A Sterling Silver Love

sandy beaches

DESPITE IT BEING LATE at night, the Maldives air was still warm against Aida's skin. Her sky blue nightgown flowed peacefully in the wind as she stared at the rolling tide.

"Sweetheart," Draco walked up to her slowly, the pearly white sand crunching underneath his feet. "What are you doing awake?"

Aida remained quiet, her hues trained on the crystal blue water.

"Celeste," Draco tried again, fear racing through his veins. When she turned to him, Draco felt a part of his shatter. "Why are you crying, Sweetheart?"

But the Queen said nothing, instead she allowed herself to be pulled into the chest of her mate and sob.

His hands roamed her back, hoping to provide her with some comfort. "It's okay," he murmured. "Whatever it is, everything is going to be okay." Squatting down a little, Draco wrapped an arm behind her knees and picked her up swiftly. Her head bobbed against his chest as he walked them inside and towards their newly purchased getaway home. Settling on the bed, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her once more. The tears had stopped falling, but she let out the occasional hiccup. "Do you want to share with me, what's going on?"

Aida shrugged and her eyes flickered away from him, "it's nothing."

Grunting gruffly Draco forced her to look at him. "I should have phrased that differently—why were you crying?"

"I miss Doni," she muttered looking down at the hands that rested on her pregnant belly. "I know this is supposed to be our honeymoon, but I just miss him so much."

Draco nodded, "I understand. We only have four more days and then we'll be seeing him. Okay?" Draco kissed her forehead. "We should talk to him tomorrow too, since we didn't get a chance to do it today."

Kissing his jaw, Aida sighed and snuggled deeper into him. "Thank you."

The King nodded, "get some sleep, Sweetheart." When he was sure she was awake, Draco slipped out of bed and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. "Ma? Hi, it's me."

"Draco. It's late where you are, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Ma, everything's fine." He let out a sigh and ran hand through his hair. "Listen this is probably a lot to ask, but I was wondering if you could bring Doni here."

"It's your honeymoon," Selene pointed out.

"I know Ma, I know." Draco sank down into the sand. "She won't admit how much she is struggling without Doni, but she is. I think she feels like she's a bad mom for adopting him and then right when he was getting comfortable."

"Well, that's kind of expected Draco. She's a new mom, it's normal—but I'll bring him in a few hours okay?"

Tossing his head, Draco let his curly hair kiss the sand. "Thanks Ma, I owe you one."

"Yeah, yeah," Selene muttered. "Go to bed, I'll mind-link you when we arrive."

Hanging up the phone, Draco slowly pushed his body to a stand and trudged back into the house. Stripping down, he slid into the bed and froze when Aida stirred. She let out a moan, something that happened at least once throughout the night and Draco chuckled. Pressing a kiss to her temple, Draco slipped an arm under her protruding belly and snuggled his face into her neck.

He wasn't asleep for long, four hours maximum, when his mother's voice rang through his head. Groaning, he pushed the covers back and stepped out of bed.

"Draco?"

His head snapped down as he watched Aida roll onto her back and rub her eyes. "Hey," he murmured, sitting on the bed and placing a hand on her thigh. "Go back to sleep, it's still early."