Aster woke up feeling like she’d been hit by a bus. Her stomach ached, her head was fuzzy, and she felt like she weighed a million pounds.

“Sip this.” Cin’s voice was soft by her ear.

Looking at her sister, she opened her mouth and sipped at the drink she held. Ginger ale. It all came flooding back. She was pregnant, but she didn’t know when or how that had occurred. Her life was officially the weirdest thing ever. She never would have predicted any of this for herself. Being locked up in a loony bin because of her visions? Sure. Becoming some kind of weird TV psychic? Maybe. Pregnant and living on an island with sirens after being kidnapped by a secret cabal who was trying to rid the world of magic? Not so much.

She glanced around the room. No one else was there. Robin and her laptop were no longer in the chair opposite her, and Hal, who she only vaguely remembered being there, was gone too.

“Thanks,” she croaked.

Cin’s earthy eyes were shuttered, and there was a hint of pain in them. “Look, I love Robin, and I don’t doubt her abilities, but I think you should pee on the stick, anyway. Magic is great and all, but it doesn’t hurt to verify it with science when we can.”

Aster nodded as a strange numb sensation grew within her, like all this was happening to someone else, not her, and she was just an observer. Cin walked her over to the oversized bathroom that connected to the pool area. The one she’d thrown up in earlier, which made her stomach roll again.

Handing her the plastic stick, her sister said, “I’ll be waiting right here.” She propped herself up against the wall in the short hallway, a tight smile on her face.

They both knew that if the test was positive, then everything about their lives would change.

As she finished up and put the cap over the used end, she placed the test on the sink. After pulling up her pants and washing her hands, she turned to pick up the test once more. Her hands began to shake as she saw two perfect pink lines in the window. Maybe this test was different from the others and two lines meant not pregnant? She rolled her eyes at herself.

She opened the door. Cin must have been able to see it on her face, because she didn’t even look at the test. She just wrapped Aster in a big hug. The tears came then, since she knew for sure her life was going to change monumentally in a few short months.

Questions began pounding at her brain. How long had she been pregnant? Who was the father? Where was she going to live? How was she going to take care of a baby? What would Julie think? What would Chloe think? And then there was Dem. His image floated in her mind. She was sure she’d lost him forever now. It wasn’t like a man with the kind of past he had would want to jump into a relationship with a pregnant woman. He had barely moved on from Isabeau. Now if she pursued him, she was asking him not only to welcome her into his life but her child as well. A child she knew nothing about.

She needed a plan. That was the only thing that was going to keep her sane.

As Cin’s hug eased from almost crushing to a light pat on the back, they wandered back into the office.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Her sister’s voice was gravelly with emotion.

“We probably should. I need to figure some stuff out and go to the doctor.” She sighed. “I wish there was some magic that could tell me everything I needed to know. How am I going to explain this to a medical professional?” A flush rose on her cheeks at the thought. Would they make her file charges? What if her ancestry interfered with their tests?

Cin sat and stared at the table in front of them.

“I’m sorry.” Guilt welled up inside her at the thought of taking something away from Cin. They had never talked about it, but she knew, by the simple fact that they were sisters, that Cin wanted to get married first and probably wanted to have kids first. Even though there were only a couple years separating them, she’d always thought of herself as Aster’s older sister, meaning that she always tackled challenges first.

Her sister’s eyes cut to hers. “Don’t you dare.” Her voice was sharp as a whip. “None of this is your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

She nodded and brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes were puffy and dry from the tears, but she knew if she wasn’t careful that she would just start crying all over again.

“Do you mind if I tell Ellie? I want to see if she has any magic that might help.”

“Everyone’s going to find out eventually, so no, but I want to be the one who tells Dem.”

“Are you two . . . ?”

“Not anymore.” She glanced down at her stomach, almost expecting it to be the quintessential baby bump now that she knew what was in there. “I can’t risk the vision that Phobetor showed me coming true. Anything that may have been between us, well, it’s over now. I won’t tie him to me, to a child he never asked for and who is a mystery to both of us.” She knew her mouth was drawn in a grim line across her face, but she would fight with everything she had against that vision.

“Be right back.”

Aster felt like most of this day—or was it days? She had no idea how long she’d been asleep—had been mainly comprised of being overwhelmed by her emotions or her sister jumping out to get other people. She stared out the window and hugged herself, her arms wrapping tightly around her petite frame while she fought like hell to stay in control and not crumple into a heap of worry and despair.

* * *

Ellie was in the magic shop moments after Cin had explained the situation to her. The other woman had jumped her there before heading back to care for Aster. The poor thing, she couldn’t even imagine what she was going through. Before she got started, she checked the messages. There was an unusual request for a summoning crystal. Ever since she’d come to the USA to close her granddad’s magic shop, she’d been learning more about magic than she ever even imagined existed.

When Alec helped her open up the new location, they decided to keep it a ‘By Appointment Only’ kind of business. Sure, they weren’t really making a profit anymore, but the brothers owned the building and had paid it off years ago, so there was barely any overhead. It also meant that anyone who contacted her was someone who knew that there were different creatures in the world, or at the very least, that magic existed. Her job was to provide them with what they needed, as long as it wasn’t dangerous.

