Cursed By The Gods Book 1 and 2

Chapter 37

After traveling for two whole days Emilia and Ilena finally reached the gates of Camelorn. The guards at the watch towers spied the coat of arms on Emilia’s horse and pulled the gates open. Their horses galloped past the strong gates into the village where people parted for them at the sight of the royal arms, they bowed or genuflected and chanted words of respect to Emilia as she passed by. Emilia lifted her hand to greet them but her heart was half in it, what she hoped for was to see her husband again. Guards that lined the streets on foot to enforce law and order among the people saw her and ran ahead of her, pushing the people aside so she could pass.

As she approached the gates the guards accompanying her shouted orders to the soldiers at the watch towers to open the gates to admit her in. As soon as she and Ilena guided their horses to the stable, stable hands ran out to help her down and collect the reins of their horses, greeting her and paying their respects as they went about their duties.

Emilia dutifully answered them, passed the servant passage as it was the quickest way to the halls and went in search of her husband. She had arrived at noon when the Counsel Meeting was just ending, as she approached the Counsel Room the court greeted her with bowing heads and words of ‘Long live, Queen Emilia’ to which she nodded and smiled to until they made way for her to enter the room. Her eyes fell directly on her husband who was speaking to a maid holding a platter of apple cores. The maid noticed her and bowed causing Octavius to look in her direction, the moment he spotted her a smile broke out on his face and she knew she was right in disregarding the omede’s words. No cheating man would express such joy in a single smile at seeing his dear wife.

Octavius hastily dismissed the maid, climbed down from his seat and approached his wife with quick, firm strides. As soon as he got close enough he swept her up in his arms and kissed her hungrily. Ilena quickly retreated at the sight of them locked in each other’s arms and closed the Counsel Room door behind her.

Octavius’s heart beat heavily against his wife’s chest. He lifted her in his arms with his hands wrapped around her waist and showed her just how much he missed her. Emilia’s arm wrapped around his neck as she pressed her body to his. Octavius pulled back and pressed kisses to her cheeks and hair.

“Was the meeting over?” Emilia asked in a soft whisper.

“I couldn’t wait till it was over. They did nothing more than eat everything the servants offered and Lady Amelia was only interested in gossiping about who did what. Seeing you at that door was a breath of fresh air for me.” He kissed her lips again and released her only an inch, he wasn’t about to let go of the woman he loved more than anything else especially since she had been gone for days, days when he couldn’t crawl into her bed and hold her in his arms, days when he slept with one eye open to keep the groping hands of a goddess away from his body. He stared into her beautiful blue eyes and lost himself in them.

“Well, I couldn’t wait to see you too. I skipped Helos’s celebration to be with you, do you know that Helos now has a son?”

Octavius studied her face carefully, she was so cheerful and so full of smiles which was unusual when she talked about children. She either avoided discussions like that or fell silent and moody when she thought about it. But today her face was bright with smiles, her eyes sparkled and she seemed to radiate joy.

“Are you happy for him?” he asked carefully.

“Very happy in fact. You should have seen the look on his face as he beheld his son for the first time. His beautiful wife was he nicest hostess too and her son looked so much like her.”

Octavius chuckled at her eagerness to fill him with information. As he held her close to him he suddenly realized where they were, he finally made himself let go of her waist and took her hand.

“If we are going to say a proper welcome to each other this is not the right place…”

“Where is Angus?”

“In his chambers or in the village. Come with me, my love forget about Angus and whoever else, let’s find ourselves some privacy.”

Emilia giggled. She was bursting with joy at the news she wanted to share with him, she wanted the right place and time to tell, she wanted a special moment when she could let the weight of her news off her chest. She pressed her lips together as they passed the halls were servants greeted her and bowed to Octavius, she couldn’t trust herself to not blurt out the news.

Octavius arrived at her chambers and pushed the door open, led her inside and bolted it. As he turned back he paused at the sight of her, she had already slipped her tunic down her body standing n***d before him. He grinned and dropped his robe too.

“Why is my lady so excited?” he asked in a low voice that made her tremble. He came closer and touched his hand lightly to skin.

“I am with my husband again,” she replied.

“That’s all?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

Octavius dropped his tunic, picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Emilia sighed as she felt the probe of his c**k against her, she tried to keep her mouth shut until a better time but as he began to thrust inside her she lost control.

“We are having a child of our own,” she blurted out.

Octavius paused mid-way, leaned back to look in her face with a raised brow. The words echoed loudly in his ears, the blood in his veins pounded loudly as the news sank in. He walked to the bed with Emilia in his arms and laid her down covering her body with his. He gently pushed her blonde hair away from her face and kissed her lightly.

“Are you sure?”

Emilia smiled against his lips. “Very sure. I had it confirmed at Intavia by the same woman who verified my suspicions the last time I thought I was pregnant. She confirms it is true.” She also confirmed something else which Emilia threw to the back of her mind, ashamed that she would even think about it when her husband was above her with his heart in his eyes.

Octavius rolled over with her above him and buried his face in her hair as tears rose in his eyes.

“Finally,’’ he breathed against her neck.

“Yes, my love.”

Octavius lifted her a little and looked into her eyes again. “We should celebrate this. I swear I will throw the biggest party in your favor tomorrow.” He brought his lips down on her and hugged her tightly, loving her with every fiber of his being.