Chapter 431: Ezra

Ezra - The Pregnancy Part 3

By the time I find her, the sun has long since disappeared behind the forests surrounding the Institute.

The corridors are quiet.

Most of the warriors have finished training for the day, Damien is somewhere on the training grounds terrorizing recruits one last time before dinner, Rowan is finishing reports from today's patrols, and, for the first time since this whirlwind began six months ago...

I have nothing pressing waiting for me.

I quietly push open our bedroom door.

She's asleep.

Again.

Curled on top of the blankets with a book lying open over her chest, Kuro sprawled protectively beside the bed, one giant silver ear twitching the second I enter.

The fox lifts his head.

Looks at me.

Then settles back down with a huff, apparently deciding I'm allowed.

I smile despite myself.

"Avery."

Her eyelashes flutter.

"Hm?"

"You fell asleep reading."

She blinks slowly before looking down at the book still resting on her chest.

"I did?"

"You did."

She stretches carefully before trying to sit up.

I cross the room immediately.

"I've got you."

"I can still sit up on my own."

"I know."

I slip one arm around her anyway.

"But let me help."

She gives me that look.

The one that says she knows I'm fussing.

She lets me.

The six months have changed everything.

Her stomach is beautifully round now, the three little lives inside her making themselves known with every passing week. The healers warned us from the beginning that carrying triplets—especially demi-god triplets—would ask more of her body than anyone could predict.

They weren't wrong.

Some days she has energy.

Some days she can barely walk from one room to another without needing to rest.

She hates those days.

I hate them even more.

"I was thinking..." she murmurs.

"Dangerous."

She smiles.

"I'd really like a bath."

"Done."

"You don't have council work?"

"I finished."

"You actually finished?"

"I know."

She laughs softly.

"It's a miracle."

"It is."

I help her to her feet before leading her toward the bathing room adjoining our chambers.

The Institute's baths remain one of her favorite places.

The water is always warm through old enchantments, steam curling lazily across smooth stone walls as I help her lower herself into the enormous tub.

She sighs the moment the water reaches her shoulders.

"Oh..."

"Better?"

"So much."

I kneel beside the bath.

"Lean back."

She does without hesitation.

I gather her long golden hair gently before dipping it beneath the water.

Even after all this time...

I still think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Silk between my fingers.

Liquid gold beneath the candlelight.

I work the scented soap slowly through the strands, massaging her scalp with gentle circles.

She practically melts.

"Mmm..."

I smile.

"That good?"

"So good."

Her eyes stay closed.

"You have magical hands."

"I don't."

"You actually technically do."

"I've never heard that particular power assigned to the Verrath."

"They should reconsider."

I chuckle quietly, continuing to work through every strand until the soap is rinsed away.

She hums contentedly the entire time.

I wash the rest of her just as gently, careful around her stomach, my hands lingering there only long enough to smile when I feel a tiny kick beneath my palm.

"There you are," I murmur.

Another little kick answers me.

Avery smiles without opening her eyes.

"I think they know your voice."

"I hope so."

"They definitely know Damien's."

"They probably hear him from three wings away."

She laughs.

"So does everyone else."

When she's finished, I fetch the enormous towel warming beside the hearth.

"Ready?"

She nods.

I slide one arm beneath her knees, the other around her back, and lift her out of the water.

She immediately wraps her arms around my neck.

"I swear..."

She laughs quietly.

"I'm getting too heavy for you."

I stop walking.

Just enough that she looks up at me.

"There will never be a day in your life where you're too heavy for me."

Her smile softens.

"Ezra..."

"I mean it."

I adjust her slightly higher against my chest.

"Damien, Rowan and I train every day."

"So do all the warriors."

"Not for this."

She blinks.

"We train so that no matter what happens..."

I kiss her forehead.

"We can always carry you. All four of you."

She looks at me with those beautiful green eyes that have somehow only become softer since she became pregnant.

"You've become sentimental."

"I have."

"You used to hide it better."

"I stopped seeing the point."

She smiles so brightly it almost hurts to look at.

"And don't forget Kuro."

I picture our fully grown silver fox attempting to climb into my arms along with the four of them.

I sigh dramatically.

"I may need a bit more training."

Her laugh rings through the room, light and musical.

Exactly the sound I was hoping to hear.

Back in our bedroom, I help her into one of my oversized shirts, the one she's claimed as her own over the past few months because it's soft and stretches comfortably over her stomach.

She insists it's the most comfortable thing she's ever worn.

I suspect she'd say the same about an old blanket if it belonged to one of us.

I guide her toward the bed.

Kuro immediately shifts to make room.

Spoiled creature.

She climbs beneath the blankets with a content little sigh.

I join her a moment later.

She turns onto her side as much as her stomach allows before scooting closer until she's tucked against my chest.

"I missed you today."

"I was gone six hours."

"It was a long six hours."

I brush a loose strand of damp hair behind her ear.

"I'd much rather have been here."

"I know."

She reaches up, resting her hand lightly against my jaw.

I lean down and kiss her.

Slowly.

Not with urgency.

Simply because I can.

Because after all these years searching for purpose, for something worth an immortal lifetime...

She's here.

She smiles into the kiss, and I feel it against my lips.

When we part, she doesn't move far.

She simply rests her forehead against mine.

"I love you."

She smiles.

"I like hearing it."

"I love you."

"There."

Her eyes sparkle.

"I love you, too."

I kiss her once more, lingering only a heartbeat before pulling away.

She yawns almost immediately.

"You're exhausted."

"I know."

I settle against the headboard and gently guide her until her head rests against my chest.

My fingers drift into her hair, combing slowly through the freshly washed strands.

Again.

And again.

The rhythm becomes steady.

Predictable.

Within minutes, her breathing deepens.

Her body grows heavier against mine.

Asleep.

She needs all the rest she can get.

I don't stop.

I keep running my fingers through her hair for several more minutes simply because she sleeps better when I do.

Eventually my other hand finds the gentle curve of her stomach.

It's astonishing.

Six months ago, I could still wrap one arm comfortably around her waist.

Now our children fill the space beneath my palm, shifting now and then with tiny, determined movements.

I smile every single time.

"You've made your mother work very hard," I whisper so quietly only they could possibly hear.

"Be kind to her."

Another small kick answers me.

I laugh under my breath.

"I'll take that as a promise."

Then I look at Avery.

At the soft rise and fall of her breathing.

At the way the moonlight catches the golden strands spread across the pillow.

At the freckles dusting her nose.

At the faint shadows beneath her eyes from months of sickness and exhaustion.

This pregnancy has demanded so much from her.

More than anyone expected.

She's weaker than she was.

She tires so easily now.

Some mornings she apologizes because she can't make it down to breakfast.

As though growing three lives isn't work enough.

To me...

She has never been more extraordinary.

Never more beautiful.

Never more worthy of every ounce of care we can give her.

I press the gentlest kiss to her temple.

Then settle beside my wife, one hand still in her hair, the other resting protectively over the family sleeping beneath it.

For a long time, I simply watch them all breathe.