Chapter 76 The Cost of Power II
My hand was on my stomach when I woke up. Something was different. Changed.
The bond. It felt different. Warmer. Fuller. Like something was building there that had not been before.
I called for a healer. Not one of the older ones. Someone young. Discreet.
She examined me. Her eyes went wide. "Your Majesty. You are with child."
The words hit like lightning. "What?"
"Barely. Maybe two weeks along. Very early. But yes. Pregnant." She looked terrified. "Should I, is this, do you want"
"Yes. I want it. But tell no one. Not yet. Not until I am sure." I grabbed her arm. "Swear it. Tell no one."
"I swear, Your Majesty."
She left.
My palm was resting on my belly while I laid there.
Pregnant. Two weeks along.
Nyx said eighteen months until she returned. Pregnancy was nine months. Which meant...
She was coming back as herself. As our daughter. Being born naturally instead of forcing her way through reality.
The gift she left was not just time magic. It was herself. Anchored in the bond. Waiting for the right moment. The right timeline. The right everything.
Smart girl. Found a way back that reality could not deny.
But that meant nine months vulnerable. Nine months growing a child while the timeline collapsed. Nine months of Daemon trying to take everything while I could barely stand.
And I could not tell Kael. Not yet. Not when he would try to lock me away to protect me. Not when we needed to appear strong.
I had to seal the breach in two weeks. Had to prove we were still powerful. Had to keep Daemon from winning long enough for Nyx to be born.
No pressure.
The two weeks passed in a blur of preparation. I forced myself to eat. To move. To pretend I was recovering faster than I was.
Kael knew I was hiding something. But he did not push. Just stayed close. Protected me from nobles who wanted meetings. From problems that could wait.
The day of the breach arrived.
Everyone gathered. Every house. Every noble. All of them waiting to see if I could still seal reality. If I was still powerful enough to protect them.
The breach opened right on schedule. In the courtyard. Where everyone could see.
Shadow wraiths poured through. Time anomalies. Reality bending.
I walked forward. Feeling the eyes on me. Feeling the judgment. The doubt.
Reached deep. Found that last fragment of Nyx's gift. That final burst of time magic.
"I love you," I whispered. To the child growing inside me. To the echo fighting to return. To the daughter who saved us all. "Thank you for this."
Then I released it. All of it. Every drop.
Time magic exploded from me. Beautiful. Terrible. Perfect.
The breach sealed. Instantly. Completely. Like it never existed.
The crowd gasped. Murmured. Believed.
I stood there looking powerful. Looking strong. Looking capable.
Then I collapsed.
Kael caught me. "What did you do?"
"What I had to. To keep us alive." I grabbed his shirt. "Take me inside. Fast. Before anyone sees."
He did. Carried me through corridors. To our chambers. Away from eyes.
"You burned it all again, did it not? The last of the magic."
He spoke in a hollow voice. "Now you're at your lowest. Nothing."
"I have you. I have hope. I have" I stopped. Could not tell him yet. "I have enough."
He laid me on the bed. "No more. No more sacrificing yourself. No more burning through magic you do not have. We find another way or we do not find a way at all."
"Kael"
"I mean it, Sera. You are done being the realm's shield. Done destroying yourself to save everyone else." His hand touched my face. "I am putting guards on you. You are not leaving these chambers. Not until you are fully healed. Actually healed."
"You cannot"
"I can. I am king.
You are my mate and queen. And whether you like it or not, I'm keeping you safe." His eyes were black. Absolute. "The realm can burn before I lose you. Do you understand? The realm. Can. Burn."
"You do not mean that."
"Try me."
We looked at one another. Two obstinate individuals who were sufficiently devoted to one another to be foolish. "All right," I said. I'll take a nap. However, you must make me a pledge.
"What?" You must have faith in me when I reveal what I am concealing. Have faith that I am capable.
That I am not being reckless." I squeezed his hand. "Promise."
"I promise.
Despite the fact that I already know I will detest whatever you are concealing. Most likely.
He departed to handle the fallout.
To reassure nobles. To handle Daemon.
My hand was on my stomach as I lay there. sensing the tiniest glimmer of life.
Of Nyx fighting her way back.
"Eighteen months," I muttered to myself. "We have can survive this.
We have survived worse."
A knock interrupted. Arianna entered without waiting. She looked at me. Then at my hand on my stomach. Her eyes went wide.
"You are pregnant."
"How did you"
"I am a time walker. I see threads. Possibilities. Futures." She sat heavily. "She is coming back. Nyx. She is being born again. In this timeline. Naturally."
"Yes."
"That is brilliant. Terrifying. But brilliant." She leaned forward. "Does Kael know?"
"Not yet. I will tell him when the time is right."
Tell him soon. Because Daemon will figure it out. He has seers too. Paid ones.
They will know she's coming back as soon as they find out you're pregnant. They will try to prevent it.
"How?"
"By killing you before she is born. By making sure the timeline collapses before she can anchor it. By any means necessary."
Arianna spoke in a somber tone. "There will be war for the next 18 months.
Constant. Brutal. You need to be ready."
"I am always ready."
"No. You are always stubborn. There is a difference." She stood. "I will help. Will protect you. Will make sure she makes it to birth.
However, you must stop your risky behavior. Give up sacrificing yourself.
She cannot be born if you are dead."
"I know."
"Good. Then rest. Heal. Prepare." She walked to the door. "Because Daemon just called for the confidence vote. It is happening in one week. And if Kael loses, we are all finished."
She left.
I lay there processing. One week until the vote. Eighteen months until Nyx. Countless enemies in between.
But I had survived impossible before. Had died and come back. Had lost everything and built it again.
I could survive this too.
For her. For Kael. For everyone.
I would make it through anything.
And I would see to it that Nyx returned to a world worth saving when she is eventually born.
That was a promise.
And I never broke my promises.