When Seeds Take Root: An Everleaf Series Novella Read online

  Luister cleared his throat and straightened. His long white hair was tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. “How can I help you, Queen Chalcedony?”

  Chalcedony glanced around Luister’s workspace, trying to delay the conversation. It was a large, illuminated space with high ceilings. Dozens of books filled the bookshelves that spread across the room. There were three shelves tucked in the corner, with hundreds of vials holding a spectrum of different substances. She recognized one of the larger bottles as glamor from the way the substance shimmered in the sunlight. But most she couldn’t place.

  A waterfall sat underneath one of the front windows inside of the room. She walked across the room, past Luister’s desk, to study it closer. A stream flowed from a cluster of rocks as high as Chalcedony’s hip and fell into a small pond no wider than a modest bathtub. Chalcedony let the cool water cascade over her hands. When she closed her eyes, she could almost believe she was outside in the forest.

  “Is this magic?” she asked Luister, sensing him standing behind her.

  “No,” he answered. “It isn’t magic. It’s physics.” He leaned over her shoulder and peered into the water. There is a pump that recirculates the water,” he added. “The sound calms me and most of my patients.”

  “Do you constantly need to be calmed?” Chalcedony asked.

  “I did when I was younger.” He leaned and winked conspiratorially. “You probably won’t believe this, but I used to get into a lot of mischief.”

  Chalcedony pursed her lips. She completely believed it. “I was sick earlier this morning.”

  The corners of his mouth lifted and his eyes sparkled. “I had heard there was an incident with a bowl of fruit.”

  Chalcedony grimaced. The so-called incident happened less than ten minutes ago, and like an invasive vine, the news had already spread through the entire tree.

  “Would you like something for nausea?” he asked with a knowing grin that said he knew why she was there, but he was going to make her explain anyway.

  “I need to know if I'm pregnant.”

  “Yes, you are.” Luister’s grin turned into a full-blown smile that lit up his face. His smile oddly reminded her of Coal. Would she have to start watching Coal around the servants also?

  “Your baby is around six weeks old.”

  “Six weeks? You’re kidding, right?”

  “No,” he said. “I’m pretty sure you’re six weeks pregnant. Soon, you’ll be showing.”

  “How do you know?” The blood roared in Chalcedony’s ears, but she tried to keep her voice steady. “Isn’t there some special spell you have to do? Do I need to pee on a fig leaf under a full moon?”

  He rolled his eyes. “What foolery have you been reading? I'm a trained sorcerer. I can feel the spark of life just as easily as I can feel the spark of magic.” Without moving her shirt, he moved his hands over her belly.

  “Wait,” he added. “I stand corrected.”

  Chalcedony sighed in relief.

  “You are closer to six and a half weeks.”

  She clenched her jaw while the rush of anger and disappointment passed. She wanted to argue. She needed to argue. She had only been with Coal for three weeks. But Luister was the best at what he did. It occurred to her that Luister hadn’t been surprised. He had told her she was pregnant before he even touched her belly. “How long have you known?”

  “A few weeks,” he answered without hesitation. “I felt the baby begin to stir after the barrier fell when I was healing a few of your more serious wounds.”

  “Why haven’t you said anything?”

  “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It’s much more fun for the arrival of a new life to make itself known, don’t you agree?”

  “The baby made itself known by making me vomit in a meeting. I would have preferred for you to tell me.”

  “I’ll make note of that for the future. Now,” his voice turned hard, and his eyes locked onto hers, “listen carefully; these are the rules. Changing your shape could disrupt the blood flow to the baby, so you’ll have to stop shapeshifting. It’s okay for the first few weeks, but I think the sooner you stop, the better.

  “And no phasing after the first eight weeks,” he continued. “As your child grows, your body may mistake it as a separate person, and you’ll end up leaving a fetus in your wake.”

  “You’re saying if I phase with the baby there is a chance I can leave it behind?”

  “Exactly. We have never been a very fertile race, but queens are even less fertile. Most have had a hard time curtailing their power. But you’re young; you’re not power hungry, and I know you won’t have that problem, will you?

  “Why hadn’t I ever heard of these rules?” Chalcedony asked, ignoring his question. She couldn’t imagine not being able to shift or phase. She had her full powers for less than a year, but it was already as normal as breathing or walking.

  “I’m sure your mother would have told you about the dangers if she were still alive.”

  This is what her mother would have wanted. She was finally pregnant, and if she followed the rules, in a few months, there would be an heir to Everleaf’s throne. But did any of these traditions matter if the wall that separated the worlds was gone?

  Queen Isis and Jade had every intention of brokering a treaty so that the fey and humans could live peacefully together. If they succeeded and she failed at finding a way to recreate the wall, then her role to protect the fey from humans would be unnecessary.

  Chalcedony met Luister’s eyes. “Don’t tell anyone about this.”

  “Of course not. But…” his voice trailed off.

  “But what?”

  “After the incident with the fruit bowl, most already suspect.” He pursed his lips. “Are you having doubts about having a child?”

  She forced a smile. “Of course not,” she lied.

