Shea looked up at him in surprise.
He brushed her hair from her face, his expression tender. “Don’t tell me you’re not. I see it grow in you day by day. I’ve waited, given you space, but it hasn’t abated. It’s time to lance the wound.”
Shea looked away, unable to argue. It was true. She hadn’t been able to let go of the fear that had taken root in the Badlands. It had only blossomed in the intervening months, growing after she found out she was expecting their child.
She feared what had happened to Griffin would eventually be her fate. While the Badlands had left their mark on him, forcing him to evolve into the worst version of himself, she still didn’t know if his instability and madness had begun before it got hold of him or after.
Ajari might have assured her it was Griffin’s greedy heart that turned him into what he was, but she still doubted.
Worse, she could sense the tiniest sliver of the Badlands’ taint, crouching in the deepest parts of her, waiting, watching. It didn’t send off signals of wrongness, but it concerned her, especially when she considered her child may have been exposed to the same thing.
It was a fear that had only grown as her stomach had.
She leaned her head back, her hand drifting to where her child rested. “I’m worried that my time in the Badlands might have affected her.”
His frown was thoughtful. He didn’t argue or try to tell her that her concerns were ridiculous. He considered her words with all the focus he would give any of his advisors.
“It is possible,” he said. “Though it is a small chance.”
She shifted against him and his arms tightened.
His chin landed on her hair. “Will worrying about it help?”
No, but that didn’t mean she could stop.
“The woman I hold in my arms is the same one who held my hand and told me if I left her she would follow me into the next world and kill me again,” he said.
“Those weren’t my exact words,” she grumbled.
She felt his smile against her hair. “Perhaps not, but they remain true. If you are changed, if it has affected our warrior, we will deal with it when the time comes. You still remain Shea, my love, the battle queen who destroyed our enemies and brought important allies to our side. Everything else is just details.”
She turned to look up at him, her gaze searching. He looked back at her, no trace of doubt in his eyes, just faith and love and trust.
He meant it. He didn’t care.
Her smile, when it came, was bright. He leaned down and kissed her lips, gently at first, then with an increasing urgency.
Before they could go any further a knock came at the door.
Fallon swore. Shea giggled, touching his cheek with one hand. He looked at her and smiled, the expression roguish and handsome. He dropped a peck on her lips before leveraging out of bed and stalking to the door.
“What do you want?” he snapped.
Trenton poked his head through. “You’re late.”
“Tell them to wait,” Fallon said with a growl.
“We already did,” he returned. “That was a half-hour ago.”
Shea sighed and pushed herself to sitting. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Trenton nodded and withdrew.
Fallon glared at her, his hair disheveled and his eyes snapping.
“You have only yourself to blame for this,” Shea told him. “It was your idea to make them work together.”
She grabbed a pair of drawstring pants and a loose shirt off the chest at the end of their bed.
