Eternal Faith - Book 4 (The Ruby Ring Saga) Read online

  “You have no idea how hard it was to convince her to give me that medication.”

  “I can imagine.” I kissed his hand. “Thank you.”

  “There are some rules that must be followed.”

  “Of course. I’d expect nothing less.”

  “You must not draw attention to yourself, and you are never to visit another hospital. She gave me her number and told me to call anytime if we need her, day or night.”

  “I’m not going to stay in this house all the time. I’ve been a prisoner before, remember, and I didn’t like it one bit,” I reminded him.

  “Of course, but we must be careful not to attract any undue scrutiny.”

  “When should I take my first pill?”

  “At nine a.m. and nine p.m., according to the doctor.”

  Craving his touch, I leaned in for a hug.

  “We will get through this, Sarah,” he reassured me, entirely calm, cool, and collected.

  I hated it when he guarded his emotions. Knowing that my child’s life and mine was at stake made me a nervous wreck. “I will do anything to bring our son into the world.”

  He stared lovingly into my eyes. “I love you, and I promise we will be fine. Nobody said marriage is easy, Sarah.”

  I smirked. “Yeah, throw Immortality into the mix, and it’s a whole big mess of marital bliss gone crazy!”

  He let out a deep chuckle. I snuggled into his chest, and we both watched the sun lower into the horizon. Victor was a man tortured by his past. I desperately wanted to take away his pain, yet I feared that I was actually hurting him further. What if I die or the baby does? How will he ever go on then? I feared he could revert to being the monster from his past, that he’d go after Ethano with a crazed vengeance that might leave him vulnerable. Victor would shut down, and the darkness would consume him; that scared me even more than my own potential demise.

  He kissed me once again, and his hot breath sent chills through my entire body. I flung my arms around him as his lips trailed down my neck and back up to my mouth. I would never tire of my warrior king. He was mine for eternity, and I planned on enjoying every single moment of the ride.

  Chapter 4

  We never did find Della. She just disappeared into thin air, and since William never came looking for her, we just assumed she’d somehow made it back through the portal.

  Staring out the window, I watched the big, fluffy flakes waft to the Earth. I reached in my purse and pulled out my bottle of pills. I wasn’t too excited about taking the medication, but I’d made a promise to Victor, and I wasn’t going to break it. When we questioned her about it, Dr. Meyers said the big horse pills contained Disclosium, a drug I’d never heard of and one that somehow even managed to elude Google. I could only assume it was an Immortal property.

  Taking the pills without knowing exactly what was in them made me nervous, but Dr. Meyers assured me it would help to balance the energy in my body. After three days, my headaches completely disappeared, and I began to feel much better. In the process, though, my powers seemed to lose their edge and barely worked at all. I felt more human than I had in a very, very long time.

  I popped a pill in my mouth, then swallowed it with a full glass of water. I slipped the pills back into my purse.

  Liz walked in, sipping on a can of Coke.

  “How long do you think Mom will drag Victor and Charles around that grocery store?” I asked.

  She laughed. “I can’t believe they even went with her.”

  “Mom insisted and told them that if they’re going to live here, they need to learn how to shop.”

  “Good. Maybe they’ll learn how to use coupons. Besides, it will be a chance to bond with Mom.”

  “Over groceries?”

  “Yeah. They’re learning how to blend in and survive here. Mom’s been teaching them everything. They need to know how to get food, because it isn’t like they can just go out and kill a deer around here.”

  “Right. Somebody’s gotta teach them how to pull into Burger King,” I said.

  Liz chuckled. “I must admit, I’d rather have a Whopper than venison anytime.”

  “You don’t enjoy medieval cuisine.”

  “I do. My medieval cooks made the most delicious boar’s head, plum pudding, and mincemeat pie.”

  “I did love the bread, ale, cheese, and the delicious wine.”

  “That wine was to die for, wasn’t it?”

  “Nothing like our wine here.”

