The Rising Read online Kristen Ashley (The Rising #4)

Categories Genre: Dragons, Erotic, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Magic, Paranormal, Romance Tags Authors: Series: The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
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Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 162269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
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He liked that in the now, with his babe growing inside of her, her mother was that near to the both of them.

He smiled at her.

Farah beamed at him.

And then True stood by Alfie’s chair and watched Bronagh practically run down the aisle to her intended.

He then proudly stayed where he was and watched them get married.

“Alfie knows,” he murmured, watching his queen’s face and enjoying how it expressed how much she liked what he was doing with his fingers.

“Oh dear,” she muttered, pleasingly distractedly.

“Bronagh too,” he said.

“True?” she called.

“Mm?” he answered.

Her back arched, her topaz eyes focused on his, and she whispered, “Please stop talking.”

He smiled.

Then, in order to do that, he kissed her.

It would seem Sir Alfie and his lovely wife Bronagh were intent to take care of business early.

For their babe was born only two months after Queen Farah gave King True their first son.

King Aramus

King’s Bedchamber, Keel Castle, Nautilus

MAR-EL

“You do know that mermaids don’t lay eggs,” his queen demanded irately.

“You’ve been sick all day, every day, for a month,” he ground out.

“Auntie says this is because I need to get under the sea on a regular occasion.”

“Do you know this for certain?” he asked.

“I have four cousins. You have met them. I think she knows,” she answered.

Aramus simply scowled at her.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured. “We’ll stay at Jorie’s palace. He’s welcomed us to do so as he’s in Fire City to await the arrival of Silence and Mars’s baby.”

Aramus turned his gaze out the window, where he was standing during this (most recent, it must be said, his wife could fight her corner, brilliantly—it’d be bloody annoying, if he didn’t admire it so much) argument with his wife.

He saw nothing but sea.

Normally, this soothed him.

Now, it did not.

“Aramus, you can breathe under the water. We go swimming all the time. You—”

He turned to her and gritted out, “You’ve been sick…all day…every day…for a month.”

Her curls bounced as her head jolted.

She then unfolded her legs from beneath her, took her feet beside their bed, and moved to him.

She put one hand to his chest, the fingers of the other she curled around his neck, and she got up on her toes.

“Even non-Mer women retch and do it often during pregnancy,” she assured.

His brows rose. “All day, every day, for a month?”

“Yes. Or for three months. Sometimes the entire pregnancy.”

Fucking hell.

He did not know this.

He did not like this.

“But Auntie Ha-Zahlah feels The Deep will help,” she said softly. “So I would like to try, but not without you.”

“You go bloody nowhere without me,” he decreed.

Her face grew gentle, and she leaned closer. “Of course not. And if it doesn’t work, we will come back.”

He grunted.

“Aramus, I will be fine.”

“I am sure,” he retorted. “You are strong and smart and give up on nothing. But this will be our only child.”

She blinked, and when she was done, her crystal eyes were huge.

“Pardon?” she asked.

“I will not have you endure this another time. It doesn’t matter. I’ve already decided, boy or girl, first born will take over the kingdom…or queendom as it were.”

“As much as I very much like that, my darling, we are not only having one child.”

He curled his arms about her and looked out to the sea, murmuring, “We shall see.”

“Yes, we will,” she murmured back. “Now, let us see about rectifying the fact you haven’t made love to me in a month.”

His eyes fell to hers. “You’ve been ill.”

“I’m not ill right now.”

“And I’m not making you ill.”

She pressed to him and her siren’s voice became a siren’s song. “You won’t make me ill.”

His cock took notice.

It was his mind that refused. “Absolutely not.”

She stared up at him.

“We will abstain until I am certain you are well,” he announced.

“Have you gone mad?” she breathed.

“No,” he stated the obvious.

“Aramus.”

“Ha-Lah.”

“Aramus!”

“Ha-Lah.”

She frowned.

Then she grasped his head, pulled it down to her, and she kissed him.

She did things with her tongue and things with her hands that no man with an intent to abstain should have to endure.

Thus, he failed at enduring them.

Spectacularly.

Ha-Lah did not get ill during the festivities.

Though she stayed that way the first seven months of her pregnancy.

Two months later, she gave her king a boy.

The next two she gave him were girls.

Sisters of the Beast

THE ENCHANTMENTS

Black ringlets mixed with locks of honey and chestnut and ebony in the grass as the women lay on their backs forming a cross with their heads together, their eyes aimed through the leafy trees to the blue skies.

Each had a wee babe snuggled asleep on their chests.

“He’s ridiculous,” Ellie was saying.

Silence giggled.

“You are not unaware he spoils his girls,” Ha-Lah noted.

“Yes, well,” she gently patted the rounded bottom of the wee one on her chest, “this one only has to chirrup and he’s there, cooing at her and demanding an entire citadel meet her every whim, be it containing a draught or bringing a toy or changing a nappy.”


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