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Elijah gapes down at her. “Look, Eira knows what she’s doing, and Cole can monitor the baby’s heart rate from out here. Shit, weallcan. If something happens, the baby will show signs of stress, right? And it’s not like she’s going to be filling the baby’s lungs with water.”
“No, just his mother’s,” Ridley quips.
“Just do it,” Delaney says. “Please, make sure he’s okay.”
Eira hesitates.
Cole moves to stand behind Delaney and wraps both hands around her waist.
She turns her face up to his. “Thank you.”
He dips his head in a nod but doesn’t speak, so Delaney turns back to Eira.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Eira closes her eyes, and magic charges the air around us. Beads of water begin to form in front of Delaney’s face as Eira points her fingertips straight ahead, right at Delaney. She begins to hum, the song steadily reaching a pitch I can no longer hear.
She opens her violet eyes, and magic pulsates through her fingertips, sending the water into Delaney’s open mouth. The witch gasps but makes no other sounds as Eira’s power grows. My magic surges forward in response, as does Del’s. Green sparks fly from her fingertips as she strains against her inability to breathe.
“Still steady,” Rainey says.
Beside me, Tarnley nods. “Delaney’s is elevated, though.”
“One more—” Eira rips her hands back, and Delaney sinks to her knees, Cole holding her as he falls with her. She coughs water out of her mouth, and it hits the tile floor.
“Well?” Delaney rasps.
Eira smiles, her beauty enhanced by her joy. “Your baby is nothing but light, Delaney.”
Delaney stares back at her for a moment before her face falls and she begins to cry. “Really?”
“Really. He’s going to be just fine. Ley line magic and all.” Eira briefly glances at Fearghas, and I notice the pained look that transfers between the two of them.
Two people who would be perfect for each other if only the other weren’t so stubborn. Then again, who am I to talk? I glance at Tarnley.
“He’s going to be okay,” Delaney sobs. My heart aches for her worry, for the not knowing. After everything we’ve faced, I can understand her need to know if her baby is okay. I imagine I would feel the exact same way if I were in her shoes.
And at that thought, my heart sinks ever so slightly because I know I never will be.
* * *
“There is my beautiful bride-to-be,”Tarnley greets as he steps out onto the front porch thirty minutes later.
I lean into him as he comes to stand beside me. A few yards away, Ridley is giving instructions to the fae who will take us to the council members’ locations. And in another ten minutes, my father is due here to give us those exact locations.
Everything could change in a matter of a few hours.
“I’m sorry.”
I turn to him. “For what?”
Tarnley sighs and releases me. Then, he turns to lean back against the porch railing so he’s facing me. “I felt your sadness inside. When Delaney realized everything was going to be okay with their baby.”
My brows draw together, and I shake my head. “I’m glad everything is going to be fine.”
“I know you are. I felt that, too. But afterward, I felt your disappointment. Since I was not a born vampire, I cannot give you children.”
My heart falls. “Oh, Tarnley, I’m okay.” I move forward and take his hands. Lying is no use, so I go with the truth, even though I know it will hurt him, “Yes, at one point in my life, I’d wanted children. A part of me still longs for the feel of a baby in my arms, but it’s not because I don’t feel like my life isn’t full. I love you. You are enough for me.”
