I tried to sit up, but as soon as I lifted my head, the pain turned from a burning ember into a small flame. It licked at my insides, centred in my stomach. I fell onto my side again, sucking in cool, deep breaths as I waited for it to subside.
Fuck, I wondered if the healer had been wrong, that the magic wasn’t really taking hold but killing me slowly instead. That would make far more sense.
But then again, I checked my stomach. It was still firm, the bloating feeling refusing to subside.
Maybe it was working.
I blew out a shaky breath and tried to sit up again. My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, though my vision swam as I finally pulled myself into a seated position. I leaned against the bars of my cage, eyes closing for a moment as I let the pain wash over me.
How was it that this situation could keep getting worse? Worrying about myself and my mates was one thing, but this?
This changed…a lot.
And yet, I wasn’t sure if it changed anything at all.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, feeling the familiar burn of tears behind my eyes as I leaned my head against the bars.
The only thing I knew for certain now was that I wouldnotlet Dante have this child. No matter what happened, he was not taking this baby from me, and he would never get the chance to use it against my mates.
Because they would stop everything if they knew about this. They would do anything for me, but I had no idea what they’d do with our child involved. It would change the game, and Dante knew that.
Adrian would struggle with it the most. He’d readily go to war for us, but he’d gamble with a deal, too. Elias…I wasn’t sure. He wanted children with me, but I was certain he’d put mefirst. Except he’d also assume I would put the baby first, so he’d do anything to get us both out, risking his own life in the process.
I’d never had a chance to discuss what it would mean with the others. Maeve and Rowan were wildcards, and both had their own traumas to deal with. This would rock the boat with them.
This was so not needed now. I still had no idea how?—
Marion. Hadn’t the other person mentioned her name?
My stomach dropped, heart racing as I peeled my eyes open. Each breath I took burned as I stared into the murky darkness around me.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was another healer by the name.
Maybe she’d been taken during the attack on the palace, because I had no idea if she’d been accounted for.
But she hadn’t shown her face since Kerry’s death. Not before we arrived in Avalon…and not after. The healer all but disappeared, and I thought that was because she was laying my mother to rest and moving on to another job. But was it possible she’d been working for Dante the entire time?
A tear slipped free, soon followed by more. I didn’t even try to stop them. Not anymore.
If Marion had been working for Dante the entire time, then I’d let her take care of my sisters. She’d bathed them, read to them, cared for them when I couldn’t. She’d been a nurse to Kerry, helped us through the grief of losing her.
Had she killed my mother?
I covered my mouth in the hopes of hiding my sobs. Everything came pouring out, an emotional explosion of every fear I now had. What if she’d done something to the children? What if she’d done this tome?
We’d trusted her completely. Everyone—me, my mates, Jay’s team—and now…now I had no idea who to trust anymore.
Maybe I never knew who I could trust.
26
Thor
She cried silently until sleep claimed her, and I watched over her until it did.
There was nothing I could do to comfort her. I sensed the change within her the momentheand Watcher brought her back. For the first time since meetinghim, there was a gentleness in the way he placed her in her cage. She’d been dragged and thrown in before, but this was different.
Heseemed different.
