“I meant no offense. You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, mentally and emotionally. And philosophically. But literally tearing someone apart requires a physical strength you simply don’t have. How would that have even been possible?”
“I don’t know. How is it possible for me to have left the cabin in the middle of the night, then snuck back in covered in blood without waking any of the shifters?” If I’d madeanynoise, Claudio, Zy and Genni would have heard me. And they definitely would have noticed the scent of blood. “It shouldn’t be possible for a human woman to embody the savage spirit of justice, yet that’s onlyoneof the more difficult-to-grasp aspects of my life.”
“Fair point,” Gallagher conceded as he began cleaning my hand again.
“I got up in the middle of the night and hurt someone. Judging from what appears to be arterial spray arcing over my nightgown, it’s likely that Ikilledsomeone. But what’s even scarier than what I did is the fact that I can’t remember doing it.” I shrugged, and my reflection in the mirror mimicked the motion. “What else could this be, other than the baby’s bloodlust?”
Gallagher’s focus gained a sympathetic gravity. “Delilah,fear deargdon’t lose the memory of their kills. This is much more likely to be thefuriae’s work.”
“But I don’t forget the things thefuriaemakes me do, either. I’m not prone to violence. But thefuriaeis, and your child comes from a long line of vicious warriors. One of these two squatters has to be the cause of this. But I can’t tell which, because again, I can’tremember...”
The first time I’d woken up unable to remember something, I’d lost four weeks of my life—including the conception of my child.
“I understand why the memory loss upsets you, but try not to read too much into that aspect. You could just be sleepwalking.” Gallagher finished with my hand, then hesitated just a second before he tilted my chin up and began wiping gently, slowly, at a streak of blood on my neck.
“When I first started working at the menagerie, there was a handler who used to get up in the middle of the night and feed the exhibits in his sleep. One night I caught him and woke him up, and he was completely disoriented. He had no memory of what he’d been doing, even though he was still holding the rabbit he’d been about to feed the adlet. He only did it a couple of times the first month I was there, but we had to let him go, because it was dangerous for him to start opening cages in the middle of the night, with no idea what he was doing.”
“You think I’ve been killing people in my sleep?” I took the rag from him and roughly scrubbed the last of the blood from my neck, because suddenly I needed...space.
“I think that’s worth considering, before you scare yourself with less likely conclusions. Beyond that, we don’t know that you’ve actually killed anyone. We don’t even know whose blood this is, or how you spilled it. Or even that youdidspill it, for certain.” Gallagher frowned. “On second thought, the lack of memory is rather troubling.”
“So, this doesn’t happen to redcap women when they’re pregnant? Vicarious bloodlust?”
Gallagher followed me into the bedroom, where I gestured for him to turn around so I could change out of my stained nightgown. He turned. “Pregnantfear deargoften experience an increase in bloodlust, but I don’t know whether that’s the baby’s bloodlust or simply an increase in the mother’s needs to compensate for the toll being taken on her body. As with increased appetite.”
“And I’m guessing there’s no way to tell, because afear deargmother would be killing, anyway, to keep herself alive. So once again, I am breaking new—and disturbing—ground.” I pulled a threadbare maternity shirt over my head, then plucked a pair of thrift-shop maternity pants from the top dresser drawer.
“Regardless of the cause, you wouldn’t have been able to sneak past me if I’d been here,” Gallagher said while I pulled my pants on, fastening the low-rise waist below my bulbous stomach. Then I tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to face me, sympathy and guilt warring over his features.
“For the record, I wasn’t sneaking. At least, not that I can remember.”
“I won’t leave you again at night before we figure this out.”
“Gallagher, don’t—” But it was too late. He’d already said it, and redcaps cannot lie or go back on their word. “You have to hunt. It won’t help either of us for you to keep growing weaker.”
His grumble was so deep it resonated in my bones. “I amnotweak. And I can hunt during the day. That’s more difficult, obviously, but not impossible.”
I smiled as the consequence of his latest promise truly sank in. “Iwouldfeel better if you stuck close at night, since we really have no idea when this baby might decide to make an appearance.”
Gallagher’s gaze narrowed at me. “Why do you look...triumphant?”
“You just gave me your word that you’d stick close. But youalreadygave me your word that you’d help rescue Miri and Lala. The only way I can see to reconcile those two promises is to take me with you on the rescue.”
“It isn’t fair of you to trap me with my own oath.” But he looked more impressed than truly upset.
“It also isn’t fair for me to have been pregnant for ten and a half months.” I stood and arched backward, stretching as best I could. “Right now, I’d gladly stack my list of complaints against yours.”
He chuckled. “I know better than to rise tothatchallenge. May I make you and the baby some breakfast?”
“That would be wonderful. The baby would like to request French toast with cinnamon.”
Our cabin-mates were starting to wake up when we headed into the main room, and Lenore swung her feet over the edge of the sofa bed, staring at the bloody sheets as I carried them to the washer. “Delilah, are you...?”
I gave her a tense smile. “I promise you that if I were in labor, I would not be doing laundry.”
“Labor?” Zyanya sat up next to her, blinking, still half-asleep.
“No. Laundry.” I stuffed the sheets into the ancient washer while Gallagher pulled a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs from the refrigerator.
