Even though I was pregnant, Cassian still pushed me hard in training. Although, we did train less with swords, it was made up for by strength training, offensive and defense fighting, learning how to throw daggers, and maintaining my skills with a bow and arrow.

Today, however, Cassian hand me throwing punches. Left. Right. Left. Right. Repeat. At the end of the exercise, I was sweating, so much so that Cassian handed me a towel and glass of water and told me to take a five-minute break. After quenching his own thirst, he sauntered over next to me and started conversing with me. Surprisingly, about my unborn child.

"Have you and my brother decided on a name yet?" He asked.

"No, although, we do have a few in mind, but nothing official."

"A boy, right? Cassian asked. I looked out the window, trying to see that long-ago battlefield where the Bone Carver gave up his life. He showed me my child, before I even realized who it was. My first born. "Yes, if the Bone Craver was correct, my first born will be a son."

Clearing his throat, Cassian asked, "Will you train him with the Illyrians?"

The thought of sending my child into that backwards society horrified me, but Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel all trained there, it was, is, a part of them, as it will be for my child. I knew Rhys would want his son to train with them, but living amongst the Illyrians, their treatment of those they considered less, I was not sure if I would be able to live there for long, even with Rhys beside me. However, Rhys and Cassian had done a lot of modernizing in the camps in the past ten years. Women were now allowed to train with very little resistance in most of the camps; although, they still were not allowed to rise above a commander status. The future is not set in stone, who knows what can happen in the next ten years.

Looking up at Cassian, I allowed him to see the fear I had about sending my child there, but also the knowledge that I would most likely send them to train so they could learn to defend themselves and learn about the people they descend from. Taking a deep breath I said, "Yes, when the child is old enough, we will send them to train with the Illyrians."

Later in the evening while I was sipping my favorite herbal tea and reading a new book, Elain slowly approached me and took a seat in the large blue armchair across from me.

"Feyre," She slowly said, "Have you and Rhys decided on a name?"

"No, we have thought of a few, but nothing we love," I responsed, as Azriel walked through the front doors.

"Oh, I thought you had a name for her already." Elain said with a look of confusion in her eyes. "Have you decided on whether your child will take our family name or Rhys'?"

"Elain, I believe I am having a boy, that is what the Bone Carver implied... And for the surname, we have not decided. Given everything that happened I am not sure if I want my child to have our family name." Even though our father saved us from slaughter, I still remembered those years of hunting and starvation, the absence of family love during my formative years. The mark it left.

"Azriel," Elain suddenly asked, "what is your surname?" Azriel, who had removed his outer clothes, stood facing us, confused shock in his eyes as he said, "I do not have a surname."

"Why?" Elain questioned, and I wondered the same thing. Cassian and Azriel had never mentioned their surname and I assumed, like Lucien, they preferred not to use it. The thought of them not having a last name never crossed my mind.

Recovering from the surprise of the question Azriel responded, "Bastards are not given surnames. The Illyrians believe that if a bastard takes his father's family name then they might assume that they are welcomed into society and are part of a family. By not giving bastards a surname, it enforces the idea that society does not want or welcome us. That we are nothing more than a disposable common foot soldier. It helps prevent us from having a family of our own because who wants to marry someone with no connections and give birth to a son with no name. Thus, Cassian and I, and all the other Illyrians bastards have no surname."

As Azriel concluded his speech, I noticed how he watched Elain's weary eyes, watching for any sign of pity. Elain, observant as ever, merely said, "It's a miracle that there are any Illyrian family names left given that they only fight and fuck." Azriel smiled at Elain, looked to me and stated, "I have not heard Rhys use his family name since he became High Lord. If you do not want to use yours, perhaps the two of you could simply choose a new family name."

That night, as I was soaking in my bath, Rhys winnowed into our room, mumbling something about how awful the Court of Nightmares is and their presumptuous demands. Although, once Rhys glanced at me, he instantly stopped talked and asked me what was bothering me.

I lowered myself further into the bath I said, "Earlier today, Elain mentioned our child, and she said that the baby was a female; however, the Bone Carver claimed and showed me a male. Both have been reliable for information, one being a seer and the other a death god, and they said different genders. I was just thinking about it. About female names," I said, whispering the last sentence since it never crossed my mind until a few hours ago.

"Did you have something in mind for a name?" Rhys asked walking closer to the tub, he wings flaring slightly at his curiosity.

"Yes," I stated, "I have two names in mind."

Do share

I was thinking perhaps if it was female, we might name her Claire or name her after your sister.

Rhys' eyes gleamed with happiness as he choked, "That is perfect," before becoming serious and saying, "Feyre darling, do you think it is possible that both the Bone Carver and Elain are correct?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

Rhys gave me an exasperated look before saying, "Well, both the Bone Carver and Elain knew or know the future, perhaps they are both correct. It is extremely rare, occurs maybe once every five to seven centuries, but it is possible for the fae to give birth to twins. Perhaps, you have one male and one female child inside you. Do you think this is possible?"

"Can you find the minds?" I asked, my voiced laced with pride and fear.