Chapter 152

Theodore’s POV

I held Violet’s hair back as she retched into the toilet of Marcy’s bathroom. We couldn’t blame the wine since Violet obviously hadn’t had any, nor the food that hadn’t made anyone else sick. No, this was caused by something I couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for.

I rubbed circles on my wife’s back with my free hand as she flushed the toilet and leaned back into me. Marcy appeared in the open doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Looks like you got the sucky family genes when it comes to pregnancy symptoms.”

With a heavy sigh, Violet pulled herself up with a hand on the sink. “There are good family pregnancy genes?”

“Aunt Prynne and Aunt Morraine never so much as got nauseated their entire pregnancies. Same for half our female cousins.”

Violet glared in response to this information, looking like she could throttle the named parties as she squeezed her toothbrush. But the color was returning to her face, which eased my mind.

“Not me, of course,” Marcy added, as if to protect herself from Violet’s wrath. “I was sick as a dog, just like you. Toothpaste is in the top drawer, by the way.”

Violet sighed but nodded in thanks as she pulled out the toothpaste.

After she brushed her teeth and Marcy returned downstairs, I tried to carry Violet to the room Marcy was putting us up in, but my stubborn wife refused. “I thought being separated from me made you more amenable to being in my arms,” I teased as we walked side-by-side back to our room.

“You can hold me without carrying me,” she retorted, but then her voice softened. “I don’t mind it when it’s out of affection, but when I’m not feeling well, it just makes me feel weaker than I already feel.”

That made sense.

We made it back to our room without her needing to be carried, and I pulled her into my lap as I sat on the bed. I kissed her neck, her cheeks, her lips. “It kills me that I haven’t been at your side while you’ve been dealing with all these symptoms,” I admitted quietly.

“I can handle it,” she assured, leaning into me. “But I wish you could be there, too. At least my symptoms held off so I didn’t have to deal with them while traveling yesterday.”

The reminder of our situation, our separation, outside Henosis, motivated me to focus on why we came here. Yes, I wanted to meet her family, and if we had time, I’d like to see if my mother had any family over here, but first and foremost, we needed answers.

Which I planned to start looking for right after Violet’s pregnancy checkup.

Right on cue, a knock sounded on the door. I slid my mate off my lap to answer it and opened the door to let the High Priestess in.

“I assume,” her ever calm voice rang, “you’d prefer I examine you here as opposed to the great room downstairs where Marcy might be inclined to peek over my shoulder and narrate the entire time?”

“I heard that!” Marcy boomed from downstairs as I closed the door.

Violet and the High Priestess exchanged an amused smile, then Violet straightened her posture where she sat on the bed as her aunt approached with outstretched hands.

They had clearly done this before. I’d missed all that, too.

The silence that stretched as the High Priestess’ hands glowed while she hovered them over Violet’s belly grated on me. There was no logical reason to worry, and yet I was twisting with concern. Struggling to regulate myself, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind as I sat in a nearby armchair.

“You don’t have any uncles.” Violet raised her eyebrows at my seemingly random outburst.

“Or at least you didn’t introduce me to any. Is there a reason for that?”

My wife exchanged a glance with her aunt, then returned her gaze to me.

“Aunt Enya was unpaired when she passed, Auntie here chose the temple over the possibility of a mate, and my father spent hardly any time over here with his nieces and nephews out of duty to his territory. Mom’s other four sisters were mated and married, but their husbands all died in the war.”

My brows furrowed. “Which war?”

The High Priestess continued to examine my mate in silence while Violet responded.

“The war that broke out when King Pavis expelled magic and its wielders. You might not have heard about it before. They don’t teach about it at the Academy.”

I blinked at the mention of my father. He expelled and outlawed magic before meeting my magical mother, which was one of the reasons he couldn’t marry her publicly. Still, they were talking about a war that would have happened only a generation ago – and yet I had never heard of it.

“I can send you a book about it,” Violet offered.

I huffed at all the crimes my bloodline had committed that I hadn’t even known about. The idea of taking the crown was growing more appealing. I still didn’t want it, but the sacrifice was feeling more and more worthwhile.

“Don’t bother.” I winced at the way I unintentionally snapped at Violet. “I don’t expect it would go well if Owen’s spies found it in my possession.” I glared at the carpet, hating the situation we were in.

“Then I’ll bring a book with me when I come home.”

My mate’s words drew my gaze to hers. She wasn’t referring to going back to Darkmoon at the end of our ten days in Henosis. She meant when she came home to me.

The confidence and faith in her eyes felt like oxygen. Her belief steadied me, and my breathing settled.

The High Priestess dropped her hands. Violet and I looked her way, eager for an update on the baby’s health.

The High Priestess smiled as she looked at us both. “All is well with the baby. It is developing healthily as expected.”

I exchanged a relieved and excited glance with my wife.

“Based on what I’ve seen of you today and yesterday,” the High Priestess added, “I’d estimate your symptoms to be mostly if not all gone in a week. Unless you significantly change the way you usually dress, you’ll be able to conceal the pregnancy for another month – at most.”

My shoulders tightened. We were running out of time. We could not leave Henosis without answers.

“Do you have any concerns or questions for me?” The High Priestess asked. I leaned back in my chair dramatically and snorted. “About the pregnancy,” she clarified.

“Yes.” Violet rolled her shoulders back, then flipped one hand palm up. “I have questions about this.”

With a small flex of her hand, the same wildflowers as before erupted from her palm, falling in a flurry to the floor. I had never seen her do it on purpose like that, and I wondered if she had been practicing.

I was even more proud though when she closed her hand, and the flow of flowers ceased. She relaxed her hand at her side, and I couldn’t help the smile that creeped up my face. She was learning quickly.

The High Priestess folded her hands elegantly in front of her and sighed. “I was wondering when you would ask me about your magic.”