CHAPTER 42-A Child Is Conceived

***Kyrous’s POV***

The noise that reached me from my chambers cut through the silence of my rest like a dagger. I had been sleeping soundly, or at least, that’s what I had hoped for. The early hours of the morning were supposed to be my chance to catch up on sleep, to recover from the long nights I’d spent pacing and contemplating the words of the seer. I had gone over everything he told me—over and over again—hoping for some kind of revelation, some kind of solution that would ease the burden weighing heavily on me. But the seer had offered no answers. His cryptic words, though deeply unsettling, left me with nothing tangible to hold onto.

So, I did what any desperate man would do. I called upon five more seers, each one with the hope that one of them might bring the clarity I so desperately needed. But all they offered were vague and meaningless riddles. There was no solution, no path forward. The more they spoke, the more I felt as though I was sinking deeper into a void of uncertainty.

I had spent the night at James’s place, restless and pacing. The weight of the prophecy pressed down on me, and though he tried to reassure me, to encourage me to get some rest, I couldn’t. It was impossible to sleep when my mind was racing. I was consumed by fear—fear for my kingdom, fear for my people, fear for the future.

I had finally returned home in the early morning, desperate to escape the thoughts that kept me awake. I needed sleep. I needed peace. But instead, as soon as I laid my head on the pillow, the sounds from outside my chambers broke through, loud and jarring.

It was Jael’s voice. I could hear it clearly, even though I tried to block it out, burying my head in the pillow, hoping it would all fade away. But it didn’t. The noise only seemed to intensify, and my patience began to unravel.

I groaned, my frustration mounting. “Oh my god… these women are going to drive me insane. What the hell is wrong with them?” I muttered, my voice barely more than a growl. I waited, hoping the noise would die down, but it didn’t. If anything, it grew louder.

My temper, already thin, snapped. I stormed out of the room, rage clouding my mind, and headed toward the guest room where the disturbance was coming from. There, I found Jael in the middle of a heated argument with Lucinda. My pulse quickened, my anger boiling over.

“What the hell is going on here?” I barked, my voice filling the room with an intensity that made the air feel heavy. Both women froze, their eyes widening at the sight of me. Lucinda, though, stood her ground. She didn’t flinch. She wasn’t scared of me, not like I expected. I could see the defiance in her eyes, and I wasn’t sure whether that irritated me or impressed me.

“Can someone explain what this madness is about?” I demanded, my voice sharp and unforgiving.

Jael was the first to speak, her tone laced with frustration. “I’m sorry for disturbing your rest, my love, but Lucinda is the problem. She refuses to move her things to the room downstairs. I need to prepare my nursery here.” She said it with a level of certainty that only heightened my frustration. If I hadn’t been so composed, I would have slapped some sense into her right there.

I narrowed my eyes, the anger in me shifting from confusion to fury. “What the hell is wrong with you, Jael? Do you not know that Lucinda is your senior wife? She is the crowned Luna of this kingdom. How dare you ask her to move? What in the world has gotten into you?”

Jael seemed unfazed by my outburst, but Lucinda’s eyes widened with surprise, and I could see the anger flash in her gaze. It was clear there was a power struggle between them, and in that moment, I had no idea who to side with.

“My king,” Jael began, her voice steady but with a hint of defiance. “The last time I checked, a woman becomes your crowned Luna only after bearing an heir for you. I was going to tell you last night, but you never returned home, and I didn’t know you were back. I didn’t see you come in. But I’m carrying the heir to the royal throne of Drakonia.”

Those words hit me like a bolt of lightning. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My eyes locked onto Jael’s, disbelief spreading across my face. Lucinda and I exchanged a glance, both of us unsure whether Jael was playing some twisted game or if this was the truth. But Jael had a way of speaking—her confidence, her poise—that made me hesitate.

I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. My red eyes, normally burning with anger, suddenly softened as my voice dropped, its pitch now lower and more measured. “What did you just say?” I asked, barely able to contain my desire to hear more.

“I’m pregnant, my King,” Jael repeated, her voice filled with a quiet but undeniable certainty. “I am carrying your child.”

For a moment, I was paralyzed. My heart raced, and yet, I wasn’t sure how to react. The news should have filled me with joy, and in some ways, it did. But the way it was delivered, the tension in the room—it all felt surreal.

I leaned forward, my voice tense with suspicion. “Are you telling me the truth? Don’t lie to me, Jael. I’ve dealt with enough deceit to last a lifetime.”

Jael didn’t flinch. She stood tall, her confidence unwavering. “I am not lying, my king. I am carrying your heir.”

There was no mistaking the conviction in her voice. She wasn’t lying. She was telling the truth. I could see it in her eyes, and the realization hit me like a tidal wave.

“Fetch me the doctor!” I barked, my voice booming with urgency. My guards didn’t waste a second. Within an hour, the royal doctor arrived, ready to confirm what I had hoped, what I feared, and what I didn’t expect all at once. The doctor ran some tests, checking Jael thoroughly, and when the results came in, my heart nearly stopped.

“Congratulations, my king. Jael is pregnant,” the doctor said, his voice filled with genuine happiness.

The news struck me like a bolt of electricity, and before I even realized what I was doing, I lifted Jael into the air, spinning her around in pure elation. The moment was indescribable. All my doubts, my fears, my concerns—all of it faded away in that instant.

“My prayers have been answered,” I whispered to myself, my mind racing as joy filled every part of my being. I was going to be a father.

The feeling was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, and I couldn’t contain it.

“My wife is pregnant!” I yelled, unable to hold back my excitement. My voice echoed through the palace, and I didn’t care who heard. For the first time in my life, I was truly happy, and nothing else mattered.

I had an heir on the way. The future of Drakonia was secure, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I could breathe easy. Fatherhood was something I had always heard about, but I had never truly understood. Now, I was living it, and it was everything I had hoped for and more.