  Chapter Seven

  Gnawing on a non-existent nail on her index finger, Chalcedony stared out over her private dining area. She had Sahmuel prepare Coal’s favorite meal: roasted duck with apples and potatoes. In the center of the table was a dozen lit candles. She had the staff pick fresh blue lilies from the forest and place them in a few vases spaced around the wooden dining table.

  This was romantic, right?

  Luister had been right. The rumors of her pregnancy had spread through the entire tree. No one dared say anything to her, but they all looked at her with knowing smiles before shifting their gazes toward her belly. She stared daggers at anyone who even looked like they were going to ask her about it. She knew from experience that look stopped most people in their tracks. Their fearful reactions were the only bright spots of the entire day.

  She now began gnawing on her thumbnail. Coal would be so hurt when she told him the truth. The least she could do was try to cushion the blow a little, although there was a chance she would only succeed in ruining all of his favorite foods for him. Would he associate his favorite meal with the news that she was pregnant with someone else’s child?

  Ugh… maybe this was a bad idea.

  “Queen Chalcedony, he’s here,” Mireya said hurriedly, running into the dining room

  Chalcedony’s heart quickened, but she managed to keep her voice steady. “Thank you, Mireya.”

  “Good luck.” The servant wore the same frustrating grin Chalcedony had seen all day.

  “Just tell him to meet me in here!” Chalcedony snapped.

  Mireya lowered her head and walked backward out of the room, but Chalcedony could still see the grin on her face.

  Mireya returned less than a minute later holding an empty bowl with Coal trailing behind her. She placed the bowl on the table, bowed to Chalcedony and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Coal looked at the table with a furrowed brow. When his eyes settled on her, he smiled, his dimples deepening on his cheeks. Smiles like this stabbed at her heart and reminded her how it was both wonderful and painful to love him.

  “What’s the occasion
?” he asked.

  “You've been at the forge all day. I know you're tired, and I wanted to do something special for you.”

  “Well,” he began, “about that.” His voice was heavy, and he looked tired. His shoulders drooped.

  “Wait,” she said. “Sit down. I have something for you.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the nearest chair. “Look what I got.” She pulled the cover off one of the smaller serving trays that sat on the table.

  His eyes widened as his expression changed from confusion to excitement. On the table was a “king size” Butterfinger, his favorite candy bar from the human realm.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked.

  “I had to travel to the human realm,” she explained, “so I stopped and got it for you.” That was partly true. She didn’t tell him that she had only gone there to get the candy bar for the sole purpose of softening him for the bad news.

  He grabbed the chocolate bar from the tray and ripped open the yellow wrapper. He didn’t waste any time before he bit into it.

  The pungent, sugary smell of processed chocolate and peanut butter immediately made her stomach churn.

  In a nightmarish replay of the morning, Chalcedony began to retch uncontrollably. This time, there wasn’t enough time for her to reach for a bowl.

  When the contents of everything she had eaten throughout the day lay on the floor, she took a deep breath and straightened.

  Coal’s eyes were wide with worry. “Are you sick? Do you want me to get Luister?” he frantically asked on his way out of the room.

  “No.” She used her magic to pull him back into the room. Her kinetic skills had grown tenfold over the past few months, and she was able to pull him back despite her queasiness. “I’ve already talked to him.”

  He hurried back to her side. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  Chalcedony had never seen him so scared. He looked as though she was about to tell him she was dying. She wished. That would have been so much easier to say.

  “Chaley, what’s wrong?” he pleaded.

  The smell of the bile grew stronger while she tried to come up with a way to tell him she was pregnant with someone else’s child.

  Maybe he could read her mind because his eyes trailed down to her stomach.

  “You’re pregnant.”

  She nodded, relief flooded through her. The first part was over, but the hardest part was still to come.

  With his eyes never leaving her belly, he backed up and dropped onto the nearest chair. He sat down with such force something dropped from his pants pocket, landing on the floor with a loud thud. The object barely missed falling into the mess on the floor.

  I really needed to have someone clean this up, Chalcedony thought. She reached down for the object, but Coal was closer. He picked it up and put it back into his pocket.

  Chalcedony narrowed her eyes. “Was that a cell phone?” she asked, welcoming the distraction.

  He pursed his lips. “Jade stopped by the forge today.”

  “What?!” She stood, making sure she stepped away from the mess on the floor. “What did she want?”

  “I was going to tell you as soon as I came home, but you distracted me with a candy bar, and you threw up, and you’re pregnant.” He motioned towards her belly, still wearing a disgustingly joyful smile.

  Chalcedony swallowed. “Stop changing the subject. What did she want?”

  He motioned to the mess on the floor. “Can we talk about this after we get this cleaned up?”

  Chalcedony rolled her eyes, placed her hand on his shoulder, and phased the two of them to their bedroom.

  “Now tell me.” She stood in front of their bed with her arms planted on her hips. “What did your mom want?”

  Coal grabbed her arms and pulled her to the bed beside him. “Let’s sit down first.”

  She could tell he was anxious, but it was nothing compared to the excitement still dancing in his eyes. He was still excited about the baby. A baby that wasn’t his.

  “Tell me,” she pleaded, forcing herself to meet his eyes. “What happened?”

