Claimed by the Elven King: Part Three (5 page)

I shook my head and snuggled up to him with
a sigh. “I should’ve never tried to keep all my fears to myself. Maybe if I had
just confided my fears about the pregnancy to Lariel, or Saeria and Rinwen,
then
a lot
of misery could have been avoided. Before you did whatever
you did to me to make me feel better, the morning sickness was practically
torture!”

He
tutted
and then ran a hand over
my belly. The look in his eyes was suddenly so nakedly joyous that I felt the
prick of tears in my own.

“I never,
never
thought that a child
would be conceived this quickly,” he said with the largest smile I had ever
seen anyone wear. “According to the old histories, it had taken several decades
for the first human woman to conceive an elven child. That this has happened is
truly extraordinary!” Then abruptly, his smile dimmed. “On the other hand, for
your sake I am sorry that this has happened as quickly as it has. It would have
been best if it had happened after you had been settled into this new life for
a bit longer. As I said before, it is understandable if you are frightened.”

“Yeah, I’m scared,” I admitted, trying to
smile bravely, “but—what first-time mother isn’t? Luckily, I still have another
eight months or so to get used to the idea. I’ll be fine.”

And I would be fine. Sethian may not love
me just yet, but at least some of his words had rekindled my hope that it could
happen, especially now that I apparently had thousands of years to persuade
him. I felt lightheaded just thinking about the oceans of time I had ahead of
me.

“Once the evidence of your pregnancy is
apparent, I shall present you to the whole of the elven court.” He paused, and
the look in his eyes became deadly serious. I suddenly found myself looking
into the eyes of, not Sethian, but the elven king.

“Your pregnancy will change
everything
.”

I blinked in surprise at the sudden shift
of his demeanor. This was what his people had been longing for for over five
hundred years, wasn’t it? My friends were constantly telling me how excited a
lot of the elven women were about the prospect of children filling their homes
again.

So why did Sethian sound so worried?

CLAIMED BY THE ELVEN
KING: PART FOUR

When word gets out that the king’s new wife is pregnant, Emily learns that
dealing with the queen’s resentment is the least of her worries when her
friends inform her that her pregnancy may not be as welcomed by the court as
she was led to believe…

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As always, reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Also by Cristina Rayne

Urban and Epic Fantasy, writing as C.G. Garcia:

The Supreme Moment (A
Fractured Multiverse Novel)

Old Souls (Book 1)

The Ties that Bind the Soul
(Old Souls Book 2)

UK

CA

AU

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FR

Cristina Rayne lives in West Texas with her
crazy cat and about a dozen bookcases full of fantasy worlds and steamy
romances. She has a degree in Computer Science which totally qualifies her to
write romances. As Fantasy is her first love, she feels if she can inject a
little love into the fantastical, along with a few steamy scenes, then all the
better. 
Claimed by the Elven King
is her debut serialized Fantasy
Erotic Romance novel.