Of Fairytales and Magic by Emma Hamm

Chapter 15

Freya slammed back into her body in the forest. She slowly became aware of her surroundings, but that somehow made everything worse. Eldridge still held onto her elbows. The table and chairs remained in the same place they were in before. And the Owl Mother stared at her with an all knowing gaze that turned Freya’s blood cold.

Slowly, the Owl Mother stood and waved her hand at the two of them. “Now get out.”

“Get out?” Eldridge repeated. “Did she pass the first trial?”

“She passed.” The Owl Mother waved a clawed hand, then walked away from them toward the thick mist. “You’re no longer welcome in my kingdom. Until the next time we meet.”

Freya tried to swallow, but her throat was so dry. Even her voice sounded hoarse when she spoke. “What does that mean?”

“We need to leave,” Eldridge said. He gathered her up into his arms and immediately raced away from the hag stone laden tree.

He never once looked down at her in his arms. But she stared up at him. He pressed his lips together tight until they were little more than a thin line of white. His brows drew down into an angry scowl that meant nothing good would happen if they lingered. And his pulse thundered in his throat.

“Are we in danger?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he breathed. “But I know the Owl Mother is no kind woman and if we don’t get out when she says to, then we won’t be going anywhere ever again. This realm is not one to be toyed with.”

So that was that. Freya wouldn’t argue, and she wasn’t necessarily in the right state of mind to run on her own. How he knew, she couldn’t guess.

Eldridge had to put her down when they made it back to the door that left this place. He settled her onto her feet gently, then pressed the right button in the door for her. The metal opened silently, revealing the room beyond.

She didn’t want to walk through that door. Freya knew what waited on the other side. Yet another conversation that she wasn’t prepared to have. More reality sinking in that her life had changed, not just because of her new responsibilities in the Autumn Court, but for much more personal reasons as well.

The Owl Mother’s voice screamed through the mist, “I said get out!”

Then a hand made of magic pressed against Freya’s back and shoved her out of the Owl Mother’s kingdom. She staggered, falling onto her hands and knees with her forearms cracking against the stone floor a little too hard.

Pain zinged up through her shoulders yet again, and blood from her wound smeared across the polished floor. Gasping, she rolled over and pressed her hands against her stomach. Logically, Freya knew the babe wasn’t hurt. After all, she had done more wild things in the early stages of this pregnancy than get thrown across a floor by some magical creature. And yet, the fear still burned in her chest.

Could she even feel the child? Would she know if the baby was alive or not? She hadn’t even realized the little golden light was inside her.

Eldridge rolled onto his back a few feet away from her. He put his hands on his chest, blew out a long breath, then said, “Well, that was a horrible experience. One down though, two more to go.”

He was right. They had completed one of the trials, and she should be celebrating. By all the faerie realms, she’d done something that no mortal woman should be able to do.

And yet...

And yet.

When she didn’t respond, Eldridge flopped his head to the side and stared at her. With the speed of a raging storm, he sat up and reached for her arm. “Let me bandage this for you. I’m sorry, my love. If I had known they were still testing Autumn Thieves in the same way they had with me, then I never would have let you go through the trials.”

She watched him tend her wound with a blank expression. “You couldn’t have stopped me from doing this, Eldridge. It’s what I was meant to do.”

“That doesn’t mean they had to hurt you,” he snarled. His fingers danced over the blood at her wrist, and shadows poured from his fingertips. They knit together around the cut, binding it together and holding it in place. “I cannot heal you, but I can bandage it as no other material can.”

And when he finished, Eldridge pressed a kiss above the wound.

Oh, he was breaking her heart, and he didn’t even know it. She was sitting on the biggest secret she’d ever had in her life, and Freya knew there were only two paths she could walk.

If she told Eldridge, then he was going to get ten times worse than he already was. He wouldn’t let her move, most likely, and anything that he considered dangerous would be the end of this adventure. She wouldn’t be surprised if he compromised everything because he worried for her.

But if she didn’t tell him, then Freya knew it would have to be a secret she took to the grave with her. That lie would eat her up inside until she couldn’t think or eat. But worst of all, this was a secret she already had so much happiness about. Even though it was the worst of timings, she knew this little life inside her would be the best thing that ever happened to her or Eldridge.

She couldn’t keep this from him. Freya had already lied enough in their relationship to last a lifetime.

“Eldridge,” she said, tugging her arm away from his grip. “The Owl Mother told me something you need to hear.”

“If she said anything about who I was as a child, that was a long time ago. I made some foolish mistakes in my life but they do not define who I am.”

“No,” she interrupted. “She said nothing about you as a child or anything that would put you in an unpleasant light.”

“Then if she told you about how I ruled, let it be known that I was not a good Autumn Thief. I wouldn’t trust anyone who did what I did.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I listened to her too much when I was the leader of that court, and I regret it.”

“It’s not that either.” Freya held up her hand when Eldridge would have continued on with his speculations. “Stop talking, Eldridge.”

