Chapter 539: Three heartbeats

Kristina looked at Aldwin, a reflex born of the last several days of the old man being the final authority on Eris’s health.

“It is too early for anything strenuous,” Aldwin said, his tone patient but firm. “Your body has been under considerable strain. It needs, ”

“I have had considerable rest,” Eris cut through his protest. “While being unconscious for several days. I feel fine.”

It was a lie, delivered with the absolute, unshakable conviction of a woman who had built an empire on lies.

In truth, she felt like a piece of parchment that had been soaked in water and then stretched until it was translucent. She felt terrible. But the capital was waiting, her people were bleeding, and she was getting up.

The door opened again. Aldric and Ryse had clearly been lingering close enough to hear the change in volume.

“Your Majesty,” Aldric began, his voice carrying the specific, exhausted tone of a man who had spent months trying to manage Eris Igniva and knew he was about to lose another argument. “You cannot.”

“The Emperor’s orders were very specific, ” Ryse attempted.

“The Emperor,” Eris said pleasantly, “is not here.”

Mira appeared behind them, her face pale. “You just woke up! You need to eat something real first. At least a soup, Your Majesty.”

Eris looked at the collection of concerned, weary faces. She read the room, seeing the genuine fear beneath their protests. “I promise,” she said, using the word with deliberate weight. They knew she didn’t promise lightly. “I will only see how things stand. I will walk the grounds, show my face to the people, and then I will rest. Two hours.”

“One hour,” Aldric countered immediately.

“One and a half,” Eris said.

“Acceptable.”

Aldwin spoke up from the corner. “You are pregnant. With three children. Whatever you do today, that remains true. It requires… adjustment.”

The irritation flashed in Eris’s eyes. “Yes. I am aware.” She turned her gaze to the entire room, her voice becoming non-negotiable.

“Not a word. To anyone. Not the nobles, not the staff, not the messengers. I will tell Soren myself when he returns. If I find out this has leaked, I will ensure the person responsible regrets it for whatever remains of their life.”

Aldric bowed his head, accepting the burden. Ryse simply nodded. Mira looked like she wanted to wail but bit her lip instead. Kristina was already moving toward the bath chamber, her practical nature taking over.

The bath was drawn with the usual efficiency, the sound of pouring water and the scent of jasmine-infused oils rising in the steam. The maids moved around Eris in a familiar, silent choreography, unlacing her silk tunic, unclasping the jewelry she hadn’t remembered wearing.

Eris stood in the center of the room, allowing them to strip away the layers of her unconsciousness. Across from her was a large, full-length mirror. Soren had it installed a few weeks after they moved into these quarters because he’d noticed she always searched for her reflection before heading to the council, and the old mirrors were too small. His attention to detail was a constant, quiet hum in her life.

Her eyes found the glass. She looked at her face first, the hollows beneath her eyes were deeper, her skin a shade too pale.

Then, as the last of her undergarments were removed, she looked at her body.

She froze. There was a small, unmistakable roundness low on her stomach. It wasn’t large, most would miss it, but she knew every line of her own form. She had noticed it weeks ago, hadn’t she? She’d attributed it to the fact that she’d been eating more frequently since the Long Dark. Soren had even commented on it, his hands lingering on her hips with a smile.

A small, rueful laugh started In her chest.

I thought I was just enjoying the palace kitchens, she thought. The crying. The mood swings. In Pyronox’s realm, I wept like a child. I told myself it was because I missed Soren. That he’d made me soft.

And then there was his departure. She had run after him, screaming her confession to him, because she couldn’t let him leave without knowing she loved him. She had told herself it was courage.

Was it courage? she wondered, touching the glass. Or was it my condition making everything feel too loud? Too urgent?

She shook her head. No. That was a pathetic excuse. She loved him. She would have said it eventually; the three heartbeats in her womb had simply moved up the timeline.

She thought of the three dragons in the silver field, the bickering, the ice-cold scales, the blue eyes. Her hand moved, without a conscious decision, to rest against the small curve of her stomach. Under her palm, she felt her own warmth, and then, a faint, rhythmic pulse that didn’t belong to her.

The pieces finally assembled. The planning, the potions, the meticulous care, it had all been a performance for herself. A dragon is a dragon. No ordinary medicine was ever going to win an argument with the blood of an ancient god. She had been deceiving herself from the start.

A shadow fell over the thought. The seal was still cracking. Her core was still under a strain that Aldwin had called “impossible.” And now she was carrying three lives that were dependent on a body that was effectively a ticking bomb.

She looked at her reflection, the cracks on her skin, the tiredness, the small roundness.

The maids were busy with the towels. Kristina was on the far side of the room, selecting a gown of deep crimson. Their backs were turned.

Eris leaned closer to the mirror, her voice a whisper that was lost in the sound of the splashing water.

“We’ve already met,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “In a different place. I’m not sure how any of this works, but… I am your mother.”

The word felt strange in her mouth. Not bad. Just new. Like a title she hadn’t earned yet.

“And your father is not here right now,” she continued, her voice softening. “He’s fixing things. That’s what he does. He fixes the world so people can live in it. And he will come back, because he always comes back to me.”

The seal pulsed once, a gentle, warm vibration deep in her marrow. Pyronox was listening.

“You were not planned,” she said, her honesty a sharp thing. “I did everything I could think of not to have you. But looking back… I think the universe knew something I didn’t. I was deceiving myself thinking I could control this.”

She pressed her hand a little firmer against her skin.

“So… now… I need you to stay,” she whispered, a plea disguised as a command. “I need you to stay until I can give you to him. Until I can put you in his arms and watch his face when he sees you. I want to see that. Very much.”

The seal pulsed again, slow and rhythmic.

Eris straightened her back, the Fire Queen returning to her eyes. She let the maids lead her to the water. She would see her city. She would hold her secret.

And she would stay alive through sheer, bloody-minded stubbornness, because Soren was on a road somewhere, and he had no idea what was waiting for him.

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