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Lucian

Past

Going back to Luminista was agony. I barely noticed the novelty of reforming my body and being transported, naked, to a welcoming hall. Two Jagwolfe clan servants awaited me, their arms full of blue velvet garments trimmed with silver.

Once dressed, I flew back to the palace, though every cell of my being cried out to return to Kerainne’s side.

She’d opened my mind and consciousness to so many new customs, creatures, and possibilities.

And as superior as Luminista was, there was something about Aisthanesthai that I wanted more of.

Though that was secondary to the sound of Kerainne Leonine’s laugh, the sight of her peridot eyes sparkling, and the feel of her full, soft lips.

Great Aunt Lucretia waited in the great hall with my mother. Both attempted to interrogate me on every detail of my time with the Leonine princess. Out of spite, I told them very little and as soon as I could free myself of their needling questions, resumed my duties.

The new creature I decided to introduce to our lands were the lizards Kerainne showed me on my first day visiting Medicia.

They were more of a challenge than usual, as they needed a warmer climate, which we did have, but it didn’t have the right plants and insects present at the moment.

And those would have their own environmental requirements.

The project took me eight months. It would have been the most delightful challenge if not for the doubts and naysayers of my mother and the other world builders working alongside me.

And, of course, missing Kerainne. How I wished she could be here beside me, letting me show her the complexities of summoning the lizards and creating each one molecule by molecule, giving enough genetic variance so they wouldn’t be inbred in the next decade, and bringing forth the necessary grasses, streams, and creatures they would feed on.

Yet as I went about the expansive mission, some aspects of my being were changed forever. Cravings for meat, fish, and shellfish struck me at the oddest times, making my mouth water and my stomach growl in frustration that none of these were to be had.

I scandalized the Master of Sustenance when I inquired about the possibility of finding out if our halflings could hunt for meat.

“I-I’ll bring it up at the next agricultural meeting, my prince,” he finally said.

With my lizard project completed and looking to be a success, I returned to the palace and submitted a request to return to Medicia.

“That is so soon it’s unseemly.” Mother’s eyes narrowed. “Does this mean that your courtship with Princess Kerainne is going well?”

I sighed. “I’ve informed you many times that I will not share any details as to my acquaintanceship with the Medician Princess until you tell me why you are so eager for a Leonine-Jagwolfe marriage that you and Lucretia have been unseemly in your haste.”

Lucinda signed and looked away from me.

“That’s what I thought. Then in three months’ time, I shall depart for Medicia. Princess Kerainne requested my company for the final stages of Queen Natalya’s pregnancy and the birthing.”

That last morsel of information didn’t cheer my mother as much as I’d hoped. Instead, her mouth turned down in a bitter frown. “Some luminites have all the luck. Would that I could be blessed with another child so soon.”

I didn’t dare ask her if she wanted another child because she was disappointed in me, or if she merely wanted the attention and prestige of one who bore more than one child in a millennium.

I had the sneaking suspicion the answer would involve a little of both.

I spent the next three months preparing for my return to Medicia.

First, I knitted a shawl for Kerainne in a light purple thread that was identical to her beloved lilacs.

Then I made a matching blanket for the baby.

Lastly, I prepared some of my favorite dishes and packed them into time-stasis containers so they’d be fresh and hot when I served them to Kerainne.

When I finally returned to Medicia, Kerainne threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight.

The feel of her warmth against me filled me with a sense of rightness that momentarily stole my breath.

And the moment I recovered from that profound feeling, my body stirred with arousal, giving me no choice but to release her before I embarrassed myself in front of the butler and other people in the palace.

“Lucian!” Kerainne beamed up at me. “I’m so glad you finally came. I’ve been so worried about my mother!”

I felt the slightest pang of guilt for not caring much about the Medician Queen’s pregnancy aside from how it affected Kerainne’s wellbeing, but it faded quickly.

Every moment with Kerainne was like an intoxicant, making me as addicted as those who chewed and smoked serentiva leaves.

Queen Natalya and King Consort Kiernan didn’t seem to mind.

In fact, the Queen pulled me aside one evening to thank me for providing Kerainne a diversion as the pregnancy advanced.

And though there was no similar conversation with the King Consort, Kiernan’s copper eyes shone with gratitude when I accompanied his daughter on an adventure.

The adventures stopped for the final month. Kerainne refused to leave the palace, instead pacing the hallway near her mother’s chambers, waiting to hear a request for something or for news of anything wrong.

I quickly learned not to suggest any activities that would take us too far away from the royal apartments.

Sometimes Queen Natalya entertained us both.

We had small feasts in her relaxation room, odd combinations of dishes that suited whatever strange craving she had at the time.

Kerainne doted on her mother during those times and felt Natalya’s growing belly when the baby kicked.

One time I was permitted to feel the baby move.

The sensation was strange, awe-inspiring, and humbling all at once.

Since Luminite pregnancies were rare and usually spaced several centuries apart, not everyone got to interact with an infant, much less one still in the womb.

For a moment, I imagined what it would be like to feel my child moving in Kerainne’s belly and my throat tightened with an enormity of emotion.

On days that the queen wanted to be alone or with her consort, I distracted Kerainne with activities that could keep her near. I asked her to teach me how to speak human, which made her laugh because apparently those short-lived creatures spoke thousands of languages and dialects.

