Bastian’s expression shifted from awe to excitement to a slight frown. “Is this some kind of trick?” he asked, sounding hurt.
“What? No!” I cried.
“Because if this is, it’s really mean,” he mumbled, staring at the floor. “You know how badly I want to be an omega.”
I grasped his hands. “Listen to me. I knew a human woman with a scarred womb, who was unable to bear children after getting her injuries. And Ihealedher, Bastian.”
Bastian seemed wary but hopeful. “Really?”
“Yes. Hell, I’d introduce you both if I could. But if I have this gift of magic, of healing, it’s the least I can do to try and help you.”
Bastian sighed, a shadow crossing his face as he looked away again. “But I don’t needhealing.I never had a womb in the first place. I just… I wasn’t born that way.”
“You want to be an omega. Right?”
His voice was barely above a whisper. “Yes. More than anything.”
“Then please just let me try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Bastian shut his eyes and I saw tears in the corners of them. “I don’t want to get my hopes up just to have them crashing down.”
I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly just in time for the baby to kick again. Bastian’s eyes shot open and filled with warmth.
“I want you to have this, too,” I said gently. “But if you really don’t want to try again, then I’ll respect that.”
Taking a moment to calm himself, Bastian finally nodded. “Okay. I trust you, Matheson.”
I smiled and hugged him. “Thank you.”
He smiled back a bit wearily, but sat down again. This was more important to me right now than finding Noro and dealing with whatever had happened to my belly--especially since it somehow heightened my magical powers. I accepted it as a mysterious blessing and decided to use it to my advantage as much as possible.
Bastian was tense as I put my hands on him again, but he loosened up a few minutes into the session. His brows remained slightly furrowed, though, not so much in pain but as if he was experiencing a strange type of pressure.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Feels weird,” he replied.
“Bad weird?”
“No. Just weird. Don’t stop, though.”
I focused, closing my eyes too. In my mind I imagined Bastian as swollen as I was, happily pregnant with a child of his own. I saw the joy in his eyes and his radiant glow.
This is what he wants so desperately,I thought.Please, let me give it to him…
My baby felt restless in my belly, kicking again as my magic flowed into Bastian. I wondered if she was trying to help, too.
In this intense session I didn’t feel like passing out, but the mental exertion of harnessing such power caused sweat to bead at my brow. The strength at my fingertips felt like I was controlling some wild beast.
Then Bastian’s body tightened. At first I thought he’d grown tense from anxiety again, but then I realized it wasn’t his frame--it wasinsidehim, inside his body cavity.
The jolt of it almost made me stop, but I steadied myself. I exhaled and felt around with magic tendrils.
Something had definitely changed. The space in his abdomen felt different than when I’d first began. A slow, energizing buzz filled me. My eyes snapped open and I gasped for breath. As the connection broke, Bastian began panting heavily. He stared at me with his jaw open.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Bastian,” I said. “I think it--”
