The Prince's Gift

Chapter 62.

Ana's POV

I followed Zane down the long hallway as the royal servants began bustling around each room, hurriedly trying to put the castle back together room by room. He opened a door just across from his, and I couldn't help but let my eyes linger on his doorway. Memories of the nights we'd spent just behind that door were swirling through my thoughts as Zane stepped to the side to allow me to enter ahead of him.

"Zane, this really isn't necessa.." I started.

"You'll get everything you're owed and more Ana." He interrupted.

I could feel the tension rolling off of him. I knew he was worried. He was worried about our future, the future of his kingdom, and most of all, the future of his child.

The door shut quietly behind him and he walked over to stare out of the window, looking up at the blood red moon as it began to sink lower in the sky.

"What happened back there Ana?" His voice was even, but I could hear the tightness in his words.

"I...honestly don't know." I said with a sigh, stepping up to stand beside him. "All I know is I felt myself fade away, and then I woke up with something completely different stirring inside of me. Something stronger than I've ever felt. It's like everything inside of me came alive once I was turned."

"I absorbed your power. I watched you...die. I wasn't sure the change would even work, but I had to try." He turned to face me as his expression pulled into a frown. "Can you ever forgive me for what I've done?"

I stared back at him, my brows rising in surprise. "What you've done?"

He ran a hand through his hair as he let out a hard breath. "I had no right to change you without your consent. But I couldn't let you die. I couldn't just give you up knowing there might be a chance to save your life." He looked down at me and his features softened. "We never talked about this...about your changing. Only that time in the cave, and you stopped as soon as I mentioned it." He turned to face the window once more, leaning down to grip the window sill tightly. "I understand this may have not been something you would have chosen had you been given the chance."

I exhaled slowly before stepping closer, my hand squeezing his shoulder and tugging him to face me. "I don't know what I would have chosen Zane. But I'm glad you chose for me. Because of you, I'm alive. But most importantly, our child is alive."

His piercing blue eyes dropped to my stomach as my hand fell to rest on it. "Our child..." He said lowly, his hand twitching to reach for me.

I could feel his urge to be closer. He wanted to feel that connection more than anything. I reached for his hand, slowly pulling it forward to rest on top of my stomach. His lips curled up slightly and he let out a short breath as he stepped closer.

"I don't know how this is all happening, but I'm the happiest I've been in over one hundred years Ana." His thumb stroked gently against my skin as that familiar hum thrummed between our touch. "I only wish I'd known this was possible sooner. I could have saved us both quite a bit of pain and heartache."

My jaw clenched at the mention of what we'd endured, reminding me of the other heart being torn in this equation.

Ehren.

I let me hand drop and stepped back slightly, creating some space between us as I tried to reign in my thoughts and emotions. My heart was pulling in so many directions, knowing I loved both men but unable to hurt either of them. Just seeing the look on Zane's face from the distance was enough to break my heart in two, forcing me to stare out the window as I watched the early morning light begin to peak over the surrounding woods.

"Zane...I don't know how to navigate this. I don't know what I am, or what I'm even capable of. So many things are already beginning to change in me and I don't know what that means for me...or for her." I said, looking down as I rubbed a hand over my stomach.

"Ana I understand. I feel it too. After I absorbed your power, it was the most incredible feeling I'd ever felt, but once you woke up, it was as if it all shifted. Like you and I became..."

"...connected." I finished for him. "I felt that too."

I sighed and tried to focus on what was most important right now. "Zane, I have to find out what this means, for me..for her..for my people."

"What happened when you fed on Braelyn?" He said, sensing my need to change directions.

"I don't know. It was like I was directly linked to her the moment she took in my blood. I could feel her and sense her emotions before, but...once she took my blood I could..." I let out a shaky breath before continuing. "I could read her mind Zane. And even more so, I could send my own thoughts to her as well."

I looked up at Zane as his expression pulled into a scowl before turning to confusion. "This is unheard of Ana. None of your people have ever been turned. I have no idea what this means or what's next. We need to speak with your father and what's left of my council. One of them may know something more that could help us."

I nodded, turning back toward the door. "I know. I think I'll go find him once I'm settled in."

Zane straightened and nodded, understanding my passive response.

"I may have lost her forever, but at least they're both alive." He thought, quickly crossing the room and reaching for the door.

"Zane..." I said, trying to look past the strangeness of hearing his voice in my mind as he opened the door to leave. "I just need a little...time...to figure this all out. I'm sorry." I said.

I could feel the pain stinging at his heart as he realized I didn't want to continue our reunion the same way he had hoped for.

Without turning back to look at me, he spoke lowly, trying to hide the pain in his words. "I understand Ana. Take all of the time you need. We've got nothing but that now."

With that, he walked out, leaving his words lingering in the air like a cool breeze floating above me.

Nothing but time.

He was right. I had an eternity to sort through everything at this point, but I knew my first step was to speak with my father. Once I got to the bottom of where I went from here for myself and my people, I'd be able to sort through my personal issues involving my heart. Until then, I'd just have to focus on the task at hand and ignore that painful twist in my heart as i remembered Zane's face leaving the room. It haunted me, staying in the front of my mind the entire time I went through my things and began to settle in.

What was going to happen now? What other gifts had been hiding in my human life that I'd never imagined possible? I had to find out. I had to find my father. I left the room, once again hovering just across the hall from Zane's as flashes of memories hit my mind. They were clearer than before, the edges and lines crisp and precise.

I shook my head, trying to pull myself back into focus as I turned down the hall. I was directed to my parents room on another wing by one of the royal servants. Once I came to their door, I paused, hearing them moving inside.

"What are we going to do Thad? How can we let her go now after we just got her back? I don't think I can do it." I heard my mother saying.

Thaddeus sighed and I could hear him walking across the room to my mother. "It means a bridge rebuilt between our people. It means no more hiding. Most of all it means an alliance. Lia, this is her destiny and we have to let her see it through. It's in her blood."

I heard my mother let out a shaky breath before my father continued. "Darling, we must remember what Delphine said when she'd blessed her. She's going to save us. She's going to save many." I heard him pull my mother closer as his voice became more muffled. "This is only the beginning."