“But I could teach you how to speak Leprechaun.” She offered with an irresistible smile. “At least the current dialect. Theirs changes over the years, but not as quickly as the human tongues.”

For the next three months, Kerainne’s nervousness was eased and I learned how to communicate with leprechauns.

At first, I’d only been humoring her, keeping her distracted from her worries and never intending to actually meet any of those strange creatures, who were in the process of migrating from a small island on Earth to an even smaller island on Aisthanesthai, but as I learned more about their carefree ways and love of bartering, I decided that after the queen’s baby was born, I’d ask Kerainne to take me to Verdan to meet the leprechauns.

We were role-playing a leprechaun barter session when Kerainne bolted out of her seat. “It’s time.”

Just then, a muffled shriek rang out from Queen Natalya’s bedchamber.

“I must go to her!” Kerainne cried, wringing her hands. “Find my father or a servant and tell them to send the healers.”

The moment Kerainne went to her mother, Kiernan teleported into the hall and grasped my shoulders, “Summon the—”

“Healers,” I finished. “I will.”

The next few hours were misery. I wasn’t invited into the room, but I swore I could feel Kerainne’s anxiety. A luminite may be incapable of fear, but we are still capable of extreme emotional discomfort. I couldn’t stand her suffering.

After I’d practically worn a path in the carpet, Kerainne emerged from the room, tears streaming from her eyes. “They banished me from the room!”

I took her into my arms. “Everything will be fine. You’ll meet your new sibling soon enough.”

“But what if something goes wrong?” she wailed. Her eyes were a deep emerald, beads of moisture glinting like diamonds.

I kissed the tears away, tasting salt on my lips as I spoke as gently as possible. “Did the healers say or do anything to imply that something is wrong?”

Kerainne shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t study enough on luminite births and have never seen one before.”

“Most of us haven’t,” I reminded her, lightly stroking her back to calm her shivers.

She sighed and relaxed deeper in my arms.

For what felt like both an eternity and only mere moments we remained locked together, her cheek against my chest, my chin resting on the top of her golden head. Our heartbeats synched up, and a tranquil flow of magic swirled around us.

A true-bond , I thought again. Maybe she felt it too.

Then the door opened and King Consort Kiernan came out. “The Queen says you both may come in.”

My breath froze in my lungs and my heart slammed against my ribs.

I was invited to be in the presence of a luminite birth?

A royal one? With people I hoped would become my family?

I nodded dimly as Kerainne seized my hand and pulled me into the chamber.

I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t a great pulsing of magic in the air, distracting in its intensity.

The healers stepped aside for Kerainne and me, except for the one blocking Queen Natalya’s bared lower body from view. We joined her at her bedside, and Kerainne reached out her free hand to her mother, but didn’t let go of me.

Kiernan lay on the bed beside his mate, wiping her sweating brow with a cloth and took her free hand.

Natalya’s copper eyes met her daughter’s. “I’m almost finished now. Be calm, daughter, and sing.”

Kerainne took a deep breath, then her voice rang out like a crystal bell, singing a song about peaceful walks through the forest and nights on grassy hills under the stars.

I’d never heard her sing like that before and I confess I was so captivated that I missed what happened with the rest of the birthing.

Suddenly, Kerainne stopped and a loud, but small cry pierced the hushed room.

“Tis a female!” one of the healers cried out in jubilance. Only then did I see that this healer was a human.

The other healer, a luminite, bundled the crying, red-faced infant and gently laid her on Natalya’s breast. One healer gave the queen a restorative and anesthetic potion, while another gently washed the queen’s lower body.

The human healer took away a bloody mass of flesh that I couldn’t identify.

I looked away, too embarrassed to ask, and turned my attention back to the baby.

I don’t know what I’d expected a newborn luminite to look like, but it wasn’t this almost-human creature with a head covered in metallic copper and bronze fuzz, bunched up, angry fists, and wildly kicking feet.

Then I felt it, a pulse of magic I felt in all members of our species. It was surprisingly strong.

Kerainne squeezed Lucian’s hand and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and a rapturous smile. “I have a sister!”

The joy radiating from her made me fall for her all the more and aspire to make her this happy for the rest of forever. Natalya handed Kerainne the baby and both she and King Consort Kiernan gave me approving smiles.

But from that moment on, and for the next two years, Kerainne’s entire attention was directed on her new baby sister.

I’m not proud of myself for how I handled that development.

Forgetting all my power and the eternity of my existence, jealousy raged through me whenever Kerainne lavished attention on the baby, who Natalya had named Nikkita.

She was an adorable child, with her father’s hair and mother’s eyes, and fascinating to watch her grow and learn.

But by the time she was taking her first steps, all my frustration burst out one ugly day.

“We haven’t had a moment alone together since the child was born. Even when we leave the palace, you insist on taking her with us. You barely even look at me anymore!”

Kerainne’s eyes narrowed and she clutched her sister tighter. “Not only is my bond with children, this is my blood! If you can’t bear to share my attention with my family, perhaps we are not good company for each other.”

Good company? The words stung. Although I hadn’t formally requested to court her, I’d seen myself as more than company. My throat tightened as memories of every time I’d held her, every time we’d kissed, flashed through my mind.

“Company?” I whispered under my breath, hurt and incredulous.

But Kerainne didn’t hear. Nikkita was babbling with some coherent words mixed in, which had her older sister praising her.

I left the room, stepped out on the balcony, released my wings, and flew off in search of somewhere to die.