I held up a hand. “Please don’t make a Santa reference again. I don’t think I can handle two of them in one night.”
That faint smile turned into a lopsided grin. “I’m going to do you both a solid and clear something up for you, and I’m only doing this because you both need to focus on the mess you’ve made—”
“I would like it to go on record that I was not a part of the bringing Lucifer topside discussion,” Zayne commented.
I shot him a dark look, and one side of his lips curved up.
“And you both need to focus on the task at hand,” Grim continued, ignoring both of our comments. “There’s a reason why there’s no record of any Trueborn reproducing.”
My breath caught as Zayne’s arm slid away from my shoulders. He took my hand in his, but my fingers felt strangely numb. I was too caught off guard to really be freaked out about the fact that he was even aware of any of this.
“You know why it is forbidden for Protectors and Trueborns to fall in love. Their love interferes with their duty to protect mankind, weakens them both mentally and physically. Or so they say. I am of the belief that there are few things more empowering than love. Only the already weak would be further weakened by it. But the Alphas were of a different mind. They created that rule. The same sentiment was directed toward offspring. Most Trueborn were made sterile when they reached adulthood. The age of which varied greatly during the years Trueborns fought beside Wardens,” he explained. “It was so ingrained in both the Trueborns and the Wardens that the idea of becoming pregnant was considered taboo, nearly sacrilegious. But then a Trueborn who hadn’t yet been sterilized fell in love with her Protector, and from their forbidden union, a child was born. This was not received well.”
“This is what brought on the end of the Trueborns and Protectors.” Zayne’s hand tightened around mine. “Isn’t it?”
Grim nodded. “The Wardens demanded the pregnancy be ended before the Alphas could become aware. There were some Trueborns who agreed, but there were others who didn’t. Those who stood behind the young couple and demanded that their child be able to live. As it was, the Protector was already physically weakened by their love. Divine punishment rendered.”
“But that wasn’t enough,” I whispered, clearing my throat. “Something happened to them—their child, didn’t it?”
Those cold, hard eyes met mine. “Their child was never given a chance to breathe its first breath. Both the Protector and the Trueborn were slaughtered in their sleep by those who believed they were carrying out what God wanted.”
Horrified, I pressed my other hand to my chest.
“This enraged those who supported the couple—it even enraged many who did not. The Trueborns and their Protectors turned not only on the Wardens but the Alphas who’d finally intervened. It was a bloody mess wiped from history.” Grim dipped his chin. “As most things are by those who do not wish to own up to their dark deeds. This is why Trueborns died off. That is why there is no record of any having reproduced.”
My heart started pumping fast as I stared up at the angel.
“As with any being that carries the heavenly fire in their blood, procreation is extremely difficult, volatile and unpredictable,” he went on while I felt like I might collapse into a puddle of anxiety. “While some may find it unfair or odd how easily two mortals can reproduce, it’s actually not all that easy for them. It’s about timing and luck—good or bad, depending on how you look at it—but it would frankly be shocking for a child to have resulted from one heated moment of unplanned passion between a Trueborn and a Fallen.”
I repeated those words and I was still unsure if he was saying I was or wasn’t pregnant.
Apparently Zayne was just as uncertain. “So, she’s not pregnant?”
“You two would have to put a whole lot more effort into it if that was what you were attempting to achieve,” Grim answered, his gaze returning to me. “No, you are not pregnant.”
“What?” Roth exclaimed from the doorway, startling me. My gaze swung to him and I saw both him and Layla standing there.
Both of their mouths appeared to be hanging open.
Zayne shifted his stance so that he partially blocked me from their view. “Can we get a little privacy here?”
I saw what I thought was Roth’s arm rise as he said, “You know, I actually don’t want to be a part of this conversation, anyway.”
“But why would that even be a conversation?” Layla protested.
“Come with me, shortie, and I’ll explain to you what can happen when two people have sex—better yet, I can show you—”
“I know what happens,” Layla snapped, and whatever else she said was lost as Roth dragged her from the room.
I waited until they were gone. “How would you even know if I’m pregnant or not? Can you see inside my uterus?”
Zayne looked over at me. “I can’t believe those words just came out of your mouth.”
“I can’t believe those words came out of my mouth, but they did.”
“That has to be one of the most disturbing things I’ve heard, and I’ve heard a lot.” Grim’s lip curled behind his beard. “Death and life are two sides of the same coin. I can sense when the youngest life has taken root and know when the process of death has begun long before the body begins to rot.”
“I bet you’re amazing at dinner parties,” I whispered as I exhaled slowly.
I wasn’t pregnant.
Thank you baby gargoyles everywhere.
Relief swept through me, leaving me a little dizzy and guilty. Like should I be this relieved to learn I wasn’t expecting?
I thought about how I’d just mouthed off at the Angel of Death.
Yeah, I should be this relieved.
But there was this teeny, tiny, seed-size sense of disappointment. While I had serious doubts about my parenting ability, Zayne would’ve made an amazing father. It would’ve been kind of awesome to have seen that.
But this was one less thing to worry about—to stress about and worry about having to protect.
“You two can have children,” Grim said, dragging my attention back to him. “Maybe one day, if that is what you decide you want. It will be hard but it won’t be impossible. What your child would be, well, that would be interesting. A possible whole new class of angelic bloodlines. Evolution. Isn’t it grand?”
My head was turning over a whole lot of stuff at the moment. “Wouldn’t our child just be a...Trueborn since we both have a lot of grace in us? Or like those with way watered-down grace?”