(Saiph)

Amaia’s surging powers end the war in seconds. The enemy forces are annihilated.

She has used too much of her powers and fainted. Rigel easily catches her in his arms, pressing his lips on her temple.

"Rest."

Natianu plunges to the ground, his dark magic fizzling out. Blood gurgling out of his mouth. His body spasms.

Stepping forward I placed my foot on his neck, pressing him further into the dirt.

Pathetic, he appears.

"I gave your mate and children a fitting ending. Let’s give you a trailer before I end you." With that I press my fingers into his temples, giving him a full-blown nightmare of what we did.

He screams non-stop in his final moments before I swing my scythe and separate his head from his shoulders.

His blood spills out on his lands. How poetic.

The satisfaction I feel in that moment is beyond words.

Grabbing his severed head from his hair I take it towards my father. He is huffing, recovering from the continuous battle that has lasted two days.

"It’s over. We won." I hand him the head.

A triumphant smile graces his lips as he takes the head from me and turns around.

Raising it above he declares. "The tyrannical reign of Natianu is over. This will be a new beginning for the supernatural world."

"We did it!"

"We did it!"

Everyone chants.

"All hail the Omnifae and joint forces." He raises another slogan and we join in.

I walk over to where my brothers have gathered around Amaia. Mom is attending to her.

"How is she?" I ask, placing my hand on her face.

"Exhausted. She needs rest. We should return to Orion," she answers.

We nod in agreement. Aziel comes over and collects Amaia from Rigel’s arms.

"She did so well," he whispers with pride.

"Yes, she did," Alnitak agrees, leaning on Mintaka. They appear solemn.

"Hathial, Xamian and I will stay back along with some high officials to manage the affairs of Istrale. There are still innocent people here and someone needs to be in charge," Father declares while walking over.

"Take your time. I will manage everything back in Orion," my mother answers. They still hold so much mutual respect for each other. Our father’s eyes still flicker with adoration for her.

Not only me but others sense it too. We all share glances.

One of the mages uses Istrale’s portal points to open portals back to Orion and we exit Istrale.

Arriving back in Orion, we hurry over towards the castle.

"Call TJ." I mindlink Alnilam. He must have had Meissa examined by him already.

"He is already here. Is everyone alright?" Alnilam asks, concerned.

"Amaia fainted from exertion. We won the war."

"I had no doubt. Take her to her room. We will meet you there." We do as he had said and Aziel lays her down in her bed covering her with a blanket.

What we did in Istrale. How we punished them, must have taken a toll on her. That darkness she carries after she resurrected me showed that she is no longer the innocent girl I met as Zille.

This world changed her. Stripped her of her innocence and turned her into a dark Fae. The one who carries the fate of the supernatural world on her shoulders.

She delivered. She protected us and she saved her kind.

"Take care of Amaia. I need to check up on the rescued Fae people," Mom gently says, thumping Rigel’s back.

"We will come with you and help. We know which temporary residence can be assigned to them," Mintaka offers, dragging Alnitak with him.

Mintaka is always responsible and he feels obligated to my mother.

My mother affectionately smiles at him.

"That’s very kind of you."

"I will join once TJ has examined Amaia," I say and she nods.

Mintaka and Alnitak follow her out.

Two helpers bring a bowl of water and a clean cloth. Rigel takes it from them, dismissing them. He begins cleaning her face.

I slump on a chair, removing my scythe from my back and taking off my gloveletts.

Aziel is sitting beside his sister, watching Rigel.

A sentinel enters and says. "Prince Rigel, your mom needs you for something urgent."

Rigel gives him a swift nod. Handing the cloth to Aziel he leaves the room.

The door opens and TJ walks in followed by Alnilam and finally by Meissa.

While TJ and Alnilam hurry over to examine Amaia, Meissa freezes in the doorway. Her eyes enlarge and fixate on Aziel.

He senses her presence too and sharply turns to observe her frozen like a kitten in the doorway. She is so tiny just like Amaia but lacks confidence.

