Thom rested his chin on my head, his arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think<\/i> it is?\u201d he asked after a long moment.<\/p>\n
Neve\u2019s eyes shown brightly in the dim.\u00a0 \u201cAre we really going to talk about this now?\u201d she asked in a whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we should.\u00a0 We\u2019re all awake, and if you two are that unsettled\u2026\u201d\u00a0 There was a note of nervous hesitation in his voice, as if he was starting to be as unsettled as we were.\u00a0 \u201cWell.\u00a0 We\u2019re already here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I slowly started to disentangle myself from him and the blankets.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d better go get Cameron, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve laughed weakly.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll be upset when you wake him that I\u2019m not there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s why I\u2019m going now instead of waiting any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom caught my arm and squeezed gently.\u00a0 \u201cYou stay here.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go get him.\u201d\u00a0 I started to protest but Thom shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI want to have a look at what\u2019s going on outside anyway.\u00a0 It probably sounds a lot worse than it is.\u00a0 Tends to be that way.\u201d\u00a0 He kissed me gently and squeezed me close for a brief moment before he was out of bed, lighting the lamp and groping around for pants and socks and his coat.\u00a0 Neve sank down onto the bed with me to watch him fumble around.\u00a0 I put my arm around her shoulders and she leaned against me with a slight shiver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you\u2019re right, Thom,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cAbout the storm out there. I hope you\u2019re right and it sounds much worse than it actually is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll let you know when I get back,\u201d he said, stooping to lace up his boots.\u00a0 \u201cYou two just stay here and get comfortable.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t going to take that long.\u201d<\/p>\n
At least we hope it won\u2019t.<\/i>\u00a0 I nodded as I freed a blanket from the tangle of bedding and wrapped it around Neve\u2019s shoulders, then tugged a second free for myself.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded, shrugged into his coat, and ducked out the door into the darkness.\u00a0 I took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t want to think about how bad it might be,\u201d Neve said, her voice reed-thin and weak.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, he doesn\u2019t,\u201d I agreed, then sighed softly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I don\u2019t think I can blame him, either.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to think about what it could mean if this is something other than a natural storm.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat up a little straighter.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think it\u2019s natural either, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething in my gut is screaming that it\u2019s not.\u201d\u00a0 Would I have noticed that a few months ago?\u00a0 I think I would have.<\/i>\u00a0 My hand absently drifted to my belly, where the beginnings of life were still too small for me to really feel.\u00a0 If Cariocecus was to be believed, that didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 My child\u2019s power had already protected us once.<\/p>\n
I shivered, and not from the cold.\u00a0 Neve put her arm around me this time instead of the other way around.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll have destinies,\u201d she whispered in my ear.\u00a0 \u201cBut they\u2019re intertwined.\u00a0 They\u2019ll take care of each other.\u00a0 I know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her in blinking confusion until she took my hand and pressed it against her belly, then put her own against mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d I said lamely, blinking back tears that suddenly stung in my eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHow can you be so sure?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m the one that\u2019s supposed to know these things.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i>She rested her head against my shoulder and stared at the flickering flame of the lamp.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve spent most of my life searching for the man destined for Caliburn,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cAfter the first bearer, I despaired of ever finding the one who it was truly meant for, for the line destined to carry it.\u00a0 Then I found Cameron and I started to\u2026well.\u00a0 I started to think that the burden I\u2019d been shouldering for so long wasn\u2019t one I had to carry anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you realized you were in love with him,\u201d I said softly.\u00a0 She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I realized that my fate was always supposed to be intertwined with the sword\u2014with him.\u00a0 It always had been and it always would be.\u201d\u00a0 She squeezed me gently.\u00a0 \u201cI felt the same thing when I met you and Thom.\u00a0 Not love, of course, but the sense of knowing.\u00a0 Somehow, some way, we\u2019ve always been destined to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, six months ago Thom would have told you that you were crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed weakly.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow I suspected as much.\u00a0 He might still tell me I\u2019m crazy.\u00a0 Cam might say the same thing.\u00a0 But you and I\u2026we know the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d I said in a bare whisper.\u00a0 \u201cWe do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thom rested his chin on my head, his arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think it is?\u201d he asked after a long moment. Neve\u2019s eyes shown brightly in the dim.\u00a0 \u201cAre we really going to talk about … Continue reading