The Lost Queen

Ch. 26: Revelation

The shadowy fog that blanketed Jarrah's kingdom left an eerie sense of foreboding in the pit of Rayne's stomach as she stood out on his balcony with a hand over her heavy stomach. Her curls flew over her shoulders with the whispering wind and rustling leaves. Her eyes, heavy with their added weight, scanned over the pale mist gathering across the land.

She stood there; watching. Waiting. Wondering what was coming next. Behind her stood her handmaids and Ronan. They too smelled the dampness of the earth and had goosebumps rising on their arms from the prominent chill in the air. They didn't know what they were waiting for at the moment, but it was coming. A shift in the atmosphere, an uneasiness lingering in the pit of Rayne's gut, the tightening of her chest. She didn't know what it all meant, but she wasn't so sure if she was supposed to. Not yet. The Creator's plan was in motion, and they had no choice but to be patient.

Rayne's eyes fell on the wilting roses perched on the edge of the balcony in a beautiful vase. She needed to remind Jarrah to change them out soon.

A warm hand fell to her forearm, drawing her out of her bemusing thought. She blinked and then looked up at the person who disturbed her.

"It's time for your training," Ronan said. He gestured behind him with the nod of his head.

"Already?" she murmured, her voice dazed as if in a dream. Was she dreaming? It all looked like a dream. Hell, it even felt like one, too.

"Already," he confirmed. He wrapped an arm around Rayne's back and took on most of her weight as he gently maneuvered her back into Jarrah's room. The amused chuckle from her best friend met her ears after she groaned with relief at the lack of pressure on her body.

"What?" she said, looking up at him as she caught her breath.

Ronan's smile was teasing. "Nothing. I just don't think you're little mate's gonna like that I made his Chosen mo—"

Rayne glared at him and he just laughed and cheesed the way he always does. "You disgust me," she grumbled.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he joked. "We may have kissed before Raynie, but you're staying in the friendzone and you're never coming out."

She rolled her eyes and gestured to her pregnant belly. "You don't say," she drawled.

"Hey, that's never stopped anybody before," he pointed out, leading her out of Jarrah's room and down the stairs. Her wobbling was embarrassing, but Ronan never once complained about the slowness in her walk.

"True," she agreed. "But even if Jarrah wasn't my mate, I think my baby's too attached to him to want anyone else. Sorry Ro."

"Eh, you're kid's gonna love their Uncle Ronnie when they're born, so tell your Fae king not to get used to it."

Rayne rose a plucked brow. "That's what you're going with? Uncle Ronnie?"

"What's wrong with that? Everyone has an Uncle Ronnie."

"I don't. And neither do you."

"Well . . . your kids get one now. And that's all that matters."

Rayne grinned, her heart warming at the thought of her kids getting an Uncle Ronnie. Uncle Ezra's gonna have some tough competition with that one.

"Okay, Uncle Ronnie," she teased, patting Ronan's hand on the side of her waist.

Ronan gleamed brighter than the sun. He pressed an affectionate kiss to the side of her head. "You may be a pain in the ass half the time, but I love you anyway," she said.

"Love you too, Raynie," he smiled, patting the side of her hip. "If I didn't, then you'd be walking down these stairs by yourself because you're slower than molasses right now."