Hesnarledsoftly at my tone, but his attention swung back down to his soul mate. The shifter king hesitated momentarily, peeking back at the group,growlinglong and quietly at them.
Then he placed his palms back on his soul mate. The shifter king stared down at his hands as his solid black eyes turned crimson, blood churning in his gaze—his royal bloodpower was working through her body.
The shifter king blew out a hard breath, gasping, “Trixie’s nearly to the delivery day.” His lips slowly grinned, showcasing a man who had been given the greatest gift. “Healthy.Veryhealthy.” His shoulders jerked when his hand on her stomach moved. He whispered in awe, “And active.”
“What of my daughter,” I quizzed sharply. “Can you wake her?”
“I am trying,” King Athon breathed, still staring at his hands. “But most of my power is being fed into her womb.” His powered eyes eventually blinked slowly and returned to a solid black. “It’s stopped. She’s healed.” The shifter king furrowed his brows, staring at her face. “Elf! Wake up!”
When my child continued to lie asleep, my own red brows snapped together. I bent down next to her and shouted, “Trixie! Can you hear me?”
My daughter’s eyes didn’t open.
She just…didn’t move.
King Athon’s forehead wrinkled, and his nostrils flared as his jaws clenched. Worry began to radiate off him, almost tangible it was so heady.
“Trixie?” He leaned over and delicately cupped her cheeks, staring down into her face. Gently caressing his thumbs over her skin, he stated gruffly, “Trixie, you need to wake up.”
My daughter…didnotwake up.
Minnie choked deeply in her throat and rushed over, unable to hold back any longer. She grabbed my shoulders and stared at our child, gasping, “Why isn’t she waking?”
“I don’t know, love,” I murmured, raising my right hand to hold onto hers. “She is with child. Her body may need longer to recover.”
King Athon’s face jerked toward mine. “You think that’s it? Nothing else has happened to her?” Fury and anxiety were a bizarre mixture on his face. “Mayhap, like in the Blood Forest? She did take longer to recover there.”
Fucking Fairy.
The King of Shifters was staring at me…as a man. It was not a king who begged me with his eyes. I had never witnessed him as such. He was asking—beseeching—me to say my child was going to be all right.
I stared deeply into his eyes and nodded my head. “Yes, I believe that’s it. She merely needs more time.”
King Athon nodded with me, and then he looked back down at his soul mate. “Yes, that is definitely it.” Relief coated his words, all of his attention on her. “It took her days in the Blood Forest to wake. We shall need to be patient until she opens her eyes.”
“That is a wise plan.” I squeezed my soul mate’s hand and lifted to my full height, turning my attention to the gorgon king. I walked to where the two kings stood and asked, “King Elon, will you help my soul mate retrieve the dried jerky before we leave? I want to talk to King Ula for a moment.”
King Elon agreed and left with my soul mate to steal food we may need for our journey, and then I placed my back to the shifter king and my daughter. I whispered under my breath, “Is there an artifact here that can wake her safely?”
The dragon king’s solid golden eyes stared into mine, and he said just as quietly, “You need to tell him the truth. That you don’t know what’s happening. If she does not wake, their offspring must be removed from her womb.”
“How is that going to help the situation right now?” I snarled quietly. “I am looking for solutions, dragon. Do you know of an artifact or not?”
King Ula breathed heavily and switched his regard to the door. He placed his hands on his hips and scowled in thought. “There is…an artifact that will keep one’s body healthy.” Hegrowledsoftly, still thinking. “I cannot think of another that would work better.”
I nodded decisively. “That’s excellent. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes. And I will steal it for you.” His solid golden gaze held mine steadily. “It may be what you stated, as she is young.” He glanced over my head at the shifter king and my daughter. “But he is old enough to face the facts. Do not do him another disservice by lying to him again.” With that, he left to retrieve the artifact.
I rubbed my hands over my face and glanced over my shoulder, examining the forbidden soul mates.
King Athon sat on the altar with my daughter in his lap. He held her close and looked down upon her face. He whispered words to her as if she could hear, his mien serious and stern, while his free hand palmed her stomach and rubbed it softly.
I blinked slowly as my eyes burned with unshed tears, and, no, I would not be the one to say my daughter might not wake.
Distress of a father:
Appreciate the time you have with your child.
