Draven didn’t look away from Aydra. “A child of Sun and Darkness. Born of the Promised and the Venari. Our child grows in your belly.”
Aydra wasn’t sure she was understanding what he said.
“What—But how… Our children are born of the Lesser Ones. No Lesser being can conceive—”
The door opened, and the Nitesh walked in, Lex following behind her. Aydra’s heartbeat pounded in her ears as the Nitesh crossed the room to her. There were tears in her eyes, but she took Aydra’s hands, and she sat down beside her.
Aydra listened to the Nitesh tell them what Draven was on about. She listened to her tell the stories of the ancient beings, of the ones across the seas who could bear children. Her sister sat behind her and Draven squeezed her hands in front of her, the wild happiness still radiating through his core.
She wanted to be happy as Draven was.
She wanted to dance with the glee her sister held behind her.
She wanted to feel the warmth radiating through her core.
But all she could think about was what her brother and the Council would do when they found out.
Once the Nitesh had finished, Aydra inhaled a deep breath and stood from the bed. “I need to speak with the Nitesh,” she told them. “Alone.”
Draven, Nyssa, and Lex did not argue. Draven kissed her forehead, and she memorized the look of pure happiness in his features. The door closed behind them a moment later, and Aydra pulled her robe tighter around her.
Aydra stepped up to the window and looked out of it, the shadow of her phoenix passing over the moons.
“So this is how my mother plans to finish me,” she whispered. “I will assume you agree?”
She could hear the Nitesh’s pause and shift in her weight as she stood from the bed. “Not will I pretend to know how others will take this news,” she replied softly.
“They will kill me,” Aydra whispered. She looked back at the Nitesh over her shoulder, and the gaze the woman gave her confirmed her suspicions. “They won’t understand. They’ll think it a trick of Duarb. A play to take over Magnice.” Aydra swallowed hard. “You have to get Draven out of here.”
“Not will he leave you.” The Nitesh walked around the bed then and stood beside her at the window. “Leave. Both of you. Take refuge in my realm,” she begged.
“I’m not running,” Aydra managed. “I will not live in fear or bring their treachery to your realm.”
“Pride,” the Nitesh almost laughed. “You condemn yourself and this child because of pride.” She started walking in paces in front of the bed, and Aydra hugged her chest tighter, biting back the tears in her eyes.
“Then tell them, you do not,” the Nitesh said then. “Stay here. Get care. I will check in.”
“My brother will be looking for any reason to harm me now that I have humiliated him. The Council has simply been biding their time since I nearly blinded him,” Aydra told her. “If you are traveling back and forth to this castle, he’ll know something is wrong.” She paused, her weight shifting as she felt the nausea well up inside her once more, and this time not because of the child in her belly.
But then an idea hit her, and for the first time she breathed with an ease as she allowed it to fill her core.
“We’ll go to the Forest,” Aydra said, meeting the Nitesh’s eyes. “It’s the only way. They won’t be suspicious. They’ll simply think I’ve run away with Draven again, abandoned Magnice for good. But we have to leave before the sun rises.”
The Nitesh’s golden eyes widened, and she seemed to contemplate it a moment. Her gaze darted to the floor, moving back and forth, and then she nodded quickly.
“Yes. Yes, quickly—”
Aydra darted to her dresser and began throwing clothes onto her bed. The Nitesh ran for the door, and she opened it swiftly to urge the others inside. Draven bounded to Aydra’s side at once.
“What are we doing?” he asked as he touched her back.
“Help me pack,” she said fast. “We have to go to your kingdom. It’s the only way. I cannot stay in Magnice and have this child here. They won’t understand.”
Draven’s eyes were narrowed, and she knew he didn’t understand the extent of what was happening.
“What do you need me to do?” Nyssa asked her as she took her side.
Aydra turned and grabbed her sister’s arm. “I need you to go back to your room. Act as though you know nothing. You did not see Draven and Balandria. They were never here. Lex—” she stepped past Nyssa to Lex “—go with my sister. Protect her and try to keep the noise of my departure to a minimum. I do not know what will happen once we’ve left.”
Lex nodded, and Aydra hugged her tightly, feeling a lump rise in her throat when she pulled back and Lex pushed her palms against Aydra’s cheeks.
“I’ll bring your youngers to visit,” Lex whispered.
Aydra gave her a tight-lipped smile and swallowed hard. “I would love that.”
She hugged her again, breathing in the ash and fire smell of her best friend, before then turning to her sister and giving her a long hug. Nyssa’s tears stained her shoulder, and she almost choked on the words she said to her.
“Be strong for me,” she whispered, pressing her hands on Nyssa’s cheeks. “Listen to Lex. I will send word when it is time. You know I cannot stay here. You know what would happen if they found out.”
Nyssa swallowed hard and nodded. “I do.”
Aydra hugged her again, swaying with her sister in her arms as she kissed the top of her head. “Go back to your room. Stay quiet. Take your brother to the cliffs tomorrow and tell him what has happened. Do not tell him within the confines of these walls. There are spies everywhere.”
Nyssa and Lex left the room only a few moments