A summoning crystal was definitely dangerous.

She’d only encountered one since she became involved in the magical world, and that had been one that her granddad had tucked away in his old store, Speak o’ the Devil. Ellie had kept the name because it made her smile, but had made it clear that they handled only the regular customers and special orders now. Most people seemed to understand. The whole ‘under new management’ thing seemed to squash any objections they might have had.

Pulling the obsidian crystal out of its locked cupboard, she opened the padded box just to make sure it was still safe and sound. When she was satisfied that it was, she put it back, locking the cupboard up tight. The request was strange. Most people, even if they knew about magic, didn’t know about that kind of thing. Going into the back room, she opened one of the journals her granddad had left her. She’d spent months labeling them meticulously so that it didn’t take her forever to find something.

She reread the passage on summoning crystals and was satisfied with her decision to call the customer and advise him that they didn’t have one available. They were only supposed to go to the most trusted customers, ones who knew what they were doing and understood the risks. The man who had left the message definitely did not fall into that category.

Dialing the number he left in the message, she was surprised that he answered.

“Hello?” a gruff male voice sounded on the other end.

“Hi, this is Eilidh from Speak o’ the Devil. I was just calling to let you know that we don’t stock the item you had asked for in your message.”

“Fine, fine. I’m also looking for dragon’s blood and a mandrake root.”

She paused, thinking about their known uses. When she determined that there wasn’t a big enough risk to deny the customer, she said, “We do have those.”

“Can I come by now?”

Ellie felt a little flustered at the pushy question. “I’ll be here for another hour or so.”

He agreed, and they hung up. She prepared his order before going to the back room once more. The next journal she opened was the one she needed to help Aster, or at least, she hoped it would have information in there that could help her friend. She thumbed through the pages until she found what she needed, but as soon as she settled down to read, there was a knock at the door.

She hurried out, and the man who stood in the doorway was well dressed and had a megawatt smile. Unlocking the door, she opened it slightly and asked, “Can I help you?”

“We spoke on the phone about the dragon’s blood and mandrake root?”

“Ye certainly were speedy,” she said with a smile as she opened the door and let him in.

He dipped his head toward her as he entered.

She turned and led him to the counter. Over her shoulder, she said, “I’ve got some prepared for ye already, but I wasnae sure how much ye needed.”

Something brushed her back, and she paused and looked around.

“You had some cobwebs on your back.”

Once she had the counter between them, she felt much better. “Here we are. Three ounces of dragon’s blood and one medium mandrake root.”

“Perfect.”

They finished up their transaction, and she escorted him out. He extended a hand to her.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

She smiled, enjoying seeing a satisfied customer. His hand clenched around hers, and then something scraped against her finger. She hissed in pain.

“Sorry, this ring. I forget it’s got a sharp edge,” he apologized profusely.

She waved off his concern and locked the door behind him after he left before going to find a bandage she could put on her finger. Settling down with the journals again, she texted Alec that she’d need to be picked up at the store in a while. When he appeared next to her, she couldn’t help but smile. Her soulmate was nothing if not protective.

He gave her a quick kiss and glanced at the journal. “Pregnancy?” His eyes glittered as he whispered the word. Was he excited?

“Not me. Aster.” She gave him a quick rundown of the situation while she tried to wrap her head around the idea that Alec might want kids.

He sat down in a whoosh, and his wide eyes betrayed the same shock that she’d felt when Cin told her. “Don’t tell anyone. I’m just trying to help out with a couple questions. She cannae go to a regular doctor, but she needs to have an exam and whatever else it is that obstetricians do.”

“I might know someone who can help if there’s nothing in MacLeod’s journals.”

“Shockingly, he wasn’t as interested in pregnancy as he was with different species and beings. Five journals on shapeshifters, at least three that I can think of off the top of my head on interacting with different magical beings, a couple on the differences between mages, sorcerers, witches, and enchantresses, and two itty bitty paragraphs on pregnancy.” She huffed, knowing better than to be disappointed, but she was nonetheless.

He’d left all his knowledge, all his belongings, and all the family’s magical abilities to her, not that the last one was his choice, but he didn’t think about the fact that she might fall in love with someone from this crazy new world that he had opened up to her, or that she might want to have kids with that person.

“Come on. Let’s go talk to Nivetta.” Alec stood, extending his hand to her.

As she stood, she almost lost herself in his deep blue eyes. Even now they reminded her of the ocean. She wrapped her arms around him, and he jumped them out.

Ellie opened her eyes when they arrived and was greeted with the lush greenery of a surrounding forest. The crisp, clear air filled her nose, and she took a long, deep breath. She’d expected that they would arrive in an office or a home, not the woodlands.

“Just let me do the talking for now, okay?” Alec said as his eyes darted all around them.

She nodded. Something made him nervous.

He tugged on her hand, and they started off through the trees. Ellie picked her footing carefully, not wanting to trip and take Alec down with her. They followed a very subtle path. If the flowers hadn’t been in bloom, then she wouldn’t have even known it was there.

