Chapter 484
Chapter 484 The baptism of Jesse
A few hours later, our entire group is gathered in the woods around midnight, sipping champagne and mingling quietly as we wait for the right time for Jesse’s baptism. Of course, we also have a priestess here, although this one is much more vetted than the previous one.
I’m in a very good mood as I look at our group of loved ones, really enjoying my night, but when my eyes land on Cora I see her biting her lip a little anxiously.
“Oh, Cors,” she sighed, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. I look over to where Roger is standing a few feet away next to Henry with the baby in his arms, both of them talking to Sinclair, who has a sleeping Rafe pressed against his shoulder. “Everything will be fine!”
“I know it will be,” she sighs, clasping her hands and speaking softly to me. “And that even if it’s not, it’s not like it can change anything, you know?”
“I know,” I say, remembering how anxious I was at Rafe’s baptism. “But mom, she can’t have anything really bad in store for him. It will all be good things!
“Oh, come on, Ella,” Cora says, giving me a little look. “It’s not that mom has given us the easy way out just because we are her daughters. We grew up in an orphanage. We had dark priests harassing us all our lives.”
“But we had each other!”
“I just want my baby to have a good life,” she sighs, looking anxiously at the sky, almost as if she could bully our mother into giving her baby a blessing if she stares at the sky.
moon. “It tortures me to think that he will have to go through… half of what we went through.”
“He’s going to have ups and downs, like the rest of us,” I say, wrapping my arms around my sister. “You can’t stop him from that.”
“Yes, I can,” she growls. “I’ll just… lock him in a very comfortable little basement. “Very safe, very welcoming.”
I laugh and shake my head at her. “Your baby is going to have a great life, Cora,” I say, giving her a squeeze.
“Yeah, well, we’ll see how perky you are in six months,” she says, reaching out to run a finger over my belly. I smile as I look at him, tapping on my little bond with the baby to say hello. But she’s sleeping or something right now and she’s not responding, which is fine. I’m distracted anyway and I like to give her my full attention when she pushes the link.
“I know,” I sigh, happy but knowing that Cora is right. “Then I’ll be a mess, I’m sure.”
My pregnancy so far has gone very well. In many ways it’s not that different from my first two weeks with Rafe, except that there’s a lot less drama in my personal life. And while I treasured every moment I was pregnant with Rafe, this pregnancy? Well, it’s been kind of a dream: the kind of pregnancy I used to fantasize about. Safe, comfortable, sharing the experience with my small family?
I am very grateful to have come this far.
But still, tonight is about Jesse and as much as I can gush about my pregnancy for days, I want to focus on him.
The time is approaching! The priestess calls this time to an old woman, dressed in the silver-white robe of the goddess. She gives us a warm, motherly smile and holds out her hands.
“What a time,” I say, sliding my arm around Cora’s waist and walking forward with her. Our companions meet us there in front of the goddess, and Henry also approaches. Our guests gather around and now everyone is silent so they can hear the words.
Cora reaches out to take Jesse from Roger’s arms and Roger easily hands him over to her. I duck my head and give Rafe a peck on his sleeping cheek before Sinclair hands our baby to Henry to keep while we’re in the woods.
“I’ll keep him warm and safe,” Henry says, winking at us. “Enjoy.”
“We will,” Sinclair assures him, running a hand over Rafe’s dark head before turning to the priestess.
“I can’t believe you’re going to take my little baby into the woods without me,” Cora whispers, her voice breaking a little. “I haven’t been away from him in… ever…”
“It’ll be fifteen minutes,” I say, laughing and gently touching my sister on the cheek, even though I remember exactly what she’s feeling. I feel excitement stir within me too, a product of the special day combined with my memories, combined with my love for our little growing family.
I take a deep breath and sniff, turning to face the priestess.
“You can’t start crying now,” Sinclair murmurs, his hand warm on my back.
“I can do whatever I want,” I murmur, laughing a little. “I am a queen.”
He laughs with me, but we turn our attention to the priestess, who extends her arms toward Jesse. Cora gives a small, half-breathed sigh, but she ignores it, which Which makes many of our gathered friends laugh a little at the realization.
The priestess smiles at little Jesse, wide awake, who seems to look at her curiously, seeming to understand, somehow, that it is an important day.
“Who presents this child for his dedication?” The priestess says, smiling at the four of us.
“Yes,” Roger responds, his voice firm and more serious than usual. “His mother and me.”
The priestess nods and I smile, recognizing Rafe’s words and ceremony process. “And who will take him to meet the Goddess?”
“We will,” Sinclair responds, nodding at me. “She and Dominic Sinclair, her godparents.”
The priestess smiles at us and asks us to carry the baby, giving us more ceremonial instructions than anything else. After all, Sinclair and I know what to do, even if we haven’t done it before. Together we step forward and Sinclair takes baby Jesse into his arms. I put my arm around his elbow, look over her shoulder at Cora one last time, and then together, my partner and I carry our nephew into the darkness of the forest.
We walk for what seems like… too long.
“Is he supposed to be that far away?” I ask, peering into the darkness for the pond that’s supposed to appear up ahead.
“I don’t know,” Sinclair says, his voice perfectly calm about him. “It’s a magical forest, Ella. Maybe it takes everyone a different amount of time to get to the pool.”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“That!?” I hiss, looking around suddenly. “I thought it was just… the forest!”
She laughs and looks at me before looking back at Jesse and shifting the baby in his arms so she can look around her. “Look how interested Jesse is,” she laughs. “Maybe it’s taking a little while because Jesse is having a good time. Maybe he wants it to take more time.”
“Well, hurry up, little baby,” I say, giving Jesse a little punch on the belly that makes him smile. “Auntie is wearing heels and her feet hurt on this rough terrain.” Jesse is now wrapped in a small blanket, but Sinclair is right: he is very cheerful and interested, although I don’t think his eyes can see much.
Almost as if on cue, a light suddenly appears in front of us in the beautiful silver mist of the forest. to
“Looks like it worked,” Sinclair murmurs, reaching out to take my hand. I press my palm against his, giving it a squeeze.
“Good job, baby,” I say, smiling at Jesse. And then the three of us together move forward, ready to introduce him to his grandmother and get a little clue about his fate.