  “Jade told me she wanted to spend time with me, so we ended up in the human realm.”

  “Why would you go anywhere with her? You haven't seen her in weeks.”

  “She's my mother,” he explained. “I can’t help but want to know her.”

  “She's a liar,” Chalcedony snapped.

  He turned away as if he’d been slapped.

  She stood and began pacing. If she never saw Jade or Queen Isis again, it would be too soon.

  “I know I can't trust her, but she's my mother. I need to give her a chance.”

  “She destroyed our world.”

  “I know, but she had a good reason.”

  “So she says. Saving the humans is not more important than keeping the fey safe.”

  “I didn’t say it was, but I can’t help but sympathize. Remember, I was human for most of my life.”

  Chalcedony laughed bitterly. “But you’re not human anymore, and you didn’t like living among them either. You fought to get back here.”

  “I still feel human,” Coal admitted. “I still don’t feel like I belong, and I don’t think I ever will.”

  She stopped pacing. Chalcedony had noticed that Coal still wore his human form with blunted ears and dark skin, even though, as an elf, he was as pale as fresh milk and had red hair.

  “But that’s not all that happened,” he said solemnly, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Are you trying to tell me that you want to live with Jade and Queen Isis so that you can be a prince?” Chalcedony asked after he had told her the rest of his story that included traveling to the human realm with Jade and a press conference.

  His brow furrowed. “Of course not.” He pulled her onto his lap. “My home is wherever you are. You know that. I just wanted to tell you everything that happened. I don’t want any lies or secrets between us.”

  No lies or secrets. She opened her mouth to tell him the truth, but he began rubbing her belly, and the words died on her lips.

  “Our baby will be the heir to both of our lands.” His voice was filled with so much pride that his dimples found new depth, and Chalcedony’s heart melted.

  “We're gonna be parents.” He jostled her in his lap. “And we’re going to be the best parents in the world.”

  “You don’t think we’re too young?” she asked.

  “Nope!” he said as if his happiness knew no bounds.

  “Don’t get too excited,” she warned. “Luister told me Queens aren’t known for carrying children to term.”

  His light dimmed but not by much. “What do you mean?”

  Chalcedony told him about the limitations and dangers that Luister had explained to her earlier.

  “No problem; limited shifting and no phasing. We can do that.”

  “Phasing is the fastest way to travel. It’s important I get where I need to be quick, especially now that the barrier is gone.”

  “We’ll figure something out. Things have already calmed down. Maybe we can ask my mother for help.”

  “I’d die before I’d ever asked Jade for help.” She was about to hop off his lap, but he held her firmly in place.

  “Okay. Okay. No asking Jade for help.” He grabbed her face in both of his hands. “We’ll figure it out, okay?” The tenderness in his touch and the love in his eyes demolished any argument she could think of.

  “Okay,” she conceded and relaxed into his lap while he pulled her closer.

  She would let him enjoy this feeling, Chalcedony decided. I’ll tell him the truth tomorrow, she promised herself.

  Chapter Eight

  Chalcedony was late. Again.

  Coal’s fault. Again.

  He fussed over her all morning. He wanted her to stay in bed like she was a fragile piece of glass. She had to threaten him with death to force him to go to work.

  But instead of going straight to the conference room, she found herself in the kitchen
with a grumbling stomach.

  “Where are the children?” she asked Sahmuel as she sat at the table.

  The cook placed a cup of steaming tea in front of her. “Bia and Daniel are with their parents today.”

  “What is this?” Chalcedony asked, staring at the cup warily.

  “I heard about the mess you made in the dining room,” he answered.

  Heat rose to Chalcedony’s cheeks. “Yeah,” she sighed. “Sorry about that.”

  “This is a special brew.” He motioned toward the cup. “I served it to my wife, my daughter, and your mother when they were pregnant.”

  “My mother, really?” Chalcedony wrapped her hands around the cup.

  He nodded. “She suffered the same way when you were in her belly.”

  Steam, smelling of cinnamon and ginger, snaked its way above the mug’s rim. She took a sip. It had a strong earthy taste that sent a pleasant sensation of warmth down her throat before it nestled into her belly.

  “It’s good,” Chalcedony said, praying that the drink wouldn’t come back up later in the day. “Thank you.”

  Sahmuel grinned with achievement. “I’ll have Lark bring you another cup an hour before lunch. It’ll help you keep the food down.”

  She sipped on the tea while she watched the cook and the servants bustle around the kitchen, cooking and cleaned. By the time she finished the tea, the kitchen staff had begun to get comfortable enough with her presence to start joking and teasing each other.

  Chalcedony tightened her grip on the empty mug. “You mentioned my mother,” she said to Sahmuel when the others were out of the room doing their separate chores.

  “Yes, the beautiful and powerful Queen Galena,” he said with longing while he kneaded a ball of dough on the kitchen counter.

  “How many times was she pregnant?”

  The cook straightened before he took a deep breath. “Three,” he answered in a low voice. “There were three pregnancies before she had you.”

  He turned to face her. Flour and small pieces of dough covered his hands. “This will be different. Your child was conceived out of love, not duty. That makes all the difference.”