Saviour of Ashes

Chapter 10

After two weeks of being at sea Aelin was sick from her pregnancy for the first time that morning. Lysandra was holding back her hair and rubbing her back.

"I never would have guessed I'd play nursemaid," Lysandra muttered as Aelin hurled. "It stinks."

"If you're going to complain..."

"And what? You'll get your hair in it," Lysandra said. She passed her a wet cloth.

Aelin dabbed her sweaty forehead and then wiped her mouth. She twisted to meet Lysandra's eyes. "How am I supposed to train and keep in shape with this thing growing inside me and making me puke?"

Lysandra laughed. "I'm sure you can still run and practise with Rowan. But I wouldn't get into sparring fights, not if it risks the baby."

"I'm going to be fat," Aelin frowned at her slim form. She had lost weight and gained weight from all the times she had been shackled and held prisoner. But she had never been bigger than what she was right now.

"You'll lose the weight again," Lysandra said.

Aelin prayed it wasn't from being locked up again. "If I die, you'll have to raise it, you know," she said, not meeting Lysandra's eyes.

Lysandra tutted. "You won't die. Maeve said you're supposed to Settle in five years."

Aelin looked at the floor. "What if she lied? Something always goes wrong, Lysandra. What if the baby dies?"

The shifter shook her head. "Have you discussed this with Rowan?"

"No. He's so happy right now," Aelin climbed to her feet.

"Uh...Aelin," Lysandra said, her eyes wide, "I know you said you'd get fat but you're only a few weeks."

Aelin looked in the mirror and lifted up her shirt. Her stomach was slightly plumper and rounder than normal. "It's growing too fast."

"Is that normal with fae pregnancies?"

"I don't know, I never got the chance to learn about them - other than it's difficult to conceive." Aelin brushed a hand over her stomach. Life was growing inside her.

"Aelin," Lysandra warned. "Don't start freaking out now." She watched the Queen's face. "It might be because you are thinner than women who have had a sheltered life. Maybe that's why it is visible already."

"I don't know how long I've been pregnant," Aelin admitted.

"Some of the other ladies working for Clarisse said that you get morning sickness around six weeks," Lysandra explained. "But they're not exactly honest women."

Aelin counted to six weeks ago... "The claiming," she whispered.

Rowan had thought she was pregnant but... What if she had just started developing the baby?

"You think you could be six weeks?" Lysandra mused. "You could have the baby in spring."

Aelin stared at the tiny little bump a moment longer before she pulled down her shirt. "We hide it from Darrow," she said urgently. "Just until we figure out a plan and research more on...this." She gestured to her stomach.

Lysandra nodded. "I'll tell the others to keep their mouths' shut." She left Aelin pacing back and forth in the bathroom.

There was a cry and a flash of light from the bedroom. Aelin came out to find Rowan striding towards her. "Time to clean up, my Lady. Terrasen is an hour away."

Aelin closed her eyes. She had been so wrapped up in the break from the war against Maeve and Erawan, and the mutant inside her that she hadn't realised that they would get to Terrasen sooner thanks to Rowan's winds.

Aelin scanned the clothes that Lysandra had left in the wardrobe for her. She frowned at the magnificent dresses hanging inside.

Rowan touched her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She lifted up her shirt and asked, "How much do you remember about fae pregnancies?"

Rowan stared at the bump. He hadn't been around when Lyria was pregnant but he must have been taught the ways fae reproduced.

"It's the same as a mortal's," Rowan told her. He looked at her, then at the bump, then back at her. "But I didn't sense it..."

"Because it was too early," Aelin offered. She turned back to the dresses. "I do not wish to leave this ship dressed in travelling or fighting clothes. There is no threat from the Lords. We will not beat them into accepting me as Queen."

Rowan nodded. They had seen her as a warrior. They now had to see her as a Queen, which meant she'd be putting on one of those dresses.

She gestured to the clothes. "You can pick."