  “My first year in Tastia, I missed Christmas something awful, so Charles made me a Christmas feast. He put up a pine tree, and his servants decorated it the way I described to him. It was so beautiful and touching that he’d gone out of his way to do something like that for me.”

  “Liz, he’s the sweetest.”

  “He even had presents for me.”

  “And what did his cooks make for your Christmas dinner?”

  Liz smiled. “There was a platter of barnacle surrounded with oysters, mussels, and clams.”

  I giggled. “Sounds divine.”

  She held up a hand. “Divine? No, that was dessert.”

  “I agree wholeheartedly. Victor’s pastry chefs were amazing. I loved this one dish they made, apple muse. The cooks told me the recipe included honey, almond milk, and delicious apples. There was also that bake mete, a pear and custard pie. Talk about mouthwatering. The cook, Rita, even taught me how to make it.”

  She smirked. “No apple muse or bake mete for me.”

  I cocked a brow. “What!?”

  She tried not to break into laughter. “Bean cake.”

  We both burst into laughter.

  She continued, “There was this tradition where they’d hide small articles in the food. If you found a pea or a bean in your piece, you were declared queen or king of the party. If you found a coin, it meant you’d have wealth in the future. If you found a ring, it meant there was marriage in your future.”

  “I remember Victor telling me about that. High schools should start doing that to decide the prom queen.”

  “I know, right?”

  “So you found a bean?”

  “Sure did.”

  “Queen of the festivities then, huh?”

  “Yep. I was crowned and everything. At that moment, when I was dubbed the bean queen, I started to realize I really loved this world, and I was crazy about the guy who lived here. I never wanted to leave Charles. I was utterly and madly in love with him.”

  My heart melted at her romantic story. Charles was quiet and reserved, and I couldn’t imagine him falling for my wild and crazy sister. Nevertheless, they were the perfect complement for one another. Charles adored her; I could see in his eyes that the man loved my sister more than life itself. They were living proof that opposites do attract. “That’s so sweet.”

  “I asked Charles nicely if we could exchange the clams for turkey, and he agreed. The following year, his cooks made the biggest, juiciest, most delicious turkey I’ve ever had, next to Mom’s of course. We had such a marvelous life, like something right out of a fairytale. It was perfect until Charles and I got mixed up in everyone’s grudges. Ethano locked Charles up out of spite for Della, and over the last year, my world has been turned upside down.”

  “I know the feeling,” I said. I glanced outside at the blinding snow. “Do you remember when we were kids, back when we had no real worries? We’d spend our whole day sledding, hiking, and making snow angels in the front yard.”

  “Yeah. Remember the giant snowmen we built? You always wanted to be the one to put the carrot nose in.”

  I playfully threw a couch pillow at her. “Excuse me, but a snowman has to have a carrot nose. At least I didn’t dress the snowman with a hat stolen from Grandpa’s head while he was sleeping.”

  She laughed. “Oh my gosh. He was so mad at me.”

  The more we thought about it, the more laughed, and within a few moments, we were both holding our sides, giggling up a storm.

  “Liz,” I said.


  “Yeah?”

  “I’m so glad I found you again, and even if it sounds corny, I want you to know that I love you.”

  “Ugh! Mush alert! Must be those raging hormones. I hope I’m not like you when I’m pregnant.”

  “I think it’s just from being in this house. It’s stirring up all these memories, and I can’t get them out of my head. You and I had so much fun. I couldn’t ask for a better family.”

  Liz wrapped her arm around me. “I know, sis. I get it. It’s wonderful to be back together again.” She peered out the window. “Look at Dad go with that shovel.”

  I grabbed Liz’s shoulder. “Maybe you oughtta give Dad a hand.”

  “You know how much he hates when I use my powers.”

  I reached for my coat and slipped into my boots. My dad didn’t even hear me over the clanking of the shovel against concrete, so I quietly lifted my hand and tried to create a fireball. A few tiny sparks ignited, then promptly fizzled out.

  “You’re wiring’s all messed up, sis, remember?” came Liz’s voice from behind me.

