Kalugal glanced at his watch. “What is taking Jacki so long?”
“Sari is probably grilling her about her transition,” Syssi said. “She asked me a lot of questions, but I couldn’t answer most of them because I was unconscious during the start of mine, and I didn’t dream anything or hear anything that went on around me.”
“Same here,” Callie said. “I wasn’t unconscious the entire time, but I don’t remember much of it.”
Brundar wrapped his arm around her in a rare public display of affection. “You were injured and given strong painkillers.”
As the door flew open and Jacki came rushing out looking all flushed, Kalugal jumped to his feet and asked the question that was on everyone’s lips. “Did something happen to David?”
A happy grin spreading over her face, Jacki shook her head. “David is doing much better. He no longer needs the ventilator to breathe, and his other vitals are back to normal.”
“That’s fantastic,” Amanda said. “But why is your face all red? Did you run the entire way to tell us the good news?”
“Yes, but I have more.” Jacki turned to Kalugal and wrapped her arms around his neck. “We are pregnant.”
“I knew it.” Amanda clapped her hands. “Congratulations!”
Kalugal was aware of people slapping his back and congratulating him and Jacki, but he remained speechless.
Jacki frowned. “Say something.”
“How?”
She chuckled nervously. “Do you need me to tell you about the birds and the bees?”
“I mean, you are still transitioning. Bridget said to wait six months before we try.”
“She said that about using Merlin’s fertility potions. This happened naturally.”
“It’s the Fates’ will,” Kian said from behind him. “Count yourself lucky.”
Kalugal didn’t feel lucky. He felt anxious.
Terrified was more accurate.
He wanted a child, but he wanted Jacki more, and if pregnancy was dangerous to her because she was still transitioning, he would rather she aborted even if it meant never having children.
Jacki was his life.
“What did Bridget say? Is it safe for you?”
Understanding dawning, Jacki’s eyes softened. “She said that if my body accepted the pregnancy, then it was ready for it, and I should be fine. She suggested that we move into the village sooner rather than later, though, so she can keep an eye on me.”
Kalugal turned to look at Kian over his shoulder. “Do you mind if we move into the vacant existing houses until our section of the village is ready?”
“You are welcome to move in whenever you want.”
“I will bring most of my men with me.”
“That’s fine. You can bring all of them.”
“I have to leave several behind to keep packing my artifacts.”
Kian put his hand on his shoulder. “No worries, cousin. Whatever you need is yours.”
“Thank you.”
“This calls for a celebration.” Kian clapped him on the back. “I’m going to get us cigars and whiskey.”
Jacki laughed. “Isn’t it too early?”
“It’s never too early for that,” Anandur grinned.
Kalugal couldn’t care less. Lifting Jacki off the ground, he strode over to the nearest chair and sat down with her in his arms. “I would love to later, but now I want to be with my wife.” He kissed her gently.
“Are you happy?” Jacki whispered.
“I’m equally happy and worried.”
“I wish you were only happy.”
“I can’t help it. You are more important than anything to me, and that includes our future children.”
“Don’t say that.” She put a finger over his lips. “When our child is born, you will change your mind, and he or she will become the most important person in the world to you. That’s the way it should be.”
“Not going to happen. You will always come first.”
“How romantic.” Anandur pretended to wipe off tears.
Amanda slapped his back. “Shut up, you big oaf.”
“Someone needs to tell Annani,” Syssi said. “She will be overjoyed.”
Kalugal’s eyes widened. “I need to tell my mother. What day is it today?”
“Tuesday,” Syssi said. “But whoever’s turn it is to talk to Areana next would gladly swap time slots with you. She should hear it from you and Jacki.”
Jacki’s expression turned somber. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell her just yet.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a human tradition to wait until the end of the first trimester to tell people about the pregnancy. I was so excited that I couldn’t help it and blurted it out. Perhaps I shouldn’t have.”
Amanda waved a dismissive hand. “Humans do that because many pregnancies are lost before the end of the first trimester, but that’s not the case with immortals. All the genetic sorting is done before pregnancy occurs. I don’t know of any immortal female who’s lost a pregnancy or even delivered a baby prematurely.”
Jacki let out a breath. “That’s good to know. Less things to stress about.”
Kalugal didn’t say a thing, but it occurred to him that since Jacki wasn’t fully transitioned yet, it might not be true for her.
Bridget must have thought the same thing, and that was why she wanted to keep a close eye on Jacki throughout the pregnancy, starting right away.
Pushing out of his arms, Jacki stood up. “Who wants to come with me to find Annani? I want to tell her in person.”
“I do.” Syssi rose to her feet. “In the meantime, the guys can enjoy their cigars and whiskey.”
Kalugal doubted that he could enjoy anything until Jacki delivered their child.
He would be too consumed by worry.
52
Syssi
“I’m so happy for you.” Syssi put her arm around Jacki’s waist. “And for Amanda and me as well. We will raise our children together.”
“We need a preschool,” Callie said.
Jacki lifted a brow. “For three babies?”
“That’s only the start. Doesn’t it strike you as strange that suddenly there are all these pregnancies when there were none for over twenty years?”
“You forgot about Phoenix and Ethan,” Amanda pointed out.
“I didn’t. I included them in the new wave of babies. I think that the Fates are smiling upon the clan not just with more Dormants, but also more children. I expect many more of both.” Callie smiled. “Kian must have had a gut feeling that this was about to happen. That’s why he kept building and developing new plots for what seemed like no apparent reason.”
“I wonder what their long-term plan is,” Amanda said. “The Fates weave an intricate tapestry.”
As they reached the castle’s store where Annani, Alena, and Wonder were looking through piles of tapestries, Syssi wondered whether there was something symbolic about what they were doing and what Amanda had said.
“I’m glad that you decided to join us,” Alena greeted them. “It’s so difficult to choose. They are all so beautiful.”