Bastian looked like he had swallowed a worm. At my confusion, his own panic got worse. He spoke a mile a minute. “You don’t look like you know what’s going on. Okay. That’s fine. We are definitely going to figure this out, somehow.” He tried to smile in an attempt to comfort me but it looked terror-stricken. “Should I, um, tell King Blaze about this?”
“No,” I said instantly, grabbing his arm. “Don’t.”
Bastian swallowed. “But he’s going to see you sooner or later.”
The memories rushed back, of Blaze brainwashing me and Noro finally breaking the spell. I would’ve gotten angry again if I wasn’t so freaked out aboutthis.“I know, just… I don’t want him right now.”
“Okay.” Bastian exhaled and began pacing. “We can figure this out somehow. Right? You didn’t look like this yesterday. Did something happen last night?”
Noro happened,I thought. He and I had sex, and then…
“Where is Noro?” I asked.
“Right,” Bastian said, sounding eager for a lead. He was nodding, but he apparently misunderstood my question. “Yes, that’s right. This must be magic, and if there’s anything magic-related, he’ll understand.”
“Magic-related…?”
I paused, my trembling hands still on my belly. Did something magical happen last night that neither Noro or I knew about? But that couldn’t be possible. Neither of us…
My head spun again, this time from confusion instead of an oncoming blackout. I groaned. “What the hell is going on?”
Seeing my frustration, Bastian came and put his arms around me. “Hey, we’re going to figure this out, all right? And I’m sure, despite whatever magic-thing is going on, your baby is fine. Right?”
I tried to calm my breathing. It was true. Despite my anxiety aboutwhateverthe hell was happening, my baby didn’t seem to be in any danger--except the whole growing a few months overnight.
“Okay. Still mildly panicking,” I mumbled.
As he spoke, Bastian placed his hand next to mine on my belly. “Just wait here. I’ll get Noro, and maybe he can--”
But when Bastian’s hand brushed against mine, two things happened.
One: the baby kicked.
Two: something like an electric current passed between us.
I gasped. He did, too, and stumbled back. Now his eyes were even wider. “What was that?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. This was getting weirder and weirder. “But Bastian, she… The baby kicked.”
“What?” He gasped, in joy in this time, and ran back over to touch my belly. The baby kicked again, to both our surprise. Bastian’s voice softened. “Oh… Oh my.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. My baby wasn’t just alive, she was kicking. She was thriving. Whatever magic nonsense was going on, she wasn’t affected at all. I breathed out a shaky sigh of relief as a few tears ran down my cheeks.
Bastian hugged me supportively and smiled. “Hey. At least we know she’s safe.”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s what’s important.”
“But what was that shock?” he asked. “I don’t think it was just static.”
“Me neither,” I agreed, furrowing my brow. Had some magic passed between us? I wasn’t sure, especially since Bastian didn’t look any different and it had only been a small spark. But something felt… different.
Almost the same as my healing sessions with the Madame.
My eyes widened slowly at the thought as an idea dawned on me.
But the idea was smushed instantly. This wasn’t like that. The Madame already had the biology to bear children--it had just scarred and taken away from her. The situation with Bastian was completely different. He never had the biology to begin with.
But he wants to have children just as badly as she did,I thought, glancing at him.If not more.
