Part 11 (1/2)
Chapter Four.
”Rowan?” Another s.h.i.+ver of fear ran through Aedan as he stared at Rowan's limp form in his arms. Her face was pale, her breath but a flutter against his skin. She lived. Barely. Had he taken a moment longer to return, she would have been drawn into the stone circle.
And would have died.
Before, he'd believed the circle sensed their connection, but after learning she was part fey, he'd dismissed any threat to her. The stone circle was the entry to the Otherworld, her home. But now, danger pulsed through the air, a malignancy that foretold ill.
For her.
Why? Rowan had no vampire blood within her. If she had- A hum of energy like a breath vibrated through the air.
He stilled. Nay, 'twas impossible. Such was- Whispers of light brushed against Rowan's skin, s.h.i.+mmered around her in a whimsical dance. His breath left him in a rush.
She carried their child.
Overwhelmed, humbled by such a gift, Aedan pressed a kiss upon her brow. Never had he believed he would find a woman who loved him. Now, Rowan had given him that and more.
”Rowan?” he whispered.
A soft moan fell from her lips.
He brushed her damp locks from her brow, the sheen of moisture revealing the subtle trauma upon her system, that indeed her body had begun to change. Would her fey blood protect her human side from the intense changes to come? How long would it take for their child to grow within her? Seven months as was the norm for a vampire child? Due to the strength of her fairy blood, would the time she carried their child be less?
And what of her human side? Would her body accept the presence of a vampire child, or would it rebel? By making love with her, had he endangered her life? Bed.a.m.ned! Why had he not considered the chance of her becoming pregnant, or the ramifications? He'd been so caught up in wanting her, he'd thought of naught else.
Aedan blew out a rough breath. Now he understood. The power within the stone circle had detected the child and sensed that within its body pulsed vampire blood. A natural enemy of the vampire, the protective energy within the stones had sought to rid Rowan's body of the invader.
Had the power of the stones alerted the fairy queen? Nay, if so, Ysenda, Queen of the Otherworld, would have appeared. Though he'd planned to remain near the circle to try to catch his betrayer, for Rowan's safety he must take them far away.
”Aedan?”
At Rowan's feeble whisper he gave her a tender smile. ”I am here.” He gently laid her upon the soft gra.s.s, knelt by her side. ”How do you feel?”
”I-I ... am dizzy.”
A mild symptom of her pregnancy. How long before she would feel the first kick of their babe? ”I asked that you remain hidden. Why did you leave the cave before my return?”
A frown crowded her brow. ”I heard the song of a lute coming from the stone circle. Curious, I went to find the source.”
Anger sparked. The fey's pa.s.sion for music was well known, though not to Rowan. It had been a trap set to lure her.
She started to sit, and Aedan helped her. ”As I walked closer the ground began to tremble; cracks opened within the circle. I tried to leave”-a s.h.i.+ver wracked her body as she glanced toward the circle-”but it pulled me. I-I must have pa.s.sed out.”
Bed.a.m.ned. And he'd caught her a second before she'd fallen inside. ”Rowan,” he said, keeping his voice calm, ”I am taking you away from here.”
Lines furrowed her brow. ”I thought you needed to wait here another night to see if anyone returned to the circle?”
”Things have changed.”
Shrewd eyes studied his. ”What things?”
The waver in her voice had him d.a.m.ning the entire situation. ”Rowan ...” How did he explain the magnitude of what he'd discovered? Blast it, how could he not? ”You are carrying my child.”
”Your child?” A smile tugged at her mouth. He but teased her. Rowan waited for his answering glint of laughter, anything to a.s.sure her Aedan was merely jesting to lighten the moment. But, his expression remained intense.
She tried to pull back; he held her firm.
”It cannot be,” she whispered, as if to speak the words would ensure their truth.
”Never would I lie about something of such import.”
The seriousness of his voice shook her further. ”How is such a thing possible?”
The faintest smile touched the corner of his mouth, faded. ”You are a healer, you know how a child is created.”
Frustration swelled. ”That is not what I meant.”
His face softened, and he took her hand, cradled it within his own. ”My belief is that when we made love, our bodies recognized that we are mates and-”
”Created a child?” Her fragmented whisper echoed her shock. ”I find it difficult to believe.”
”Aye, there is much to accept.”
”Except you have,” she said, her mind overwhelmed, ”completely, without any question.”
” 'Tis nature's decision, and not my place to question her wisdom.” Aedan glanced toward the circle, then turned back to her, his expression grim. ”You are not safe here.”
Reasons why she was unsafe poured through her mind, the foremost one being that she was in love with a vampire.
Black eyes narrowed. ”Never would I hurt you.
”Nay,” she whispered. With Aedan she found strength, a calmness she'd never before experienced, and a belief that, come what may, he would protect her.
A far-off yell echoed from the south.
Against the merest hint of morning, torchlight wavered in the distance.
A low growl erupted from Aedan. He released her, shoved to his feet. ”The men who search for you.”
She stood, caught his hand. ”What are you going to do?”
Furious eyes met hers. ”Kill them.”
Heart pounding, she shook her head. ”Their deaths will but incite more people to join in the search for me.”
”Then I will wipe the men's minds, and they will remember naught.”