“Will you watch Delinda while I go and find Tabetha or another Faerie to watch over her?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t turn me down. I really want us to try and be a family.
“I will watch over her,” he says to my utmost surprise. He leans over to kiss me. “Don’t be too long, I have missed you.”
“Thank you,” I say, delighted that he offered. “I missed you too, even though it was only a few hours for me. I hated having to leave my rings behind.”
“I hated seeing them left behind,” he growls.
“Never again,” I say, pressing my lips to his.
“Next time, you don’t get them back,” he pouts at me.
I laugh quietly at him. “Liar,” I say, poking him and climbing off his lap.
“How well you know me,” he says with a soft smile. “Go now so that you are back when she awakes.”
I nod and disappear out of the room, hoping to find Sebastian before I run into anyone else.
The Dark Fae Kingdom, September 2014 – Constantine
Constantine watches his wife leave his side to go to another. He resents it, more than he cares to admit. Although, he must also admit that he feels relief, a flooding relief that this is over. The Faerie child has been born and the father is dead. It couldn’t be more perfect if he had planned it himself. Now, he and Aefre will be free to live their lives and to raise their child at Ponte where they belong. He stares down at the girl sleeping in the cot. She looks just like Aefre. For that he also feels immense relief. He had been worried how he would feel if the child had blue eyes, or dark hair, or looked in any way remotely like Remiel, but of course she doesn’t. She has the light hair and green eyes of both her mother and father, but her features are all Aefre. He is mildly surprised to find that he doesn’t resent the child in the least, in fact he is quite enamored with her. She is definitely her mother’s daughter. He turns away and stares out of the window. Everything will come right now. Aefre is home, she is pregnant with his child, Sebastian is out of the picture, and she will choose him. He just needs to press this issue now. He was giving her the time she needed, that she asked for, but now that it is no longer necessary, she must make her decision, publicly and with finality. He is going to make sure that happens as soon as possible.
There is a knock on the door and Devon pops his head around. “Lizzie here?” he asks.
“No,” Constantine says shortly.
“Where is she?” Devon asks.
Constantine sighs and says reluctantly, “She went to find Sebastian.”
“Ah, yes. He was looking a little green when he left the hall earlier,” Devon says with understanding.
“I think we all were,” Constantine says coldly.
“It’s sickening,” Devon says quietly. “How is she coping?”
“Remarkably well, but I would expect nothing less,” Constantine says.
“Guess she just has to face it, huh,” Devon remarks.
“Guess so,” Constantine says and waits. Devon is hovering and he looks like he wants to say more.
He walks over to stare down at the girl and whispers, “Man, she looks so much like Aefre, it’s creepy.”
Constantine glares at him. “What did you just call her?” he snaps.
Devon glances up and rolls his eyes. “Keep your pants on, old man, what was I supposed to say? That she looks like Elizabeth?”
“Oh,” Constantine says. The boy has a point. He is just tired of everyone suddenly calling her Aefre. That is what he calls her. No one else should be given the permission. “Don’t call her that again.”
“I won’t, geez,” Devon says, holding his hands up. “Why so possessive?”
“Would you tolerate it if I went up to her and called her Elizabeth?” Constantine retorts.
“Fuck, no,” Devon says with a smile.
“Humph,” Constantine says. The little shit was just playing with him. He gets it.
“So, what now?” Devon asks.