Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
My heart was heavy. “Did she…?”
“Did she ever come to believe that?” he finished what I could not ask. “Halayna learned to separate the two. It wasn’t easy, but she did come to realize that what she had done had nothing to do with our child, and I’m so…”
Hearing the rawness in his voice, I reached over and placed my hand on his arm.
“I’m so damn grateful she did.” His eyes were like glittering blue diamonds. “Because she was able to enjoy what time she had with her daughter, and because of that, it has allowed me to do the same—to remain who I was, even after I lost her.”
I leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder. “Is that why Davon was such an asshole?”
He chuckled roughly. “Davon was always one, but he worsened after his mate’s death. Whatever good he had in him was gone.”
I sat there for a few moments. “Was that really why Halayna was targeted by Kolis?”
“It was.” He reached over with his other hand and cupped the back of my head. “Reaver doesn’t know any of this.”
I squeezed his arm. “He never needs to know.”
“Halayna never stopped thinking about what she did. I’m sure it lessened as time passed, but it was with her every day. She still hungered for life and joy, and in the short time she had with Jadis, she was an amazing mother,” he said quietly. “Just as you will be, Sera.”
I pressed my lips together to stop their trembling.
“You will be as fierce and protective as she was,” he said, his voice unwavering. “It doesn’t matter what you have gone through in your past, nor does anything you have done to others or yourself. You will do just as my Halayna did. You will ensure you will be a good mother because you have control over that. Because you will love them that fiercely.” He tipped my head back, and his eyes locked with mine. “And you will have both Ash and me to make sure you never forget that.”
Kye, the Healer, was nervous when he first arrived, and I felt so incredibly bad for him as he went through a cursory exam.
Some of it was because he was handling the well-being of the true Primal of Life and the health of the children of a Primal of Death, but that wasn’t the only reason.
There was also the oldest draken, who lingered on the balcony outside the bedchamber, a silent and watchful guardian who held the Healer’s stare as he left the chamber. And then there was my husband, who for some reason, returned to the bedchamber as a man who really, really had a problem with another male being within two feet of me.
I was lying on my back, my hands resting on the bed beside me, my fingers thrumming idly. My vest had been removed, and my shirt was folded up to allow the Healer to push lightly on my lower stomach.
Ash watched the Healer’s fingers as if he expected them to turn into daggers.
“I’m just checking the positioning of the uterus,” Kye explained, his voice steady as he pressed around my pelvic bone. “Usually, this is done along with an internal exam—”
Ash’s eyes narrowed, and a blast of cold air radiated off him. I scowled at him as Kye’s light, yellowish-brown fingers trembled slightly.
“But that seems unnecessary at the moment,” Kye said, his gaze moving to mine as he unfolded my shirt. “Let’s talk about your breasts—”
A low growl came from where Ash stood to our left.
“Nyktos,” I hissed.
“It’s okay.” Kye patted my hand and looked over his shoulder at Ash. “He’s just being protective.”
“More like a jerk,” I muttered.
Ash raised a brow at me.
Kye chuckled. “I have read that when a Primal is expecting, it can stir their nota and cause, well, a primal response.”
“To a Healer simply trying to do an exam to ensure that everything is fine?” I challenged, eyeing Ash.
“To anyone and anything that could be even remotely perceived as a threat, especially other males,” Kye clarified, and I rolled my eyes. “The draken are the same, as are the ceeren. It is, one would say, a primitive instinct that is difficult to control.”
“Perhaps you should go stand on the balcony with Nektas since you can’t control your primitive instinct, then,” I suggested.
“Not happening,” Ash growled.
“Then stop snarling and making it feel ice-cold in here,” I snapped back.
Crossing his arms, Ash said nothing. He would not make that promise.
I sighed, refocusing on the Healer. “I’m sorry. You were saying?”
A small grin appeared. “Have you experienced any breast tenderness?” he asked.
“A little bit today and on and off,” I said. “Nothing too bad.”
“Good,” he replied, sitting down on the chair that had been moved close to the bed. “It’s common, as well as seeing an increase in their size as the pregnancy continues.”