Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Seventy: Blinding

"Anything except Yilba." I cracked a grin at him before looking back down at our sleeping child. She reminded me of someone, but I could not put my finger on who.

"What color are her eyes?" I asked, looking up at Yirlitá.

"The babe has eyes like the morning doves," Yirlitá replied, cocking her head to the side. "A shade or two lighter than that of her sire."

Looking at Murtagh, I finally realized why my child reminded me so much of something I could not place. I had only seen one picture, a fairth, once, but I knew who she looked like, and what name to give her.

"I know her name," I announced as I trailed my finger down her puffy cheeks.

"Well, don't leave us hanging," Yirlitá chortled.

"Selene," I said quietly as my lips formed a small smile. "I think her name should be Selene."

"Selene, goddess of the moon. Tis a fitting name for a babe born on a full moon." Yirlitá mused before beckoning to Fen. "Come, Grifen, let's give your mother and sister some rest."

Fen slipped off the bed and pouted out of the room with Yirlitá following suit. The door clicked shut, and I looked up at Murtagh. He had an unreadable look on his face.

"If you don't like it..." I whispered, trailing off. Murtagh bent down on one knee and took a shaky breath.

"I spent a long time resenting my mother for not taking me away from Morzan, I resented her because I thought she loved Eragon more." Murtagh took a deep breath in. "it is only after Galbatorix died that I have realized that she could only have hidden one of us, and it was Eragon she chose because he had the best chance at living a life outside of the castle walls."

"Murtagh..."

"I feel honored that you would name our daughter after Eragon and I's mother." Murtagh whispered as if the very words hurt him. "for it was her love that saved us in the end, and I only realize that now."

I wrapped my right arm around Murtagh's neck and buried my face in his hair. Both half-brothers had suffered because of family, and I prayed to all of the gods, that this little girl did not have to experience the pain and anguish that riddled her family history.

"The path may be rocky and filled with thorns," I whispered into his hair. "but we shall forage on, for our dragons have wings and their fire is hot."

Murtagh let out a deep breath before raising his head and cupping my face.

"I think you and Selene need rest," Murtagh said before he rose to his feet.

"What gave you that notion?" He rolled his eyes at me before adjusting the blankets around my body.

"I'm going to make sure little Fen is alright, it seems we became parents long before Selene was ever born." A small chuckle escaped my lips before I closed my eyes and opened my mind to Alethea.

The poor dragoness has been frantically flying back and forth in the sky while her mate tried to calm her down.

"You can come in now," I told her, less than a minute later Alethea was fluttering into the room. She coasted down to the bed and landed, hopping forward so she could perch on my leg.

"You will not do that again!" Alethea cried in my mind. "what if something had gone wrong!?! What if Fen and I hadn't been there!?!"

I let Alethea rant as angry expressions crossed her tiny face. It would have been comedic except my dragon really had been worried. When she finally calmed down, I let her look a Selene.

Alethea's pearl white nose brushed against the blue blanket as her tiny eyes roamed Selene's face.

"She looks like her namesake," Alethea commented before walking over to my left side and curling up against my leg. With Selene firmly in my arms, I let my mind wander until exhaustion took over and sleep came to me.

Selene was an easy baby to care for, contempt to spend her days and nights sleeping. We didn't have to worry about changing her diaper as the elves had invented a cloth diaper that instantly cleaned itself whenever it got dirty.

The only time she ever woke us up from sleep was when she got hungry, which was all the time. I don't know where the baby put all of the milk, but for one as tiny as she is, she could drink a lot.

"Alright, little one," I said as I secured the sling to my chest. "mommy has to go shopping."

I received a gurgle in response that brought a smile to my face. I left nursey and traveled to Fren's room.

"Fen?" I called, knocking my knuckles against the wood door. "I'm heading to the market, do you want to join me?"

I heard the pattering of feet before Fen pulled the door open with an eager face. I'll take that as a yes.

"Did you put the egg back?" I asked her, Fen nodded vigorously.

"I think it wants a softer nest," Fen said as bounced from foot to foot. "I'm gonna collect a bunch of swan down to make it a nice soft nest!"

"Are you," I mused as Fen ran ahead of me. The small gold egg that had apparently chosen me as its courier had grown warm in Fen's hands. I took that as an indication that it didn't mind being in her care, as long as it didn't leave her room.

As of late, Fen has been talking nonstop about the gold egg and how she was going to take 'really good care' of it. Considering that Fen was at an age where she should start learning responsibility, I figured that her taking care of the egg would be a good start.

Fen grabbed her heavy winter cloak and swung it around her shoulders as I did the same. The snow had started to fall, and a few weeks later, we had nearly a half-foot of snow on the ground.

That is where the dragons came into play. Alethea had been kind enough to blow fire on the area's where the walkway should be, thusly clearing the snow.

Shutting the house door behind me, I let Fen wrap her fingers in mine as we started walking towards the field where Alethea and Thorn landed. It was a short flight to the market from Du Weldonvrangr, but it was long enough to satisfy both mine and Fen's thirst for the air.

Alethea sat waiting for us in the field, the sunlight glimmered off her scales, reflecting light everywhere. If there was a season that she shined the most, it was winter. I held Fen scrambled up Alethea's side before I took one giant leap and settled myself behind her.

"Off to the market?" Alethea asked as she turned her head to look at us. I nodded at her with a smile.

"Yes, but if you get sidetracked... that's okay too." Alethea pulled back her lips to reveal her teeth as she grinned before stretching out her wings and jumping into the air. With one hand on Selene, I wrapped my other arm around Fen as she let out a laugh.

Alethea took the long way to the market, giving Fen and me plenty of time to enjoy being up in the air. Pressed against my chest, Selene was still out to the world after her second breakfast.

After our fly about, Alethea banked toward the market and dropped us off at the edge of the stalls. Fen, who had come for one reason and one reason only, darted off to the berry vendor stall.

"And there she goes." I mused before pulling out my list of items I needed to get. "Alright, let's see how many of these we can get through before you decided you want to eat."