Chapter 353 Thrones A Prince of Two
Ella
“Um, excuse me,” Roger says, and Sinclair and I – mutually surprised snap our attention to him. ” Obviously,” he says, pointing a slow hand between the air between him and his brother, “the question of why the Sinclair blood was desired is the only one with the clear answer – ”
“Oh my god, Roger,” Sinclair murmurs, leaning back in his chair and raising a hand to cover his face, exhausted.
“The quality of these genetics,” Roger continues, grinning, “I mean, who wouldn’t want these babies -”
“Not me, anymore,” Cora quips, folding her arms over her chest and smirking at Roger with a raised brow.” Baby for sale! Highest bidder!”
“You’re worth millions,” Roger whispers towards Cora’s stomach, leaning his head low to pretend to speak to the baby. “Don’t let them undersell you -”
“Enough,” Sinclair snaps, though he does it half-heartedly. I can’t help but laugh a little, and honestly, when I consider it, I can’t disagree. I look at the proof still curled up in Sinclair’s arms.
“We did make a stone-cold cutie,” I say, leaning over to run a fond finger down my baby’s belly. “If mean Uncle Xandy was going for good looks, he certainly picked the right stud.”
Sinclair pulls his hand away from his face and shakes his head a little at me, as if he can’t believe that I, too, am making jokes at this time. But I smile up at him and shrug one shoulder. If we can’t laugh, what the hell are we doing in this life? And then I send a little pulse of love down the bond, letting Sinclair know that I appreciate him and. am taking it seriously.
I just also need…well, a little bit of lightness, sometimes, to balance all of the horrible things that have happened on the way to bringing our wonderful baby into the world. Sinclair nods, understanding, and sends me his own pulse of love right back.
“Our best guess,” Henry says, softly bringing this conversation back on track, “is that Xander…he never meant for Dominic to ever know that you were pregnant, Ella. It was by chance that Dominic was in the clinic that day – that he sensed the child in you. A wonderful mistake for us, considering the result, but very bad luck for him.”
“God,” I breathe, looking over at my mate and my baby. “I can’t imagine….if I had just gone through this thinking I was a human, giving birth to a twelve- pound baby before six months had passed…and then, so soon after that, someone coming to steal him away…”
“I would have found you,” Sinclair promises me, reaching out to brush his knuckles against my cheek. “There’s no way I wouldn’t have. This was meant to be. The Goddess had her hand in it as well.”
“I know,” I say, believing him. “But… if that was Xander’s plan…”
“Yes,” he agrees. “It would have been …awful.”
“But really,” Cora says, sitting forward. “Beyond the desire for genetically blessed, gorgeous kids,” she says, smirking at her mate, “what is the rationale for choosing a powerful werewolf like Sinclair?” she asks. “I mean, why not any other wolf? Why not,” she hesitates, looking to the man at her side, “well, why not Roger? Same genetic package…”
“I think,” Henry says, interrupting Roger, who opens his mouth to say something smart but closes it when his father sends a little look his way, “that Xander was working towards a dual claim to the throne. That Xander was betting that Dominic would beat Damon and take the throne next, and that if Xander were able to kidnap and raise a child who had not only Xavier’s blood, but Dominic’s as well…”
“It would be very hard to contest,” I finish, fascinated by the depths to which my uncle had – apparently – thought this through. “A child of two thrones, uniting them…”
“Indeed,” Henry agrees, nodding his head a little. He then looks at Sinclair, a little apologetic. “I wouldn’t be surprised, Dominic, if he even had a hand in your inability to have children with Lydia. I don’t know quite how he would have managed that, but clearly you are capable of fathering children…” he shrugs, sighing a little at the mystery of it. “It would have fallen quite neatly into his plans for you to take the throne without any biological heirs of your own.”
“God,” I say, slumping back in my chair, shaking my head in wonder. “He really thought of everything, didn’t he?”
Around the table my family nods in confirmation, but Henry holds out a hesitant hand. “It is important,” he says, moving his gaze to each of us in turn, “that we all realize that this is a theoretical explanation. We only have a very little bit of evidence that Xander is himself involved. And while I admit that the story that we can spin out from these details is compelling…”
“It’s just a story,” I finish for him, nodding, understanding. I look around. “Do you think we’ll be able to get more evidence for it?”
“We’ll try,” Sinclair says with a little shrug. “Especially now that we know where Xander is located, we can refocus our attacks from his priests to him, under the theory that he is, indeed, the master that the priest spoke of.”
My stomach twists a little at this. “I imagine,” I say softly, “that the master would be…well guarded.”
“Yes,” Roger confirms, steadily holding my gaze. “We need to be better prepared. But unfortunately, we also need to move fast.”
“Why?” I ask, suddenly tense. The last thing I want – in all of the world – is for Roger and Sinclair to go darting out of the bunker again, getting themselves killed.
“Not immediately, Ella,” Sinclair says, working hard to put me at ease. We have a few days. But in order to find this information…” he shifts his eyes to his father now, letting him take. over.
“In order to find traces of information on the dark web, Ella,” Henry explains, “one must, unfortunately, leave their own traces. We were careful, our tracks were faint but,” he shrugs, “there is every possibility that Xander could himself discover that we know where he is. And that he may be involved. And if he does…” Henry shrugs.
“We lose any advantage,” Sinclair finishes. “He could disappear, and regroup elsewhere.”
I sigh, turning my head and focusing on my child, letting Rafe center me and root me to the world. He, after all, is the most important thing here, in my whole life. “All right,” I say softly, reaching out a hand to softly brush my son’s dark hair. “Please, just tell me how I can help.”
“We can’t do anything,” Cora says, her voice firm, “until we get your men back into shape. And that will take a few days. Ella,” she says, and I turn to her, surprised. “I could use your help. You were a wonderful nurse yesterday. And Hank will be sending our soldiers back at some point – we’ll need to be able to continue their care here.”
“Of course,” I say, agreeing without thinking. If Cora needs me by her side, then that’s where I’ll be. She nods firmly at me and I smile, glad that I can be of assistance.
“Good,” Henry says, nodding and pressing his hands together, forming a triangle with his fingers. “While you’re doing that, we will come up with a plan regarding our next steps.”
I nod, starting to stand up, getting ready to move on when Henry puts out a hand to stop me. Confused, I settle back into my chair, looking towards him.
“Before we break up,” Henry says quietly, “there is one last issue which we must discuss.”
We’re all silent before Cora, unable to help it, breaks the silence. “What is it?” she asks, worried and confused. Henry turns his gaze sternly, but not without apology, to her. “We have to discuss the problem…that is Dr. Hank.”
