Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Ketha tried to push the picture away and only partially succeeded. She kept having these mental images—had been having them for months now. She wasn’t sure if they were somehow being sent by Styx or if they were her own imagination, but they tormented her and made her feel absolutely miserable with want and longing for the big Kindred.
More than once she’d thought that she should have taken Styx up on his offer to tour the universe together. She’d been completely miserable ever since she’d gotten back home—she kept feeling like she was missing something or she’d lost someone incredibly dear to her. It didn’t seem to matter that she and Styx barely knew each other—the feeling that she had lost the most precious person in her life persisted and the longing for him simply wouldn’t leave her alone.
Her mother hadn’t noticed at all, of course—except to urge Ketha to eat so she could nourish the baby growing inside her. She spoke proudly to everyone she met of the granddaughter that was on the way and how excited she was to become a grandmother.
Of course, Ketha knew this was a lie. Her mother hated babies and wouldn’t lift a finger to help her raise the child she was carrying once it came out. What made her happy was all the attention she had gotten for the impending birth and the way the members of the Sacred Seven were suddenly acknowledging her. She was now seen as a smart businesswoman, following the trends and setting the pace for everyone else. It was incredibly gratifying for her…and incredibly depressing for Ketha.
I’ll have to raise this baby all by myself, she thought, rubbing the tiny bump in her lower abdomen. How she wished that her old Kindred butler, Speaks Softly, was still around! He had such a kind heart—he would have helped her raise her daughter. But he was gone and Ketha felt all alone in the knowledge that she was going to be a single mother.
It didn’t have to be like that, whispered a little voice in her head. You could have gone with Styx when he asked you to. He would have been a good father—the same kind of father that Speaks Softly was to you. You could have had someone to help you raise the baby but you rejected him.
The thought made her want to sob but if she started crying really hard, she knew she would ruin the elaborate eye-makeup she’d applied for the party. Trying to push her regrets away, she rose from the little makeup table and swiped at her eyes.
Is it really too late? whispered that same little voice. Couldn’t you go find him again? You found him once—he might even still be hanging around the Ceinex Five Spaceport. You could go ask his forgiveness and tell him you want to be with him after all. Couldn’t you?
No, she couldn’t, Ketha thought. She was certain that she’d offended the big Kindred too deeply—he would never take her back now. Besides, her life was here, on Yonnie Six. There was no point in feeling sorry for herself—she’d made her choices and now she had to live with them.
Lifting her chin, she left her bedroom and descended the staircase to the party below. It was time to get a sneak peek at the baby in her belly and see what her daughter would look like.
16
KETHA
“Now settle down, everyone—settle down!” Mistress Morebutt called to the room. “Let the baby-view technician explain how this works.”
All of the richly dressed Yonnite Mistresses stopped talking and grew quieter. They were all gathered around a rolling, padded table where Ketha was lying, feeling extremely uncomfortable since she hated being the center of attention. Beside the table was a large projection screen as big as a dining room table. Her mother had requested the largest screen with the best definition, so that everyone in the room would be able to see every detail of the baby.
The technician herself was a wise looking lady in her middle years with gray streaks in her hair. She was wearing a no-nonsense white uniform and holding the baby-view wand in one hand as she waited for silence.
When all the whispering and murmuring had died away, she lifted her voice to address the crowd. It was clear she was used to doing this, Ketha thought. Which wasn’t surprising since baby-viewing parties had recently become all the rage in Opulex.
“Now then, ladies,” the tech began. “Thank you for coming. I want to let you know how this works. The baby-view wand doesn’t show us exactly how the baby looks right this moment—you wouldn’t see much at only three months gestation. Rather, the wand takes the information it gathers and extrapolates an image of exactly how the baby will look shortly after birth. We can even show extrapolated images of how the little girl will look as she gets older.” She glanced at Mistress Morebutt. “If that’s something you desire?”