  I shook my head. “Guess so.”

  Liz waved her hand, and a ball of fire swirled in the air. “Dad!” she yelled. “Look out.”

  With his eyes wide, he stepped off the sidewalk and into the snow-covered grass.

  She rolled the fiery sphere like a bowling ball down the sidewalk, melting all the snow in its path.

  My dad smiled and hurried over to us. “Thanks, Liz.”

  “What? You’re not mad?”

  “Nah. You just saved me a ton of work. I already shoveled once today so your mom could get out and go grocery shopping, but with all this snow, I woulda been out here all day. Thanks for twitchin’ your little nose or whatever you did, kiddo,” he said, flicking Liz affectionately on the tip of her nose, as if she was still five years old.

  “This isn’t Bewitched, Dad.”

  “Well, it’s something.” He chuckled. “Would you mind fire-balling the driveway too?”

  “Dad,” I said, “are you getting more comfortable with our powers?”

  My dad’s lips pressed into grim lines. “You’ve already got them, and I can’t change that. Why not put them to good use?”

  “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying all this time,” Liz said.

  He gripped the shovel. “I get scared about the neighbors, but they’re a good distance away.”

  I could tell my dad was slowly getting used to our powers, slowly coming to terms with the fact that both of his daughters were Immortal, married to Immortal husbands. It wasn’t what he had envisioned for his little girls, but he knew he couldn’t change things.

  Part of me hated that I had no control over my fate. When I’d initially arrived in Tastia, there was no way I wanted to stay there, but after meeting Victor, I had to follow my heart. I fell deeply in love with him, and I knew I could never leave without him. I was determined to learn how to live life as an Immortal so I could be with Victor, even if that meant living in his ancient world, away from everything and everyone I knew.

  My dad knew there was no going back. What was done was done, and there was no way we could fix things. The best we could do was accept our fate and try to master it. I decided it was time to control my destiny, to make the most out of my life. I didn’t want to dwell on the bad things, because there were lots of positive things too.

  “How about putting your powers to good use?” my dad asked. “Can you girls make those dishes wash themselves?”

  “No, Dad,” I said. “I’ll tell you what though. Liz and I will get them done so Mom doesn’t have to worry about them when she comes home.”

  My dad grinned. “I’ve got the best daughters in the entire world.”

  “Damn straight,” Liz said.

  Suddenly, waves of nausea rose up as my stomach cramped. No matter how much I willed it not to happen, I couldn’t stop the inevitable.

  “Sarah?” my dad asked.

  “I’m gonna puke!” I said, holding out my arm so they’d keep their distance; there was no way I was going to make it to the bathroom, so I ran into the bushes and heaved into the snow.

  “Are you okay?” my dad asked.

  “Dad,” Liz said rather nonchalantly, “she’s pregnant. This is completely normal. You should know that. Mom had two kids.”

  “Right, but it’s been a while. I’ll go get you a glass of water,” my dad said.

  Liz held my hair back as I puked my guts out, and then she rubbed my back. Spots flooded my vision, and I felt hot and sweaty, almost feverish, as heat spread across my body.

  I was relieved when my father returned with a glass of water and a soft towel, but the saltines in his hand only made my stomach churn. “No crackers, Dad.”

  “Dad,” Liz said, “stop looking at Sarah like that. She’s not Linda Blair. I mean, it does look like she made some pea soup in the snow, but I’ve never seen her head spin around. She’s only pregnant, not possessed!”

  “What can I do to help?” he asked.

  “I got this,” Liz assured him. “The best thing you can do is to go back inside and give her some space.”

  “But my little girl needs me.”

  “Hmm. A hangover, and it’s not even New Year’s,” I heard a neighbor say.

  “Hey, Ralph,” my dad answered.

  Great. Now the neighbors are coming out to watch the show, I thought as I glanced up at a tall, skinny man in a red coat.

  “I have the perfect remedy,” he said.

  “She’s pregnant,” Liz said. “She doesn’t need a hangover remedy.”

