SWNOVELS Chapter 495
Chapter 495- First Night
My partner listens attentively while I tell him, in detail, everything that
It happened when the Dark God took me out of time and gave our gift to our little girl.
daughter. I mainly look at her as I tell the story, wondering how this
Perfect little angel might have a hint of darkness in her.
But even as I wonder that, I consider what the Dark God told me that
everything that is in darkness is bad.
But is that just something he said to distract me, to make me more docile and accept his
"gift"?
Was it, as I suspected, a curse?
“And then I came back,” I say, looking into Sinclair's face as he listens intently.
“And obviously distracted by the insane pain of childbirth.”
Then a smile appears on his lips, but I can tell that my attempt at humor
failed to distract him. She is silent for a long moment, looking towards Rafe but
really staring into space as he gathers his thoughts.
I give him a second to figure it out, but cut him off when I can't take it anymore.
"So?" he asked quietly. "What do you think?"
“Well,” Sinclair sighs, turning his attention back to me and our little girl,
who eats hungry, clearly without having lost his appetite after an encounter
so dramatic early. “I certainly wish the Dark God had simply
sent a flower arrangement or a toy. But… I honestly don't know. We need a lot
more information before we can plan any type of action.”
"Action?" I ask, a little confused.” What the hell can we do? It's done,
Dominic. Whatever her gift is,” I say, pointing at her, “she has it.”
“Yes,” Sinclair says, nodding as he sighs and leans back on the bed to rest.
being able to rest his head against my knee, looking into my face. "But there certainly is
more than we can know. We can ask dad to do some research, see if there are any
precedent for this, if it's okay for you to let him know. And ask Cora to get on the phone?
Contact your mother to see if she has any ideas?
“Of course Henry can know,” I reply quietly. “And that's a good idea,
with Cora.” I sigh, frustrated with myself for not thinking of this first, but
Sinclair simply sends a pulse of peace through the link, encouraging me to
Forgive myself for being so clueless on this everyone's day. I have been through
a lot and although I am already cured thanks to mom's gift, I am still exhausted.
“But we'll figure it out, Ella,” Sinclair says quietly, raising his long arm to
tuck my hair behind my ear.
“My gut still tells me that it's not all bad, Dominic,” I say sincerely,
looking him in the face. “And with these gods, hunches… tend to be important.”
“I believe you,” he says, raising his eyebrows. “I would just like all the information we can get.”
obtain".
“Me too,” I say, giving him a small smile. But then, despite my desire
If I continue to insist, my eyelids begin to tremble. I blink hard, shake my
head and struggle to stay awake.
“Oh, honey,” Sinclair murmurs, sitting up and leaning down to kiss my forehead.
“You're asleep standing up. Or, well, your butt, but what's the difference?
I laugh and shake my head at him. “I need to stay awake until I finish
feed,” I say, yawning. “But then, yeah, after that… we're both going to
need a nap. Right, girl?
Ariel ignores me, of course, and continues eating. But I smile at her and caress her tiny little one and
perfect head with one hand, loving the way her little lock of hair
blonde tickles my palm.
“Well, focus on that,” Sinclair says, moving a plate with a plain panini and a
bottle of water on the nightstand next to me. “And eat if you can, right? while you do
That's it, I'll get Rafe settled in.
I nod, finally starting to feel completely exhausted as the adrenaline
of the day begins to escape me. I take a lazy bite of my sandwich, barely
I try it while I change breasts and let Ariel finish. I can barely keep up
eyes open about fifteen minutes after Sinclair has finished moving
around the room, set up Rafe in his playpen with some toys and books
silent and I have moved Ariel's sink cabinet closer to my side.
I give a small squeal of protest when he takes her from my arms, not wanting to
let her go, but Sinclair just laughs softly at me and mutters that she'll be
here by my side. I take one last look at Ariel's face and see that she, like me, is already
basically asleep.
And then I yawn, calm down, and finally pass out completely.
Of course, I barely sleep, because the baby wakes me up every two hours and needs to be
fed again. The next day passes in a blur, I sleep when I can
and I take care of Ariel when she needs it. I'm not totally confused all the time; still
I spend time with my son, talk to my partner and admire my baby, but most of the time
time? Most of the time Ariel and I slept.
Sinclair is a dream during that first crucial night, he completely takes over my
baby and allows Ariel and me the space we need to get used to
our new patterns. He also spends time with her, of course, hugging her and
talking to her while she is awake and not eating, but I can tell that he is also
exhausted.
I'm not as exhausted as I am; I can definitely keep that title. But that
The first night wasn't easy for the parents either, right? Especially when you have
another small one, barely more than a year old.
Which is why, frankly, it surprises me when Cora, Roger, Jesse and Henry come flocking to the
night after Ariel's birth.
“Oh!” —I say, blinking and laughing, pleased. “Did… did I know you would come?”
“Oh my God,” Sinclair says, turning to me and tilting his head to the side.
“Did I really forget to tell you?”
I burst out laughing as he slaps his hand in the face and Roger and Henry join in.
“It's always a rare pleasure to see you make a mistake, brother,” says Roger, putting an arm around
around his brother's shoulders and giving him a squeeze. 66 Although I suppose
You are forgiven for this, that the first night is… a lot.
“It certainly is,” Henry says, accepting a hug from his son as Cora approaches.
to give me a kiss, a happy Jesse sitting in his arms and babbling with excitement
as he looks around the room.
“Hi Cora,” I say, smiling at her. “Hey, talkative!” I laugh, punching Jesse in the
belly, Ariel in my arms. Rafe staggers and puts an arm around her leg, smiling.
and extending his hand towards her or towards Jesse (it's not exactly clear which).
Once the greetings are over, I look curiously at my family. “So… what did I miss?”
Asked. “Why are we all here?”
“To talk about your strange new encounter with God,” Roger says, smiling at me. "And the
strange bond of our children. Life has been so much fun since you joined the
family, Ella. Seriously, I don't think I express my gratitude enough.”
“I'm always happy to keep it spicy, just for you, Roger,” I say,
winking at him as I throw away the blankets from my nest and stand up with Ariel.
comfortably in my arms. Roger smiles and nods. “Do we… have new information or
something like that?" I ask, pushing my hair back over my shoulders.
“We do,” Henry says, nodding at me. "Shall we go to the living room, where there is
space for all of us to sit? It's not bad news, but I think it would be better for
we chat.”
Anxiety washes over me as I nod and gesture toward the door to the living room.
stand, looking at Sinclair with my apprehension pressing our bond.
“He's not appeasing you,” Sinclair says, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek and
grabbing Rafe by Cora's leg, tossing him into the air as we head to the living room.
be with our family. Rafe squeals with joy and I can't help but smile at him. My little,
He is already a thrill seeker.
“It's okay,” I sigh, holding baby Ariel close to my chest as I follow my
family through the door and I close it behind me. Then I curl up in my place
favorite on the couch, with Dominic in the corner behind me, and I turn my attention to Henry.
'Cause I'm realizing he's been up all night too
collecting information. And he wouldn't be here if he wasn't willing to share.