Sacred

Chapter 22

   As they sat down around the fire, the Lights and soldiers took spot a along the tunnel to keep watch while the royals and Nick talked. As soon as she sat down, Alex looked at her father. "I'm starting to think that my feelings don't matter to you. I have a heart that works just like yours. It seems like you don't think my heart can make a choice. To you it's just another piece of property you can sell to the highest bidder."

   Jacob tried to say something, but she carried on. "I've made my decision. Nick is my choice. I love him and I refuse to be swathed. First it was Abel the rapist and now you tried to give me away to a stranger we'd only known for a few hours. A stranger whom, must I remind you, was a fraud."

   Jacob stood, obviously angered and frustrated. "I know! I know!" He sighed and relaxed, looking quite old. "I'm sorry sweetpea. I just wanted the best for you and yet what I offered you was the exact opposite of that. I think it's obvious that Nick is the best possible choice."

   Alex smiled and glanced at Nick who was smiling also. He reached into his pocket as she sat down and he pulled out a little ring. It wasn't the type she was used to, but it was perfect. It was simply a hollowed our circle of rock, chiseled from the wall and then filed down to near perfect texture. It was plain and simple, but she loved it. As he slipped it on her finger, she heard her mother sniff. She glanced over and Grace looked so happy as she watched her daughter get proposed to by the boy she'd known since before he could talk.

   That night, when Nick lay beside her in the tent, she couldn't help but feel like life was almost perfect, but something was amiss. She felt like it had something to do with her. She'd had this strange feeling inside of her for a day or two. A feeling she couldn't describe. She always just shrugged it off and kept it to herself, but as she went to roll onto her side, she wretched. Her prematurely like it had done a back flip.

   She accidentally bumped Nick with her elbow as she moved and so he came awake sharply, sitting up and immediately grabbing her arm. "What's wrong?"

   She moaned and shook her head, not able to speak. Once the nausea went away, she trembled and turned her head towards him. "What was that?"

   He shrugged and laid her back again. She managed to make it the rest of the night without getting nauseous, but as she sat up in the morning, it came again. She feared she was getting sick and that it would spread to everyone else, but as she came out of the tent, her mother glanced over from where she and Nick were talking.

  She came over and took Alex's hands. "Sweetheart. From what Nick told me, I believe you're pregnant. The nausea makes sense and you seemed to be rather partial to apples last night."

   Alex was at first too shocked to respond. Then, she gave a squeal of happiness and dove at Nick who caught her easily and swung her around. She laughed as he kissed her cheek and set her down easily. She smiled and grabbed his cheeks. "We're parents. We're gonna have a baby."

   He smiled and laughed, but it fell flat as his body tensed. He shoved her towards the tent and he and the Lights gathered around the fire. Nick held his knife over the flames, watching it catch fire due to the oil he had put on it. He wore a gauntlet which protected his hand from the flames, donated by the mute soldier who didn't need it.

  The Darklen came around the corner and Nick whispered out the side of his mouth. "Okay. Don't kill it. Scare it off and we'll follow it to the lair. I told the king and queen that the next time a Darklen attacked, we'd have to leave. Peter. I want you to be the one who stays here to protect them. Understand?"

   Peter nodded and stood back from the action, holding his long knife out like a sword.

   Nick turned back around and narrowed his eyes at the shape. "Let's have some fun, bitch."