A small cottage rose before them. The cream walls peeked out through a covering of ivy, and the traditional thatch roof curved gracefully around the small, round windows. When she had mentioned Aster’s pregnancy to Alec, she had expected him to take her to some kind of otherworldly doctor, not a backwoods cottage.

He knocked gently on the small wooden door. A woman appeared from around the other side of the cottage. Thick auburn hair was woven into a braid that hung over her shoulder, while bright blue eyes studied them. Her long brown skirt swirled around her ankles, and Ellie thought she heard the ringing of small bells as Nivetta moved toward them. Combined with her white blouse, it looked like she was about to go to a Renaissance Fair. She carried a woven basket, which held flowers of all different kinds, as well as some vegetables.

“Alec?” the woman exclaimed as she got closer, excitement quickening her movements and giving her eyes a twinkle that wasn’t there a moment ago.

“Hey, Nivetta. Long time no see.” He smiled down at her, wrapping an arm around her in a quick hug while never letting go of Ellie’s hand.

“By the stars! What brings you here?”

“We were hoping that you would be able to help us out.” Moving to the side, he said, “This is my mate, Ellie.”

“Ellie? It’s lovely to meet you.” Nivetta smiled broadly and inclined her head but kept her hands wrapped tightly around the handle of the basket.

She smiled in turn. “You too.”

“Come inside. I’ll make some tea.”

It was music to Ellie’s ears. They followed her into the small cottage, and even Ellie had to duck to get through the door. The area inside was warm and bright. Herbs and flowers hung drying from the ceiling, and small jars lined shelves that ran along the back wall. There was a small bed in one corner, opposite which was a kitchen area. She waved them to a small seating area curved around a large fireplace, the chairs positioned so that they would have their backs to the bed. As they sat, Nivetta poured some water into a kettle and hung it over the fire.

“So, what can I help you with?” she asked, turning to Alec with a somber expression.

“We have a relative who is pregnant, and we are looking for a doctor who would be able to care for her throughout the pregnancy. I’m also hoping that you would have some way of telling who the child’s father is.”

The woman’s delicate brows shot up at the last part of the request. “The first part is easy. My daughter, Vivienne, can help. She’s a certified midwife, all up-to-date with the world and its new theories and practices, but she’s my daughter, so she does not forget the old ways. Her knowledge will be valuable if either of the parents have any magical abilities that could interfere with the pregnancy. The second part is harder. Why does she not know who the father is?”

“She was experimented on by a group of humans who are against magical beings. We are not sure what the extent of the experiments were.”

A shudder ran through Nivetta. “They can be such horrible beings,” she muttered with a frown on her face.

“So can gods,” Alec chided her gently.

She harrumphed at him and sat back in her chair, tapping her finger on her mouth in thought. “Is she a magical being?”

“Yes,” Alec said with a nod.

“I might be able to make an elixir. Would she know who it was if she saw his face?”

Alec looked at Ellie, and she shrugged. “Probably, but I’m not sure.”

“I see.”

Nivetta stood and began pacing, her skirt swishing around her ankles as she moved up and down in front of the wall of jars. Ellie looked at them for the first time, and now that she was closer, she could see in more detail that they were mostly dried plants and different powders. A pang of grief flowed through her as she thought about her granddad and how much he would have enjoyed talking with Nivetta.

“Yes, we’ll take some of that . . .” Nivetta muttered to herself as she began taking jars down and setting them on the small table in the kitchen.

The kettle began to boil moments later, startling everyone out of their thoughts. A jar almost fell from the woman’s laden arms as she walked back to the table once again, but Alec reached out and caught it before it could shatter on the floor.

“Thank you. Without that, I’m afraid your relative would have had quite a disgusting drink on her hands.” She chuckled to herself as she began taking the herbs from different pots and mixing them together, grinding them in the largest mortar and pestle Ellie had ever seen. She hummed lightly and whispered to herself as she worked. The scene was oddly soothing, and Ellie relaxed back in her chair as the other woman worked.

“Here you are.” She handed Alec a jar that was full of a viscous brown liquid. “Have her drink it at night while the moon is high. She should drink at least half, more if the pregnancy is starting to show.”

“What do we owe you?” Alec asked, an almost wary look in his eye that made Ellie reevaluate the woman she thought was helping them.

“Oh, it’s on the house. This was nothing. Just seeing your face and meeting your lovely mate is enough for an old crone like me.”

“Nivetta, I insist–”

“I won’t hear of it. The young woman has been through enough. Having a child should be a joyous thing, so I hope I provide at least some reassurance where that is concerned.”

Alec thanked Nivetta while Ellie smiled up at the woman, amazed. “Thank you so much!”

“My pleasure,” she said, dipping her head. “Here’s Vivienne’s phone number.”

The idea of a phone number seemed at odds with their surroundings, almost as though they’d gone back in time, so when she brought it up, it was quite jarring. They walked out and followed the path back the way they’d come, before jumping home. The quiet contentment Ellie had felt at the cottage fell away as the realities of life settled back on her shoulders.