He snapped his jaw shut so quickly that she heard the audible snap of his teeth cracking together. Perhaps she had been a little harsh in her tone, but she already didn’t know how to tell him this.

It wasn’t like they weren’t having sex. They both had to have been aware that pregnancy could have happened, but it never crossed Freya’s mind. She had assumed that a mortal and a fae couldn’t have children together. That a union between two very different species wouldn’t allow life to bloom.

She’d been okay with that. Her entire being had wanted a child, but she was willing to give that all up for him. Freya had told herself that everything would be fine, and to enjoy every moment she got with the man she loved. But now, there would be three of them.

She couldn’t keep this to herself.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted.

The words felt wrong to say. They weren’t ready for a child. They weren’t ready for a family or even married at this point. Neither of them knew what the future held. Freya might have to remain in the Autumn Court, and Eldridge would have to remain in his kingdom. They might never see each other and slowly drift apart.

But her entire soul lit up with the words as well. The sheer love that bloomed in her chest pushed aside all that worry and anxiety. This little being inside her was Freya’s child. Freya’s to love, to hold, to watch grow.

Her heart squeezed so hard she almost couldn’t breathe. And in looking at Eldridge, she knew he had lost all the air in his lungs as well.

“What did you say?” He said the words as though they were a prayer.

“I said I’m pregnant. The Owl Mother sensed life in me and when I was in that... that strange place with all the other Autumn Thieves, she showed me that it was the truth.” Freya pressed her free hand against her stomach and swallowed hard. “I know the timing couldn’t be worse. We have so much else to focus on and I know this will make you so much more terrified of what will happen but...”

Eldridge pressed his finger against her lips, forcing her to stop talking. “A baby?” he asked reverently.

She nodded.

Tears filled those dark eyes that held a thousand galaxies within them. He swallowed hard, his lower lip quivering even as his jaw worked. Eldridge tried to hold himself together, and Freya didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

He reached for her hand and placed it delicately over hers. Eldridge moved, holding her hands and helping her to stand in front of him. He remained on his knees, staring up at her with those wide eyes full of tears. “You are a goddess,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “And I will worship you every day for the rest of our lives. Freya. My Freya.”

More gentle than he’d ever been before, Eldridge pressed a kiss to her belly. A single, lingering kiss where he poured all his love and magic into her body. His hands framed her hips, holding her in place as he whispered against her skin, “And you, little one. I will love you until the end of all time.”

She let her head fall back and her eyes shutter closed. Her Goblin King was happy, and that was all the blessing she could have hoped for.

What a lucky woman she was, too. So many women had suffered at the hands of partners who didn’t want a child. Or worse, thought there was no use for one in their lives. Yet here she was, a mortal woman in a fantasy realm, with a Goblin King who was happy to hold her and their child in his heart.

“I love you,” she whispered, dropping her chin down again to look into those beloved, glowing eyes. “And I know our child will love you just as much.”

“Oh, all the stars in the sky could combine and their brightness would never rival the love I have for you, dear one.” He pressed his lips against her stomach one more time. “A baby. Our baby.”

A sudden clatter at the entrance to the hall echoed through the room. Freya froze and glanced over her shoulder, only to find a familiar black and white dog staring at her from the door. “What did he just say?” Arrow whispered, his voice filled with shock, and hopefully not with horror.

She hadn’t realized how hard it would be to tell him. He was her dearest friend, and she wanted him to be happy as well. She supposed she wasn’t all that ready to tell anyone just yet.

Clearing her throat, she nodded her head. “He said the words right, Arrow. I’m with child.”

Arrow padded toward them, his dark eyes wide and glistening. “I never thought I’d see the day when another royal baby was born. A royal!”

She watched him walk toward her with a reverence she didn’t think she deserved. Arrow sat down next to them both, and she could see the happiness shining brightly in his gaze.

For the moment, she was not just Freya, but now the mother of someone new. Someone who might be equally as powerful as the Goblin King. Perhaps even more. Whatever this baby ended up being like, it was going to be hers. A part of herself that had stretched away from her body until it snapped off and became its own living, breathing being.

Goodness, she was already so in love with this little bundle of light and she hadn’t even met the child.

Freya pressed a hand to her still flat stomach and breathed out a slow sigh. “I’m glad you’re both excited. I was so worried neither of you would want anything to do with me now that I’m pregnant.”

Eldridge and Arrow shared a look before the Goblin King asked, “Why wouldn’t we? Like Arrow said, there hasn’t been a new royal born in years. This is cause for great excitement!”

It hadn’t hit them yet. Freya could see that, now, they were caught up in the glory of new life and their minds hadn’t skipped to the future. She had hoped they would already have thought ahead, but apparently she was going to be the person to burst this bubble of happiness she’d given them.

“Because I still have to go through all the trials,” she replied slowly. “I still have to become the Autumn Thief.”

Arrow’s jaw fell open, and Eldridge’s brows drew together.

“You aren’t finishing this while pregnant,” Eldridge growled.

Freya snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d like to see you try to stop me.”