  I reached for the towel and wiped my face, then headed inside. Not more than ten minutes passed before another wave of nausea flooded through me. This time, I ran to the bathroom, squatted on the ground, and practically hugged the toilet, heaving and gagging like some kind of sick animal.

  “I’ve never felt so miserable in my entire life. I puked in front of the neighbor! How humiliating!”

  “You’re growing a miracle in your belly,” Liz said, stroking my back and trying to comfort me.

  I sat up and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I’m Immortal. Shouldn’t I be able to skip this kind of stuff?”

  She laughed. “Heh. If only we could be so lucky. We’re also still human, and we have to experience everything humans do, Sarah.”

  I flushed the toilet. “It sucks. I’ve never vomited like that before.”

  “This will pass, but in the meantime, maybe it’s best that you skip greasy and spicy foods. I’m sure that bacon did you no favors. Drink a ton of water and eat several small meals throughout the day.”

  “Great advice, Liz.” I ran a hand across my forehead. “I’m sweating.”

  “Hey, it’s hard work bringing up breakfast. Just think of all those muscles you just used. It’s like an involuntary aerobic workout.”

  I felt as if I might throw up again, but I only broke out in a series of dry heaves that had me feeling like I’d done a hundred sit-ups. I rubbed my sore abdomen. “Wow. Maybe you’re right,” I said. “Workout or not, though, morning sickness blows.”

  “Yeah! It blows...chunks!” Liz said, trying to laugh it off.

  Pregnancy definitely had its ups and downs, but I had a great support system to help me make it through.

  Chapter 5

  Victor and I went to visit my elderly aunt. She insisted we bring swimsuits, because she had an indoor pool in her huge home. I was three months along, definitely starting to show.

  After we talked for a while, she escorted us down to the pool area.

  “It must be fabulous to have a pool year round,” I said. I set my towel down on the table and revealed all my big, glorious curves to the world in a one-piece, black maternity bathing suit.

  When Victor took off his shirt, even my ninety-year-old aunt whistled. “He’s a hottie, Sarah,” she said, “A real keeper.”

  I smiled.

  She pushed up her glasses. “I swim every day. A woman my age
has to stay in shape.”

  “You look fantastic,” I said.

  “Not a day over sixty!” She laughed. “And you look fantastic yourself, young lady.”

  “Pssh! With this bulging belly?” I giggled.

  “I think pregnant bellies are beautiful, and you’re absolutely glowing.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “It’s a delight to have you here, dear. You two have fun now. I’m going to go make lunch.” With that, she turned and left, with her small dog trailing behind her.

  I stared at each and every hard, well-defined muscle bulging from Victor’s arms and chest. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and I had fallen into complete, deep lust with my beautiful husband.

  He stared back at me and didn’t seem to mind my baby bump at all. When he looked at me like that, so lovingly and longingly, I felt special, loved, and maybe even sexy. “You look hot,” he said as he let his gaze travel down my body, then back up again, resting on my lips.

  “Hot? I love that you’re learning some slang, Victor.”

  His blue eyes glittered. “I can’t take my eyes off you.”

  “I know, I know. It’s the boobs.”

  He smiled coyly.

  “I knew it,” I said.

  Victor started pulling at the red swimming trunks my mom had bought him.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I don’t like this swimwear,” he said.

  “You could’ve just worn the tiny Speedo swimsuit my sister bought you.”

  He laughed. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?” I squeezed his butt and winked. “I bet you’d look so sexy in one.”

  He shot me a gleaming smile. “Do men here really wear so little fabric in the presence of ladies? So clingy and tight, practically revealing all?” Victor had a hard time accepting modern men’s fashion, even though it was so much more attractive than the medieval style he’d been wearing for hundreds of years. I knew he hated the clothing I wanted him to wear. I wanted him to be happy, but I couldn’t have him sticking out like a sore thumb in his clothing of choice.

  I grinned. “I know you thought Liz was just pulling your leg, but yes, they really do.”