“That baby and you,” he amended.
“Me?” I gasped, echoing Jonathon.
“I don’t know yet. Not until you’re turned will we find out your power. But I’ve suspected, as has Jonathon, and most importantly Gabriel, that you will be very powerful.”
I was speechless. Power was not something I wanted, but right then I did. I might be able to help us win. But I was getting ahead of myself; there might not be a war, right? I voiced this last part aloud to the others.
Patrick shook his head. “Unfortunately, there will most definitely be a war. It may not happen now but it will happen one day. The first prediction the seer ever had was about the demise of the Originals. What I wouldn’t give for her to still be alive so that we may gain some insight into what’s to come.” His voice trailed off along with his thoughts.
I leaned into Jonathon. Every moment could be our last now. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back as if his thoughts were in the same place as mine. We all had to enjoy every minute, every second. The end was approaching fast.
I rubbed the time bomb in my stomach. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Chapter Eleven: Glowing
Jonathon looked over and smiled at me. He put his hand to my ballooning stomach. I had made it to eight months. “You’re glowing,” he remarked, moving his hand from my stomach to cup my cheek.
I smiled and scooted closer to him. It was just the two of us. Everyone had left for the day and I was thankful. We hardly had a chance to be together just the two of us anymore. Everyone was always fussing over me. Even Mason. Everyone wanted to make sure that the baby was okay despite the fact that it may lead to our deaths. But they all had things to do and so it gave me some quality time with my husband. I had wanted to go, just the two of us, to our California home but Dr. Crane refused to have me out of his sight. He stopped by several times a day and just all around drove me nuts.
I leaned my head against Jonathon’s chest. We were lying on the couch in the family room. The television was on softly. I cuddled closer to him but my bulging stomach got in the way.
“I feel like I’m glowing,” I murmured. “I don’t feel angry anymore,” I confessed. When I had found out about the prophecies I hadn’t been very happy about the child growing inside me. I had already been struggling with my fourth pregnancy because of the loss of Matteo. But now I knew that like Jonathon said, it was fate and we can’t control it. The baby inside me was no longer a curse but the blessing it should be. What came after, if a war was inevitable, I would take it in stride.
But that didn’t change the fact that the seer saw two possible outcomes. One where the Originals would triumph. The other where we would win. I had asked Jonathon why there were two possible outcomes. After all, if the seer saw the future wouldn’t she know the outcome? Jonathon had shook his head and said that the seer saw two outcomes because the choices we make determine the outcome. That had made my heart race. Our choices would lead to either our life or our death. How would we know what to choose? But I couldn’t think of that now. Jonathon was still saying that it might not happen. That the prophecy might not be about us. I wanted to believe him… but I didn’t.
He rubbed my stomach in soothing rhythms. “I’m glad you’re not angry anymore. You should enjoy this time,” he buried his face in my neck. Suddenly his head jerked up. “He kicked!” He exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face.
“He’s getting much more active,” I pulled my shirt up so we could watch it shift as he moved. “It hurts when he kicks me. Little guy is strong.”
Jonathon chuckled. “I’d say, ‘that’s my boy’, but he’s hurting you so I’ll keep quiet.”
I laughed. “He’s definitely a vampire baby. He’s getting big, too. I mean look at me. I look like I’m ready to give birth to triplets tomorrow.”
Jonathon kissed my head. “Hmm. Have you thought of any names yet?” he asked me.
“No,” I splayed my fingers over a spot where the baby was kicking. “I just… After Matteo, I don’t want to get my hopes up, not yet. I know this is the farthest I’ve made it through a pregnancy, and the baby should be fine, but I just… I can’t…”
“I know,” he kissed me. “I understand and I’m sorry I asked. It was thoughtless of me. But Dr. Crane thinks things look good.”
“Things looked good with Matteo too but he came too early, stillborn… Do you really think the seer saw us? I mean if she died before you were even born what would she have thought of what she saw? How would it have even made any sense?” I asked trying to steer the conversation away from Matteo.
“I have no idea. But the seer is never wrong. If she saw this, us, the… baby, the war, it means it will happen.”
“How come I feel like you’re keeping something from me?” I scolded him.
He looked away ashamed. “Because I am,” he whispered.
“And you’re not going to tell me even though you said you weren’t going to keep me in the dark anymore?”
“You’re exactly right.”
I sighed. There was no point in arguing. When he didn’t want to tell me something he wouldn’t tell me. Stupid, silly, with-holding information, vampire! Would he ever learn that he was better off keeping me in the loop? Nope, he wouldn’t because he was a stubborn male.
“Is it something the seer predicted?” I asked.
“Yes,” he answered reluctantly. “It’s the thing I’m waiting for. If it doesn’t happen then it means the prophecy isn’t about us.”
“Does it have to do with the baby?” I asked.