias’s hand went to my neck, where he grazed his thumb over my skin. “Why don’t we have the girls go to their playroom? Later, I can give them a more condensed, youngling-friendly version of what’s going on. Something simple, like how you need to rest.”

I nodded.

When we went inside, I took my regular spot on the couch while Elias ushered the girls to their playroom with Hee-haw only a few steps behind.

I gave Alastor a small smile when he took a seat on the couch closest to the fireplace.

His worried gaze swam across my face, and my stupid hormones reacted, making my eyes fill again.

Alastor leaned forward with his hands on his knees as if he were ready to jump up and race to me. “What’s wrong?”

I wiped the tears from my face and sniffled. “Crazy pregnancy hormones.” Among other things.

“Is Kieren making you cry again?” Although Elias’s voice came out light, the smile he gave me was cautious .

“No.” I fanned my face, willing the stupid tears away. “This time, it’s Alastor.”

“Figures.” He took the empty seat beside me, and I immediately grabbed his hand.

Alastor ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know what I did. I didn’t say anything.”

I barked out a laugh at the bewildered look on his face, but he eventually cracked a tiny grin.

“Okay,” I said when everyone started taking a seat in the living room. “All right.”

I took in a calming breath while Elias fiddled with my fingers.

“While Leah was examining the babes, she noticed one of the boys’ hearts isn’t as strong as it should be,” Elias said.

I couldn’t explain it, but I loved that he’d called our sons boys instead of males. While he used either term interchangeably, I still preferred the term boys. It felt more intimate. Or maybe it was simply that as a human, I was more accustomed to the word.