Page 45

The moment I enter the front room, everything changes.

Preston sees me. Stops mid-breath.

I let the flour sack drop. It hits the counter hard enough to rattle dishes.

The air thickens. Gets heavy. Pressure building.

Preston stands. Slowly.

His pleasant mask cracks.

Underneath I see what he really is. Just for a second. Scales. Eyes too bright. Too sharp. Something reptilian. Something old.

Then the glamour snaps back into place.

“You’re...” He takes a step back. Fear bleeds through his control. “You’re not human.”

“Neither are you.”

My voice comes out flat. Cold. The way it sounded in the Hollow when I was still just a guardian. Before Kaia. Before everything changed.

Preston laughs. It sounds wrong. Like breaking glass.

“Kaia.” He turns to her but keeps me in his peripheral vision. The way you watch something dangerous. “Do you know what you’re harboring? What’s living under your roof?”

“Get out of my bakery.” Her voice shakes but she doesn’t back down.

“A daemon.” He ignores her. Keeps talking. “A shadow-spawn from the Hollow. One of the old things. The kind that should have stayed buried when the world moved on.”

He turns fully to her now. The pity in his expression makes me want to tear it off his face.

“Dan would be ashamed,” he says quietly. “You’re pregnant with a monster.”

I move forward.

Kaia’s hand catches my arm. Her palm is warm against my skin. Her fingers dig in. Not restraining. Anchoring.

The baby pulses.

Hard.

I feel it through her touch. Stronger than before. Responding to the threat.

Preston’s coffee mug cracks. Clean line down the middle. Liquid spills across the table. Pools on the floor.

He jerks back. Stares at the broken ceramic.

Then at Kaia.

Then at her stomach.

His eyes go bright. Hungry.

“How interesting.” He pulls out a handkerchief. Dabs at his hand even though nothing touched him. “The child is already manifesting. Stronger than I expected. Much stronger.”

“Get out,” Kaia says again.

“I’m going.” He heads for the door. Pauses with his hand on the frame. “I’ve already filed the complaint, you know. Health inspection. Three days from now. They’ll find what you’re doing.”