She wasn’t foolish enough to think that he cared about her beyond the fact that he wanted to protect everyone. It was duty for him. It had to be.
“I suppose I just don’t see why the demons would make me a prime target,” she finally said. “It’s not like I’m the only witch on Nightfall.”
“I already said—” Joshua started, agitated.
Kira turned, holding up a hand. “But if they’re aware enough to know we’re married, they have to be aware enough to know that I’m never going to have your baby.”
A muscle twitched in Joshua’s forehead. “So? You can have magical children, Kira, and you want children. You’ll have them someday, and you will teach them and protect them. One day, you are going to be a wonderful mother, and they can’t stand it.”
The words should have been flattering. Should have been soothing, even. He thought she would be a good mother. He was complimenting her even in this argument. But his words only slammed harder into her stomach, only made her heart feel like it was cracking open to bleed.Youwill have children.Youwill teach them.Youwill protect them.
I can’t be a mother if you won’t be a father. Not while we’re married.Her hands clenched. That was too raw, too open, to admit.
“They’re not targeting me,” she insisted again.
“Yes, they are.”
“No, they’re not.”
Joshua stormed closer. His hands clenched and unclenched as he leaned in, invading her personal space. “Don’t be stupid.”
Heat tangled up in Kira’s lungs. Her face flushed, and her vision narrowed onto his face. “Don’t call me stupid!”
“I’m not calling you—”
“You just did!”
Joshua leaned back. “Don’t.”
They glared at each other.
Kira took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. “Let’s just wait to see what the special ops find, shall we?”
Joshua turned away without a word. For the rest of the day, he was never far from her, even when she called Chelsey and asked for privacy. She sketched out a brief warning to her younger sister, and Chelsey promised to keep an eye out for any demon activity in her space. But for even as close as Joshua was, they didn’t speak again.
That night, after she retreated to her room, Kira saw him in his wolf form prowling around the outside of the house. She watched him for longer than she cared to admit, her stomach tightening. If he really thought there was that deep a danger…
But there were no attacks. No further signs of demons all through the night. The special ops reported nothing, and when morning came, Bael called Rafael to tell him there’d been no demon activity in his territory, either.
“Maybe it was a demon that’s limited to the water,” Kira suggested at breakfast, trying to reassure him. She thought it was quite diplomatic, giving him a reason for why he was the only one to have sensed a demon without calling him paranoid.
Joshua grunted in a non-committal way. “We’re going to see the Elder Council today.”
Kira looked up from the pancakes. “What?”
“We’re going to see the Elder Council.”
“Why?”
Joshua didn’t answer.
Surely they weren’t going to start harping on them to have children already! They’d only been married for a few days.Does the Council know we haven’t had sex?The thought made her cheeks burn. She ground her teeth as she finished cooking thepancakes and served them up. Joshua had set the table, and they ate in silence. He was finished eating first and washed the dishes quickly as Kira finished.
She dressed in a button-up blouse and a pair of black slacks, then put her hair into a bun to get ready for the council. She hesitated over her makeup, but decided she didn’t want the feel of it on her face today. She’d be glamming it up for work in the afternoon, anyway.
In the car, Kira tried again, “Why does the Council want to see us?”
“I asked for the meeting.”
