The door opened and Benny walked in, carrying a small paper bag.
“Cahir! You’re back! Have you heard about Dad?”he exclaimed as he walked to a table and set the bag down, turning to him and giving him a big bear hug.
Cahir explained the events another time, allowing the information to flow through him and the others to absorb. All listened with rapt attention, even if this was the third time Seda heard it. He made sure to recite the same story each time to avoid causing any confusion.
He did not want Seda to pick up on any inaccuracies and question further, and she would, too. The little butterfly was too bright for her own good.
“There really is not much we can do at this point,” Sara said. “I don’t know who we can talk to, or where to go to find answers.”
“I refuse to believe that,” Benny said. “Father was important here in Joro. He made the most significant advancements in our city’s food supply. His absence will make this whole situation even worse.”
Cahir looked over at Benny, noticing for the first time that he had a marking on his wrist, inked in black, which had the tail of something.
Benny noticed Cahir looking and pulled his sleeve down and shook his head, pleading with him not to mention it.
Cahir didn’t care if Benny went to the Barrio black markets and got a tattoo. Cahir had plenty of them marking his Fae form.
Why would he be ashamed?
Cahir and Sedaleft their apartment and headed to the Medical Wing for her insemination. As they waited in the lobby, Cahir sawSeda biting her nails again, clearly worried about her father and anxious about the failed conceptions.
He knew that she longed so deeply to get pregnant and feel secure.
I wish I could help.
“Things are going to work out, Sed. I know a lot has happened over the last few days, but I will do everything I can to stay by your side, no matter the consequences,” he said to her. “Maybe after we leave here, we could go to Cascade and find some honey cakes? I have some money saved up.”
Seda perked up. Honey cakes were her favorite. They were the one thing that bridged the gap between her reluctance to befriend him. He had woken up extra early each day when they first met to go to Cascade and find them for her.
She pulled her fingers out of her mouth and smiled, causing his heart to skip a beat. His gaze settled on her full lips, and he glanced away quickly, feeling his desire surge.
“Cahir Cutlass,” a short, burly woman called for him from the front desk. “Your room is ready for you.”
He stood and followed the woman into a small, overly lit, sterile room, where he sat in a chair. He looked to his side and saw the picture books available for the process.
Being in this room made him feel a sense of disgust. He hated this place with its sterile smell, the used images on the table for the men, and the bright, fluorescent lights.
The woman swiped her card on the computer and entered his name into the system. “Your container.” She handed him a sealed tube and then left the room, the door clicking shut behind her.
He got up and locked the door, resting his hand on the lock and his forehead against the cool metal of the door.
He really shouldn’t do this. He shouldn’t trap Seda into pregnancy when he’s bound to secrecy and she’s living in this hellhole.
He weighed the pros and cons of each, the same ones he’d always grappled with whenever he stepped into this miserable place.
Pros: Seda would be safe from the next Wyrd.
Cons: Seda would never speak to him again once she had a baby and discovered who he truly was. She would be tied to Joro even more than she already is. The baby could come out with Fae qualities. And most importantly, she deserved to have a baby on her own terms, with honesty and love, and a home where safety isn’t a concern.
Unease wrapped around him. If he didn’t do it and Seda found out he was doing this each time he went, she would be furious, but all this worry and stress over these fucking Wyrdscouldbe avoided.
His mind wandered back to them lying in bed together and how her soft body felt pressed against him, how he desperately needed to release the built-up tension from earlier, and all the times before.
That was the closest they had ever been, and he couldn’t suppress his desire for her.
He thought about how he longed to touch her in ways she deserved to be touched, to make her feel relaxed and loved, to show her how much she meant to him.
His mind drifted to how her body fit perfectly against his, the soft curve of her hips in his palm, and her lilac scent as her hair pressed against his nose this morning.
