Page 316 of Sinister

Sin laughs. “That’s Valerion for you. He always thinks of everything.”

“Yes, but . . .” I bite my lip. “He seemed rather sad, did he not?”

“He’s held a certain sadness to him for as long as I’ve known him. But despite his odd manner, he is a good person,” he assures me.

“We owe everything to him. Which is why I hope he gets his own happy ending eventually.”

“I think we should be concerned with our own for now.” He waggles his brows suggestively.

I crack a smile. “And what did you have in mind?”

He pulls me into his arms, and in the blink of an eye, we’re back at the underground bunker. We tumble together into bed, him on his back, with me on top of him.

I stare into his eyes, unable to believe that after everything, we’re here, together, with no more secrets between us.

It’s just me and him, as we were always meant to be. And . . . our little plum.

“I love you so much, Petra,” he rasps, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I will always love you.”

“I love you, too, but you should start putting your words into actions. Have you forgotten pregnant women can be very horny?”

He laughs and leans in to kiss my nose. “I don’t care about any other pregnant woman except you. And if my lady is horny, then I shall do my utmost to satisfy her.”

“I’m waiting.”

Except I do not have to wait long at all.

85

EPILOGUE I

FOUR MONTHS LATER

“My parents are getting suspicious,” I whisper into the phone.

We’re at a restaurant celebrating my mother’s birthday, and they’ve been closely monitoring me since I’m way past the due date to give birth.

To my surprise, my parents have made good on their promise and have delegated most of their tasks to other people in order to dedicate more time to the family. My mother has been to all my ultrasound appointments and has taken courses on child-rearing to get up-to-date with all the new tips and tricks. To say she’s devoted to the cause would be an understatement.

My father, too. Though always a little bit more stoic, he’s tried his best to be more vocal about his feelings and let me know how much he loves me and his future grandson.

That being said, I think the fact that this pregnancy and this baby might not be entirely normal is catching on. I’m almost one month over the due date at this point, which my parents find highly irregular.

Yet the doctor, having examined everything carefully, has said that in his professional opinion, the baby still needs time in my belly.

Odd? Yes. Did Sin pay him to say that? Also, yes.

Alas, it seemed to work for my parents, who don’t have enough medical knowledge to realize that might not be . . . normal.

But the fact that the pregnancy has progressed somewhat not normally worries me. How will the birth proceed? How different will it be than normal, regular births? Are there even doctors equipped to deal with this?

Although I am very happy to meet our little plum, I can’t say I’m not terrified of giving birth. I’ve even suggested to Sin that I’d like to do a C-section since I don’t want some non-human baby to tear up my lady bits. But that brought more concerns, too.

Who would perform the surgery? And if the baby is not exactly normal, what then? What if there are complications?

Sin has assured me that in any eventuality, his blood should heal me.

“What do you mean?” Sin asks from the other end of the phone, though he is secretly across the restaurant, hiding in the shadows.