Chapter 85 The Plan.
Lily’s pov.
After I left Creed's office I went straight to Raya’s room.
Standing outside of her door I lift my hand and knock.
The door opens slowly, Raya peeking outside.
“Oh, it’s you!” She laughs, “come in!”
“Who did you think I was?” I ask while stepping in.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs, “I just got up here and Ryan is busy, I didn’t think I’d see you until later.”
I take a seat on one of their chairs with a scoff.
“Yeah, well… Creed thinks I don’t need to be involved with anything,” I mutter, “can you believe it? Us, two strong, badass women, and we can’t even fight alongside them?”
Raya gives me a sad smile, taking the seat beside me.
“I know… but they just want us to be safe. We’re pregnant, there’s not much we can do,” she says quietly.
I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
“I don’t know about you… but I’m giving birth and I’ll be right there… fighting for my tribe,” I whisper quietly, knowing I won’t be standing on the sidelines.
Raya’s eyes widened slightly, “how can you know that? We don’t know when the war is happening.”
“They could be born any day…” I say, “I will make sure they are born before the war happens.”
Raya shakes her head, not liking this idea.
“Who would you leave them with while you were fighting? What if something happened to them?” She says angrily.
“I would leave them with… you,” I reply with a small smile.
Raya gasps slightly, shocked that I would leave my four newborn fledglings with her.
“But- you’d trust me to take care of them? To protect them? I’m… pregnant… I’m not strong enough,” she whispers so quietly, sounding uncertain.
“Yes,” I say with a grin, “I trust you more than anyone else… you and my grandmother will watch the babies, I could leave Midnight here but id feel better with her on the battlefield, we can ask Alex to help also. And… if you want,” I started to say but stopped, biting my lip not knowing if Raya would like this idea.
She raises one eyebrow at me, as if to urge me on.
“What is it?” She says impatiently.
“After my babies are born… and I’m stronger… I could speed your pregnancy up even faster so you give birth too,” I stutter out, looking anywhere but at her.
“That- could work,” she mumbles, “if you think it’s safe, yes, I want to do it. I just can’t risk my babies… I will only do this if it’s safe.”
“I wouldn’t do anything if I didn’t think it was safe,” I reassure her, “we’re doing this for them, for the tribe.”
She nods her head at me, trusting me.
“Let’s go find Alex… she’ll need to know her role in this,” I say, standing up from the chair I was sitting in.
“You want to do what?” Alex asks, not believing what we’ve just told her.
“We want to speed Raya’s pregnancy along when the war comes. When I’ve given birth and am stronger,” I repeat.
Alex just stares at me, wide eyed and nervous.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” she mumbles, moving herself closer to her mate.
“Alex…” I start to say, placing a hand on her arm, “it’s okay… all we need from you is to help Raya and my grandmother watch over the babies when they are born… you can do that, right,”
“I mean… yeah? But I don’t want Creed to be mad at me,” she says looking at me nervously.
“Don’t worry about Creed. He doesn’t need to know,” I reply with a small smile, hoping she goes with this plan.
She nods her head at me before turning towards Beatrice for reassurance.
Beatrice smokes lovingly at her, moving a stray strand of hair from her face.
“I can help too,” she says, turning towards me, “I’m not the most powerful but I can help watch the babies, I’ll protect them with my life.”
“I trust you will,” I say back, smiling softly at her, liking this match for Alex.
I said a few last things before saying goodbye and leaving with Raya.
“Are you heading back to your room?” I ask her, “I was thinking of getting some fresh air before I head back to my room.”
“Yeah,” she sighs, “my back and feet are killing me. I need to lay down.”
I laugh slightly, knowing how she feels.
“Tell me about it,” I say while my laughter dies down, “I just need some air… I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah!” She waved, “see you tomorrow.”
I watch her walk away for a moment before turning around and heading towards the front door.
I really just need some fresh air and quiet right now.
As I pushed the door open I was hit with a big gush of fresh air. Making me sigh happily.
I take a couple steps outside, feeling the wet grass beneath my feet.
I laugh to myself, twirling around slowly in bliss.
I walk around for a while, just enjoying my time in the quiet, peaceful tribe.
Everyone seems to have gone home for dinner and to see their loved ones.
‘Get ready,’ Sapphire whispers into my mind, ‘soon, they will be here… I can feel it through the ground.’
‘Are you prepared to do what I was speaking about earlier? Is that why the babies are growing so fast? So we can fight this war?’ I ask her.
‘Yes, we will do what needs to be done… the goddess agrees,’ she answers.
‘Are we able to speed Raya’s pregnancy further when we are stronger?’
‘Yes, but no sooner, when our babies are born, only then will we have the power.’
With that she retreats back into my mind, leaving me to think about everything.