The kind of life she has spent, I can fully relate to her. Always under spells and being controlled like a puppet.

Aziel stands up and stares at her, unblinking.

What’s happening? I wonder.

"They are mates. Dum dum," Zlatka casually chimes in my head.

Oh! I recognise that look. That’s exactly how I had stared up at Amaia from Zille’s eyes when I first landed in her feet.

Alnilam observes them too.

"Everything alright?" He questions, staring from Aziel to Meissa.

"I....am not sure," Meissa stammers. She is unable to peel her eyes off Aziel.

But Aziel doesn’t hesitate. "She is my mate. She is surrounded by the golden halo we Faes see around our soulmate."

"Oh!" Alnilam passes a glance with me while I shrug my shoulders.

"You guys should probably take a walk and speak to each other," I suggest, knowing they already have a history. She knew of his incarceration and the torture he went through and couldn’t help him.

It seems the spell she was under prevented them both from recognising each other. Now that they are free, it’s no longer a hurdle between them.

"Will that be alright?" Aziel quietly asks.

Meissa timidly nods her head at him. With tentative steps, he approaches her. I can see the shyness and awkwardness in their glances and gait.

He leads her out and the door closes behind them.

"That was unexpected," Alnilam confides in me as we turn to watch TJ checking Amaia.

"Yeah!"

TJ has his fingers pressed against her left wrist. Lifting his head, he stares at us with his narrowed eyes.

"Did you give Amaia the potion after your last time together?"

The realisation dawns on me like a bucket of cold water. TJ had given me the potion but I switched it with the one that she had given me.

Amaia never drank it after as far as I know. At least three of us had released inside her.

I shake my head. "No, that’s my fault."

TJ bunches his lips. "Amaia is fine, just exhausted from energy depletion. She needs rest and food." His gaze wavers between the two of us. "But I think she is pregnant. Her pulse tells me so."

Both of us jump from our seats.

"What? Are you sure?" Alnilam asks, eyebrows lifting that they almost disappear into his hair.

I am dumbfounded, unable to move.

Pregnant? A baby?

Were we even ready for that?

"I would need a blood test but I am 80 per cent sure." He takes the sample from her arm and leaves the two of us there, staring at our mate.

"We have to tell the others," Alnilam quietly says. Bending down and placing a kiss on her forehead but I can see his lips are trembling. He is as affected by this sudden news as I am.

"Let’s wait for the test results." I move closer to our sleeping beauty and place my hand on her belly.

Is there a new life inside her? The one which we have created with her.

She appears so peaceful and I know she would make an amazing mother to our child.

"Who do you think is the lucky one amongst us?" Alnilam asks, unable to pry his eyes away from her.

I shake my head. "I don’t know. But he will be our child. We will love him equally."

"Father and mom will be so pleased." Alnilam smiles.

We spend the next few hours on tenterhooks waiting for TJ. He finally sends the results in a sealed envelope.

With shaking hands, I open it and take out the white paper.

Three words are squibbled on it in his ugly handwriting.

"Amaia is pregnant."

My heart senses such a blend of feelings and emotions. A tender warmth mingled with a splash of fear.

A child is a commitment.

A child is vulnerable, he or she makes you vulnerable too.

And the kind of childhood most of us had, I knew this fear would be in the hearts of us all.

"We are going to become fathers," I barely whisper, unable to hold my emotions. Alnilam embraces me, his arms trembling.

We are interrupted by a knock on the door. Instinctively, I fold the paper and pocket it. Until we share this news with our brothers and mate. We are not telling anyone else.

We open the door and it’s King Xamian, Amaia’s father.

He offers us a pleading smile.

"Can I spend some time with my daughter?"

"Of course. She is sleeping though," Alnilam invites him in.

"Thank you!" He nods at us.

We leave the room and stand outside. The mindlink opens and Rigel’s concerned voice comes through. He has sensed our euphoria so I tell them to come.

We have some news to share.