The Deadly King

Chapter 16

Hawthorn hummed happily as he rolled over. Yet again, he expected to find Seraphina in the bed, and yet again, he was disappointed. Sitting up, he looked around the room and realised that she'd been busy.

The tree that they'd decorated was lit up, glowing colourful lights in the dark room. Flameless candles flickered as they sat on the mantle. More were dotted around the tiny stack of presents, giving off a lot of light, which Hawthorn found surprising.

The rest of the room was dark. Hawthorn expected that the fireplace would be roaring, but the room was pleasant enough to go without for a little longer.

Climbing out of bed, Hawthorn pulled on his dressing gown and rubbed his tired eyes. Searching for Seraphina, he found the soft glow of light coming out from under the door to the bathroom.

"Seph?"

"I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright. Are you hungry?"

"No,"

Hawthorn frowned, wondering why her response sounded more like a groan. Shrugging it off, he wandered back to the bedroom and sat in front of the tree. It was small, but they both agreed that, for now, it was enough.

He poked through the gifts, searching through all the things that he'd bought for Seraphina. There were a few things that he didn't recognise. Some didn't have tags on them.

Seraphina emerged, wrapped up in her silk dressing gown. Hawthorn watched as she crossed the room, looking like a goddess.

She sat on the floor next to Hawthorn, who was grinning like he was a kid again. Seraphina didn't know what his childhood was like, but could easily assume that it would not have been good. His mother wouldn't have stood up for her children. Seraphina could see that she was frightened of Ruslan.

Leaning in, she kissed Hawthorn.

"Open something."

"Is there a gift that you'd prefer I opened first? I ask because there are a few with no tags on them."

"They're the ones you get to open after your big present."

"Oh, there's a big present, is there? I want to open it first."

Seraphina grinned, shaking her head.

"You're so predictable."

Reaching the corner behind the tree, Seraphina pulled out a thin blue rectangle box. Like the others, it was wrapped with precision and artfully decorated with ribbon.

Pulling on the dusky pink ribbon, Hawthorn grew curious about what was so big about this tiny present. Lifting the lid, Hawthorn tried not to frown at what looked like a card.

"Well, you certainly have odd thoughts about what is,"

"Hawthorn,"

His eyes lifted with amusement.

"Shut up."

With a silent grin, he returned to the gift and lifted the card from the box. Sliding his thumb between the fold, he pushed it open and put the box aside. The amusement became confusion as he looked at the black and white image.

"So, before everything happened, I was feeling incredibly sick. Elena suggested I take a test, which I did, and it didn't show negative or positive. We tried different tests and got the same result, so she scheduled an appointment. That's where Reina was taking me. He confirmed I was pregnant. When I returned, Elena organised for the doctor to come here to check. That's the image he captured."

"You're pregnant?"

Hawthorn looked up and saw the smile as Seraphina nodded.

"Were you sick earlier?"

"I was. The baby is fine and likely to be with us in a couple of months. The doctor estimated that I'm at four months."

"This is amazing. I can't believe the baby survived."

He thought about it.

"Four months? You've passed the halfway point."

"Well, that is why I said a couple of months. Maybe we might have a Valentine's baby."

"That would be pretty cool. Did you find out the gender?"

"No, just that the baby is in great health and growing madly."

Undoing the knot of her dressing gown, he pushed the sides apart and smoothed his hand over her stomach. There wasn't much, but he could feel a curve in her belly.

"You're not showing yet.

"The doctor said that I will probably explode soon. He seems to think that the baby either hid up high or right down at the bottom, which is likely to be the only reason there is no damage. I like to think that the baby wants to join their mother in hiding in the shadows, waiting to jump out at their father with a hatchet."

Hawthorn chuckled, dragging Seraphina closer.

"You're so mean to me."

"Like you don't love it."

Seraphina wrapped her arm around Hawthorn's neck, enjoying the moment with him. It hadn't been an easy path, but each day was getting better. He gave affection freely, which Seraphina was happy to return.

"I suppose this explains why you have been almost impaling me with your knife if I dared to take the last steak. Been a little hungry lately?"

"It's like all the food in the world is not enough, yet when I look at it, I run for the bathroom. However, our little bundle does enjoy a good old-fashioned bloody steak."

"Good. I will notify the kitchen that your diet will need to increase."

"And so it begins. I should have kept my mouth shut and said nothing until it was time to give birth."

"But you didn't, and now you face several weeks of me, the maids and the guards treating you as if you are made of glass. Are you going to behave?"

"Nope."

Like always, her defiant attitude amused Hawthorn.

Leaning against the lounge, Hawthorn faced Seraphina. His hand still pressed against the warmth of her body, still fascinated that it had finally happened.

"There are many things under the tree for you, but one of them concerns me that you might become offended or upset. I want you to know that what I give is from the heart, and I want you to be happy."

"Okay."

Leaning back, Hawthorn lifted a thin present and gave it to Seraphina. Cautiously, she opened it and wondered what Hawthorn was thinking when he purchased a magazine for her. It wasn't the kind that she'd usually buy. It was a home decorating guide.

"I'd like to renovate the sanctum. It won't take away the past, but it might help you move forward. Now that we're about to have a baby, we need to consider them as well."

"It has been a long time since a child was running around the place," Seraphina murmured. "It's definitely not child friendly."

Seraphina put the magazine behind her and returned to her position, facing Hawthorn. She smiled softly.

"It was a thoughtful gift."

Leaning in, Seraphina kissed Hawthorn.

"And just so that you know, I am going to make you pay for everything. It's going to cost you a fortune."

Hawthorn chuckled, wrapping his free arm aroundher waist. As the passionate kiss began, Hawthorn couldn't believe how wellSeraphina had accepted the offer. Not only that, but she was pregnant. Itturned out to be the best Christmas ever.