“You want to hold him?” Scarlett asked Lorcan, who practically lunged at the opportunity, sitting forward with his arms held out. Raina and I exchanged smiles.
“Support his head,” Raina reminded him when Ravian flopped a little during the transfer.
“I’ve got him.” Lorcan settled back in his chair with the baby on his chest, stomach-down. Ravian made little gurgling noises and rocked his head back and forth before giving a shuddery sigh and going still.
“Unbelievable.” Raina rolled her eyes. “How come his own dad can’t put him to sleep that easily?”
Lorcan patted the child’s back, smirking. “Babies like me.”
“Babies, goddesses, horses—is there any creature on Earth that the Hero of Auralia can’t tame?” I teased.
“Took him long enough to win you over,” Scarlett observed. I made a vulgar gesture.
“Worth the effort,” Lorcan said. His gaze burned through me until I had to look away. Blushing again, I’m sure. I do that a lot nowadays.
I went to crouch behind my husband’s chair. Ravian’s dark eyes popped open the instant I brushed a fingertip along his forehead.
“You have the longest eyelashes,” I murmured. The baby sighed contentedly. Lorcan hiked him a bit higher, looking back at me over Ravian’s round little head, his wheat-colored hair tickling Ravian’s black curls. His mouth curled upward as his gaze locked on mine. “I think he smiled at me?”
“Probably.” Tovian chuckled. “Or passed gas.”
Ravian shoved most of his fist into his mouth and made an adorable cooing sound. I dared to stroke his soft little arm with my fingertip.
“Would you like to hold him?” Lorcan offered.
“Me? I don’t know how.” Sethi was already walking when I met him. I thought he was small, but in retrospect, he seems huge compared to this tiny two-month-old. When we stopped in Covari Village, my brother was talking up a storm.
“Go on. Try it,” Scarlett said, encouragingly.
“Um...” Despite my misgivings, I returned to my chair and let Lorcan pass me the surprisingly heavy, floppy bundle of baby. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“Support the head!” Raina exclaimed.
“Right!” Panicked, I tried to get him into the same position Scarlett had used. When that made him cry, I tried shifting him to his tummy the way Lorcan held him, nearly dropping him in the process. Lorcan bent over me, rearranging the baby at an angle so he was on his side with his head resting on my shoulder. Ravian calmed instantly.
“How is it that you’ve never held one before?” Scarlett asks, puzzled.
I shrugged with one shoulder. “Never met one before.”
“No cousins?”
I shook my head, though I’m not looking at Scarlett. I was fascinated by the helplessness of the infant in my arms. I can’t imagine ever being that blissfully trusting.
The piece I’ve been missing falls abruptly into place, landing with the weight of destiny.
I don’t want a child out of duty.
I want a child because I am the last in a line of women who’ve loved their daughters since the founding of Auralia.
Whether or not the first queen was a goddess made mortal, is irrelevant. She was strong enough to lead a band of devoted people away from everything they knew, through hostile lands, picking up like-minded followers and leading them into a vast ocean of unknown danger. Her faith and optimism led them to the unlikeliest place imaginable: a rocky spit of land dominated by three mountains, one spitting fire.
A place where women could thrive alongside the men brave enough to work with us, instead of attempting to dominate us.
I am the inheritor of a love that’s been handed down from mother to daughter in an unbroken line for five thousand years. Mine is a legacy worth passing on. I will love every bit as fiercely as Auralia herself loved that first princess—and so will her father.
I glanced over at Lorcan. He’s watching me, intently, in the way that used to bother me. Gently, he held out one finger. Ravian wrapped tiny fingers around the tip, then attempted to drag it into his mouth.
My king smiles dreamily. The sight constricts my heart.
