Bound by Devotion

Chapter Three

The closer they got, the faster her breathing became. Her hands fisted on her legs. "My Queen?"

I'm fin—." She cursed as the word stopped in her throat.

Then, there they were.

The woman dropped to her knee and swore her oath. Then she said, "By your leave, Your Highness, please bless my babe. I am Seelie and I've come here to wait for you to thank you. You saved our town and our lives. We couldn't flee, as I was giving birth." Faint red touched her cheeks. "She is called Elaris which means Evening Star in Seelie. For that's the way it looked, with the magic flaring so bright at the end." She dropped her head again, holding the swaddled infant out to Eve.

Her arms shook so bad that she almost declined. Kornae touched her shoulder, "Breath, my Queen."

Eve did and shook herself. The baby wasn't going to hurt her. Her hands slid beneath the tiny body and the light lavender eyes met hers and she was in her arms and the infant cooed. Eve shifted, holding the child in a more natural position and reach out slowly to stroke the velvety skin only found in the very young. She didn't know she was crying until a tear dropped on the baby's cheek. The mother let out a soft sound.

She didn't know where the words came from, but they were in her head. They were Unseelie, but perhaps blessing worked the same in both courts. "Live, young Star, thrive and shine as bright as your name. May you only know peace and love and live eternal."

The child made a face that Eve could easily mistake as a smile.

~~~

"You made quite an impression today."

Eve was only half listening. They left soon after the mother collected her baby, a smile that warmed Eve's heart on her face. "I'll come out more often." Why could she still feel the warmth of that tiny Fae against her breast? The the trees didn't look threatening now, she thought as she tried to figure out why she could still feel the velvety skin beneath her finger tips.

"Eve?"

She heard him then and turned empty eyes to him. "What is it?"

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

The sigh was heartfelt. "I didn't lie when I said I was tired." She looked forward to the palace, the big black walls not quite as imposing as they once were.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"After a while."

"What kept you up?

"What's with the fifty question?" She turned back him.

"You're not yourself, my Queen." He actually seemed somewhat concerned.

"If you don't stop calling me that..." That got a lift to a corner of his mouth. The first expression she had seen on him in a while. But she wasn't going to lie to herself. It meant nothing. "The baby bothered me, if you have to know. The prophecy, baby. Our last fight, baby, telling the men who love me what that fucking scroll wants me to do, baby. And then, there was a baby." His eyes had taken on that frozen look again. The one that chilled her and why did she bother? "Relax, my King, I'm not asking you for anything." She turned away and heeled her horse, running for the cover of her room.

The doors opened and she headed for the stables. Hopefully the stable-boy was there and could take care of Silhouette because she couldn't. She needed to be alone. After all the people, after the baby, after him, she just needed to go somewhere by herself.

Throwing her leg over the animal, she had forgotten how much she ached. Add to that being on a horse for the first time in a decade...

Keeping her sounds locked in her throat, she handed the reigns to the boy and ran for the safety of the walls. She could hear the thunder of hooves and knew Kornae was right behind her. That was not an argument she was willing to have. Not then. Not ever again. The whole day was an epic failure. Aside from, surprisingly enough, the baby. Knowing that she helped to save that newborns life was stunning.