#Chapter 484- Jesse’s Baptism
Ella
A few hours later our entire party is gathered in the forest close to midnight, sipping champagne and mingling quietly as we wait for the hour to be right for Jesse’s baptism. We have a priestess here as well, of course, though this one is much more thoroughly vetted than the last.
I’m in incredibly good spirits as I look around at our party of loved-ones, truly enjoying my night, but when my eyes fall on Cora I see that she’s gnawing her lip a bit with anxiety.
“Oh, Cors,” I sigh, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. I glance over at where Roger is standing a few feet away next to Henry with the baby in his arms, both of them talking with Sinclair, who has a sleeping Rafe held tight against his shoulder. “It will be all right!”
“I know it will,” she sighs, twisting her hands together and speaking softly to me. “And that even if it’s not, it’s not like I 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’s going to be all good things!”
“Oh, come on, Ella,” Cora says, shooting me a little glare. “It’s not like mom gave us the easy road just because we’re her daughters. We grew up in an orphanage. We had dark priests stalking us our whole lives.”
“But we had each other!”
“I just want my baby to have a good life,” she sighs, looking anxiously up at the sky, almost as if she can bully our mom into giving her baby a blessing if she glares at the moon enough. “It tortures me to think that he’s going to have to go through…half of what we did.”
“He’s going to have ups and downs, like the rest of us,” I say, wrapping my arms around my sister. “You can’t spare him from that.”
“Yes, I can,” she growls. “I’ll just… lock him in a very comfortable little basement. Very safe, very cozy.”
I laugh and shake my head at her. ” Your baby is going to have a big life, Cora,” I say, giving her a squeeze.
“Yeah well, we’ll see how cheerful you are six months from now,” she says, reaching out to trail a little finger down my baby bump. I grin as I look down at it, tapping on my little bond with babygirl to say hello. But she’s sleeping or something at the moment and doesn’t reply, which is fine. I’m distracted anyway, and I like to give her my full attention when she nudges the bond.
“I know,” I sigh, happy but knowing that Cora’s right. “I’ll be a mess then, I’m sure.”
My pregnancy thus far has gone really well. In many ways it’s not that different from my first two weeks with Rafe, except with significantly less drama in my personal life. And while I treasured every single moment I was pregnant with Rafe, this pregnancy? Well, it’s kind of been a dream – the kind of pregnancy I used to fantasize about. Safe, comfortable, sharing the experience with my little family?
I’m so grateful to have gotten here.
But still, tonight is about Jesse – and as much as I could gush about my pregnancy for days, I want to focus on him.
“The hour grows close!” the priestess calls an old woman this time, dressed in the silvery-white robes of the goddess. She gives us a warm, motherly smile and holds out her hands.
“Go time,” I say, slipping my arm to Cora’s waist and walking forward with her. Our mates meet us there in front of the goddess, and Henry draws close as well. Our guests gather around, everyone quieting now so they can hear the words.
Cora reaches to take Jesse from Roger’s arms and Roger hands him over readily. I dip my head and give Rafe a little kiss on his sleeping cheek before Sinclair hands our baby over to Henry for safekeeping while we’re in the forest.
“I’ll keep him warm and safe,” Henry says, giving us a wink. “Enjoy yourselves.”
“We will,” Sinclair assures him, running a hand over Rafe’s dark head before turning back to the priestess.
“I can’t believe you’re going to take my little baby into the forest 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 touching my sister gently on the cheek, even though I remember precisely what she’s feeling. I feel emotion stirring in me as well, the product of the special day combined with my memories, combined with my love for our growing little family.
I take a deep breath and sniff, turning towards the priestess.
“You can’t start crying already,” Sinclair murmurs, his hand warm on my back.
“I can do whatever I want,” I mumble back, laughing a little. “I’m a Queen.”
He laughs with me, but we turn our attention to the priestess, who reaches out her arms for Jesse. Cora gives a half -hearted little sigh, but passes him over, making many of our gathered friends laugh a little in understanding.
The priestess smiles down at the wide- awake little Jesse, who looks like he peers back at her curiously, seeming to understand, somehow, that it’s an important day.
“Who presents this child for dedication?” the priestess says, smiling at the four of us.
“We do,” Roger replies, his voice steady and more serious than it usually is. “His mother and I.”
The priestess nods, and I smile, recognizing the words and the process from Rafe’s ceremony. “And who will carry him to meet the Goddess?”
“We will,” Sinclair answers, nodding down at me. “Ella and Dominic Sinclair, his godparents.”
The priestess smiles at us and bids us to take the baby, giving us instructions that are more ceremonial 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 in his arms. I loop my arm through his elbow, take one last look over my shoulder at Cora, and then together my mate and I carry our nephew into the darkness of the forest.
We walk for what feels like…too long.
“Is it supposed to be this far?” I ask, peering into the darkness for the pool that’s supposed to appear ahead.
“I don’t know,” Sinclair says, his voice perfectly calm. “It’s a magical forest, Ella. Maybe it takes everyone a different amount of time to get to the pool.”
“What!?” I hiss, looking around suddenly. “I thought it was just…the woods!”
He laughs, giving me a glance before turning his eyes back to Jesse, shifting the baby in his arms so that he can look around. “Look how interested Jesse is,” he laughs. “Maybe it’s taking a while because Jesse’s having a good time. Maybe he wants it to take longer.”
“Well, hurry it up, little baby,” I say, giving Jesse a little poke in the belly that makes him smile. “Auntie’s wearing heels, and her feet hurt in this rough terrain.” Jesse’s just wrapped in a little swaddling blanket now, but Sinclair is right – he’s very cheerful and interested, though I don’t think his eyes can actually see much.
Almost as if on cue, a light suddenly appears ahead of us in the forest pretty silver haze. a
“Looks like it worked,” Sinclair murmurs, reaching out to take my hand. I press my palm to his, giving it a squeeze.
“Good job, baby,” I say, smiling and Jesse. And then the three of us together move forward, ready to introduce him to his grandmother and get a little hint about his fate.
