Eliyah
“Yeah, she just finished her today’s check-up,” I spoke, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder as I buttoned up my shirt to get ready for the day.
“How is she? What did the doctor say?” Nikolai asked.
“She is weaker than yesterday. The babies are stronger than ever,” I clenched my jaw, hating it. Avalyn was being selfish. Once she had made up her mind, it was impossible to change it because she refused to comprehend anything other than what her heart said. Following your heart was a good thing, and it made her a damn good Queen but only following your heart was unhealthy. A healthy balance between heart and mind had to be maintained. By choosing two lives that weren’t even born, she was killing two most important ones-herself and Nikolai-who would be as good as dead without her, and putting the whole Kingdom at risk. She was neglecting her duties as a mate and as a Queen.
With everything going on, neither her or Nikolai were in the right state of mind to rule the Kingdom. And without them and Dimitri, all the responsibilities fell on Max and Natalia who were currently acting as the interim rulers with the help of the entire council. But the strain on them was clear as the day. It was difficult for them, to carry the burden of the whole Kingdom and of the lives of every single person in it. And considering that Adrik was still on the loose, the stress was hundred-fold.
Nikolai, Mikhail, Andrei, all of the trackers and most of the Neos army were spread all across Jivan to find Adrik. The whole Kingdom was under distress without the presence of their King and Queen. Max and Natalia are barely able to cope with the amount of work Nikolai and Avalyn did on the regular. And with a baby on the way, the workload weighed heavy on the couple. They weren’t made to be rulers, that was in the blood of Nikolai and Avalyn only. It was their fate, their destiny.
I don’t know how long Max and Natalia will be able to keep it up.
Nikolai was silent for a minute. In the last two weeks, he called me at least two times a day to check on Avalyn- early in the morning when she was sleeping and late at night after she was asleep. The rest were too busy ruling Soare-Luna and it wasn’t like Avalyn let anyone else near her. She had lost her trust in all the brothers the day she claimed to have lost her trust in Nikolai.
But I knew her better than that by now. I spend all day, everyday with her. She was depressed. She dutifully took care of herself as much as she could so that her babies were healthy. But her mental peace was gone. She was going through Nikolai-withdrawals. She had asked Natalia once about his whereabouts. She told her that he left in search of Adrik. And after that, she hadn’t taken his name except in her dreams. She dreamed about him every night and woke up with tears in her eyes. I never asked her about it nor did I mention it. I know she missed him, she yearned for him.
But stubborn as she was, she refused to talk to him.
And Nikolai was miserable without her. I had overheard a few people talk about it. That everyone could feel his heartbreak and melancholy oozing through the link they shared with him. And they loved their King so much that they started having a grudge on Avalyn for doing this to him. The entire story had spread across the Kingdom by now. Everyone has mixed opinions about it, some believe she was doing the right thing but most believed that she was in the wrong. They simply wanted their beloved Queen to live and for the couple to be together. Everyone knew that they belonged together.
But Avalyn had no idea about any of this. She hadn’t stepped out of the west wing since the day she told Nikolai to leave, which was two weeks ago.
“How much time….” he cleared his throat. How much time does she have left?
“About three weeks.” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. In the human world, she would be considered to be pregnant for seven months. But the foetuses were growing so fast that one week was equal to a little less than a month. I knew supernaturals had a short pregnancy but from what I had gathered, Avalyn’s pregnancy was half as short as theirs.
I heard him released a shuddering breath.
“How’s the search going?” I asked, changing the topic as I walked to the foyer.
“Found a trail.” His voice was hoarse when he replied. “We’re going to Brunei tomorrow.”
“All the best.” I swallowed. Avalyn had three weeks. Three weeks.
“Has she talked to anyone yet?”
“No.” The fact that she had isolated herself from everyone, including her family didn’t sit well with Nikolai. He wanted her to enjoy her last days as much as she physically could, even if it was without him.
“Thought so. I talked to Dimitri, he should reach there anytime. He should be able to talk to her.” Dimitri was Avalyn’s closest confidante. She loved him like her little brother and he loved her just as much. They had a bond unlike any other. And if there was anyone who could talk to her, make her smile, make her laugh, then it was Dimitri. I just hoped things were going good with his mate and he was in a better mood than he was when he left. Because if he was as depressed as she was, then it wasn’t going to do anyone any good.
Just as he said, Dimitri entered the west wing along with Althea. The couple didn’t look like they were madly in love but they seemed to be in a better shape than they were before they left. Dimitri had a hand on her back as he led her inside and considering she didn’t even let him touch him before, this was a huge step.
“He’s here.” I told him. “I gotta go.” I needed to tell Avalyn that Dimitri was back. And I needed to talk to Dimitri before he talked to Avalyn, or else things could go south pretty quick.
“Let me know how it goes.” He said before cutting the call.
“Dimitri.” I called and approached the couple before putting my phone in the pocket. I lowered my head in respect before meeting their eye.
“Hey, how have you been?” He smiled. That was a good sign.
“Good. I hope your trip went well?” I smiled back.
“It did.” He replied and then his eyes turned soft. “Where’s Avalyn?”
“I wanted to talk to you before you meet her.” I told him.
His eyes turned alert before he asked, “Nikolai briefed me up on everything that happened.”
“I still need to talk to you, preferably in private,” I gave Althea a fleeting glance.
She looked up at Dimitri with sad eyes, “I guess I’ll freshen up and wait for you in our room?”
“No it’s fine, baby,” he told her before looking at me, “you can tell us anything.”
If Dimitri thought she was to be trusted now, then I trusted his judgement. We went and took a seat on the couch in the living room.
“Dimitri.” Avalyn’s surprised voice caught me off-guard. She wasn’t supposed to be up for another hour or two.
Dimitri’s jaw slackened when he saw her. This is what I had to warn him about. Nikolai didn’t know everything in detail. I told him a lot of stuff but if I told him the real condition of Avalyn, he would never be able to stay away. And the last thing any of us wanted was for Avalyn to harm herself in any way.