‘Are you done?’ Amon inquires as he comes into the room with a bowl of popcorn and a couple of cold sodas.
‘I think so, but…’ I frown as I turn around in the mirror, trying to check all my angles.
‘What is it?’
He places the items on the table before coming behind me, his hands settling on my shoulders as he offers me the comfort of his touch.
‘Have you noticed that I’ve been gaining weight recently?’ I murmur as I turn to study my profile.
I’m wearing a bathing suit that perfectly molds to my body, emphasizing every curve.
Amon is suddenly silent as he studies me, his lips pursed.
‘I’m not going to comment,’ he mumbles under his breath.
‘Hey! This is a genuine question. You know I never used to gain weight before, right?’
As Sela, my weight had always been the same. No matter how much or how little I would eat, it would regulate itself. Now…
‘I have a belly, Amon. I didn’t use to have one,’ I whine softly.
His hands come to rest on my stomach, moving them up and down as he tries to gauge the changes.
‘You see me naked every day. You must have noticed.’
‘Precisely because I see you naked every day I didn’t notice,’ he says pensively. ‘But you’re right. Something has changed.’
‘Do you think I’m eating too much?’ I suddenly turn to ask. ‘I mean, the Romans were gluttons too, but they didn’t have the food we have now. All these options and the soda… Maybe I’ve been overindulging.’
‘Sela,’ Amon’s lips tip up in a smile as he regards me.
‘I’ve also been eating a lot of sugar. We didn’t have sugar before. Maybe that’s why.’
‘Sela,’ he repeats my name, but I’m not to be stopped.
‘That must be it, Amon. I’m overdoing it on the chocolate. You know I’m right, but you can’t bring yourself to tell me to stop because I like it too much,’ I pout. ‘Just this morning I had an entire bar and I’m already craving more. I’m turning into a sweets maniac.’
‘You’re an adorable sweets maniac,’ he murmurs.
‘It’s not funny! I’m getting fat because I can’t stop myself from eating,’ I complain. ‘And I can’t even bring myself to feel sorry because…because…’ I trail off on a weary sigh.
‘Because?’
‘Because I like food too much,’ I confess, hanging my head in shame.
‘I think there might be a secondary cause to this, Sela.’
‘What else could it be other than the fact that I have a food baby!’ I burst out in indignation—not at him, of course, just at myself.
‘What if you’re just having a…baby?’
‘What are you talking about?’ I blink in confusion.
‘Darlin’, come,’ he swoops me in his arms before placing me on the bed.
‘Amon, you can’t just say something like that and then be silent. You better back up your words, you wicked, wicked male,’ I chastise him softly, yet despite the impossibility of it, I can’t help the small sliver of hope that develops in my chest.
‘Before you got your powers back, when you were still Darcy,’ he pauses, looking me straight in the eye. ‘You still had your period then.’
My eyes slowly widen as I get his meaning.
‘You never had a period before, not after Elora cursed you. Not as Sela and not as Elizabeth.’
‘You’re right.’
‘And we had sex once before you got your powers back.’
‘Yes,’ I whisper, afraid to dare to hope.
‘Remember what I told you about the spell I did when you first died? That it slowly mended your essence so that each lifetime you were stronger?’
I nod.
‘What if?’ he licks his lips, his eyes sparkling with pure hope. ‘What if that hibernation allowed you to heal from whatever Elora did to you?’
‘Amon…’ I grasp onto his shirt, scrunching it in my hands. ‘I’m scared to hope.’
‘I know, love, I know. I’m scared, too, but… I’ve been noticing some other changes in you. You’ve been more tired than usual and you never get tired. You’ve also always consumed the same amount of food, but now you’re eating…a lot more.’
‘How can we find out for sure?’ I whisper.
‘The best way? We wait. Revas have a different gestational period, so we should see more changes in the next couple of months.’
‘When you say different gestational period, what do you mean?’
His lips tip up in a smile.
‘Twenty-four months,’ he replies.
My eyes widen in surprise.
‘Well, I guess we have a long way ahead of us,’ I say numbly, unable to stop the happiness suffusing my chest.
A baby. We might have a baby.
My eyes become glossy before tears are streaming down my cheeks.
‘A baby, Amon? Our baby? Is this really happening?’
‘I think so,’ he murmurs in my hair. ‘I’ll be able to hear his heartbeat soon.’
And he does.
Exactly two months after the first suspicion, Amon confirms he can hear another heartbeat within me.
We are having a baby.
Our first biological baby.
After thousands of years, I am pregnant.
To say I am on cloud nine would be an understatement. To say that Amon has turned into an overbearing protector would be equally an understatement.
But we’re happy.
For the first time in our lives we’re truly, truly happy.
Yet there is one more thing that would make everything perfect.
‘Amon,’ I lay my head on his chest one night before we go to sleep.
‘Hm?’
‘What would you say if we returned to Arkgor?’
‘What?’
‘I think it’s time you resumed your rightful position and proved your innocence.’
‘But Sela…’
‘Remember the prophecy, Amon. What if there’s some truth to it? What if our child will inherit the entire Arkgor?’ I whisper.
If I have to use high handed methods to convince him, I will. Deep down, I know he wants this.
‘It will be dangerous,’ he says in a gruff tone.
‘Life is dangerous. I think we’ve seen that even trying to live peacefully. But like this, we’d have a purpose. You would have a purpose. And I would be there to watch you change the world. I’ll hold your hand while you create a better world for our child to grow up in and inherit someday. I know you can do it, Amon. I know only you can do it.’
‘Sela… I don’t know what to say,’ he whispers.
‘Just tell me one thing. Would you like to lead the rebels? Would you like to change the laws of the Empire and help the non-humanoid species suffering under those draconian rules?’
‘Yes,’ he states unwaveringly. ‘But I don’t want to put you, or our child at risk.’
‘You won’t. Because I trust you to protect us just as I trust myself to protect our family. I’ll be there with you every step of the way, Amon. Please say yes.’
He swallows hard, his expression troubled as he stares into my eyes.
‘We’ve run away for too long, my love. But we can’t outrun destiny.’
‘That I agree,’ he chuckles.
Yet a moment later he looks somber anew.
‘You wouldn’t be upset if I did that? Truly?’
‘How could I?’ I shake my head at him. ‘The first time I saw you, I recognized the greatness in you, my beloved mate. I saw in you the future, but not only mine. I saw the future of the entire world. We can do this. Together. For our child. For the future.’
He stares at me, speechless for a moment, before he cups my cheeks and kisses every inch of my skin.
‘I love you, Sela mina, my love, my lover, the mate of my heart,’ he whispers against my lips. ‘And I’ll make you proud, darlin’. I’ll make you and our child proud.’
‘I love you, too, Amon. And I’m already proud of you. So, so proud,’ I whimper as he continues to kiss me.
‘I’ll do it,’ he finally says. ‘We will do it. We’ll build a new future together—a better future. One in which our child will not be shunned for his heritage, nor will he be afraid to say what he is,’ he rasps, his voice full of confidence.
‘Good,’ I smile, snuggling deeper in his embrace. ‘The future awaits.’
‘And it should wait a little more. Now I plan to make love to my mate,’ he murmurs just before I find myself naked and under him.
Wicked, wicked male.
