Heir of the Coven (Daughters of the Warlock 3)

And I also had no idea how easy it would be to get pregnant to a half fae, half warlock sire.

I glanced at Tavlor, who now seemed brighter, and much more part of the discussion. “What do you think?”

He looked from me to my father, and back again. “I hadn’t considered... I don’t know if I am fertile or not. I’ve never sired an offspring before.”

“So what was all that worry about us having children in the future then?” I demanded.

That was one of his main concerns this morning when he’d realized that I’d marry him if he asked me.

He frowned. “There are ways to encourage fertility, magic, Fae healing. I assumed that if you wanted a child, I could find a way to do so. But we’ve only been together twice. What are the odds?”

I turned towards my father, who seemed to be taking this conversation better than I’d expected. At least he was taking it better than I was. Despite the fact that I was a consenting adult with a man I loved, my face still felt like flames had eaten it alive.

He stepped towards me. “There’s only one way to find out and that’s a spell I can do. You ready?”

I took a step away from him, my hands flying immediately to my belly. I wasn’t sure about this.

“Will it hurt? And if I am pregnant, will it hurt the baby?”

Oh, my god. A baby! I’d barely stepped out of my mother’s shadow. What did I know about raising a baby?

My father shook his head. “No. it’s a simple energy test. It’ll take but a moment, you just need to relax.”

I glanced over at Tavlor whose jaw was tight, but he nodded.

I forced myself to look back at my father, then closed my eyes. “Okay. Go for it.”

Chapter 9.

THE WARMTH OF MY FATHER’S spell drifted over my whole body, which was surprising. I’d thought it would focus only on my belly, but instead it seemed to test my entire blood stream. I could feel the tickle on the tips of my fingertips all the way down to the soles of my feet. Even my roots buzzed with activity. I wasn’t sure how this was going to test whether I was pregnant or not, but I couldn’t find it in me to open my mouth and ask. I was too afraid of what the answer might be.

For that particular subject to be broached by an invasive spell by my father, I didn’t have any time to figure out what I actually wanted.

When the nice, sunshine feeling stopped, my eyes popped open and I looked at him expectantly.

“Well?” I asked.

When he didn’t say anything right away, my stomach twisted with anxiety. I wasn’t sure which way I wanted the result to go, and I wouldn’t know until he told me since I didn’t have any time to think about it.

Finally, he shook his head. “No, you’re not,” he said. “Not yet at least, which is disappointing. That would have been an easy way to get out of the forced marriage.”

My father walked away, circling around us in a strange sort of pacing.

I slowly lifted my gaze to Tavlor, unsure how I felt about my father’s assessment.

Tavlor came straight for me, cupping my face with his hands and pressing our bodies together.

“Did you want it to be positive?” he asked in a low voice, his eyes scanning mine. I knew part of him wanted to read my mind so he wouldn’t have to worry about me lying to him.

Hot tears sprung to my eyes, filled with disappointment and pain. “I... don’t know. But I...”

I didn’t know how I was feeling. I didn’t want a baby, not yet. Not with all this uncertainty, and not until Tavlor and I had gotten to know each other better.

But it was almost like I’d been promised a family, a connection to the man I loved, then it had been taken away.

It must have been how my mother had felt when she’d gotten pregnant with me. So happy, but so uncertain.

Wanting something to remember your lover by. Wanting, if only, a small piece that you could claim was yours, something no one could ever take from you.