Doom of the Dragon by Margaret Weis Page B

said, giving him a playful slap. “Remember what I said about your wife. You vowed to be faithful to Treia. I expect you to keep that vow. Thus you will prove you can be faithful to me.”
    She brushed her lips against his cheek. “You will be well rewarded, Raegar.”
    â€œOnce I have you, I will need no other,” said Raegar.
    He tried to return her kiss, but Aelon eluded his grasp and vanished. He breathed deeply, his body quivering.
    *   *   *
    Treia watched the sun stream through the window of the beautiful palace in which she lived, and wearily closed her eyes. She had been awake most of the night, shifting in her bed, trying in vain to sleep. She could not get comfortable. Her belly was huge and the baby kicked almost constantly, as though trying to kick his way out.
    Rolling and pushing herself off the bed, she waddled over to look at herself in the mirror. The baby had stopped kicking for the moment. Having been awake all night, he must need rest.
    She was alone in the enormous room, surrounded by every luxury. All she had to do was ring a bell and she could have anything her heart desired, from candied peacock tongues to a cask of rubies. She passed her hand over her swollen belly and shivered in fear.
    She was intimately familiar with pregnancies. As a former priestess of Vindrash, she had been present at the births of countless children. She knew hers was not right and yet no one would believe her. She was only a few weeks pregnant and she looked as though she would give birth any moment.
    The midwives told her she had miscalculated the date. Treia knew quite well she had not. She remembered vividly the night the child had been conceived. The god Hevis had visited her, reminding her that she had agreed to sacrifice someone she loved in return for his help with the spiritbone. She had tried to murder Aylaen, but that had failed. The only other people she loved were Raegar … and the baby growing inside her.
    Hevis had promised to return in nine months to hear her choice for sacrifice—her husband or her child. But he would not have to wait nine months. The child was growing abnormally fast, as though her pregnancy was being speeded up, rushing, she feared, to some disastrous end.
    Treia made her slow way over to a couch and ponderously and awkwardly lowered herself among the silken cushions. The baby had not yet dropped and was squeezing her lungs, making breathing difficult. She bowed her head, covered her face with her hands, and began to sob. She knew she shouldn’t weep. The midwives had told her to be happy and cheerful. Dark thoughts could harm the unborn babe.
    Treia was too frightened to be cheerful. She had lost control of her own body. The child had seized it and while she loved her unborn baby more than life itself, she couldn’t help but be scared.
    She wept hysterically, unable to stop. A hand rested gently on her shoulder and a sweet voice spoke soothingly.
    â€œHush, child. You will make yourself ill.”
    Treia was astonished to see a plump motherly looking woman sitting beside her on the couch. She might have thought this was some servant, but the woman was beautifully dressed in white robes of soft lamb’s wool and wore two golden bracelets and a golden necklace of serpents. Treia did not know the woman, though there was something familiar about her.
    â€œWho are you?” Treia gasped, drawing away from the woman’s touch. “How did you get into my chambers?”
    â€œI am Aelon, my child,” said the woman. She stroked Treia’s hair with a soft hand. “You prayed to me for help and I am here in answer.”
    Treia had not prayed to Aelon or any god, but she knew better than to argue. Weak and afraid, she needed help and she would take it from any source.
    â€œAelon, I am so frightened!” Treia said, choking. “My pregnancy numbers in weeks. I know it! And yet look at me! Something is