Luce momentarily froze as she stared down at me.
“The baby?” Caden’s voice was low, barely above a whisper. “What baby?”
Blinking rapidly, Luce’s chin jerked up, and then her gaze shot back to mine. Her lips moved, but the beeping from the machines was rapid, and then darkness spread out. The room was suddenly shaking, the gurney creaking—
“She’s having a seizure,” Luce grabbed my shoulders. “No. Not the Ativan. I need—”
Whatever she said was lost in a roar and a burst of a hundred stars. The last thing I saw was Caden staring down at me in shock
And then I saw nothing.
* * * *
The first thing I became aware of was the steady beep of a machine. My head felt as if it were full of cotton balls so I focused on the sound and followed it out of the nothingness. It took a small eternity for me to open my eyes.
A light from somewhere behind me cast a soft, buttery-yellow glow over the room. I thought this was the same room I’d been brought into it, but it was…quieter. Calmer. On the small table was my iron cuff, blade disengaged.
The baby.
I moved my hand to my stomach, wincing at the pull of the IV. I had no idea what I was feeling for. The act seemed instinctual, but it told me nothing. Was the baby okay? My heart turned over heavily as fear hit my veins. It was strange how quickly I’d gone from being shocked and overwhelmed by the idea of having a baby, to desperately wanting that child.
Now it could be all over—gone before I even had a chance to share the news with Caden. And how could it have survived? I had a vague memory of Kalen yelling at me to not drink any more soda. Had I been poisoned? Grief and confusion swirled through me.
“Brighton.”
Slowly, I turned my head to the left. Caden was sitting there, his chin propped on his joined hands. He looked…terrible. His normally smooth hair looked as if he’d dragged his fingers through the strands a hundred times. There were shadows under his eyes, and tension to the set of his lips. A wicked sense of deja vu hit me. It wasn’t all that long ago that we’d found ourselves in a similar situation, but this time was different. The way he looked at me was…. It wasn’t right.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
My lips felt dry as I considered his question. My stomach didn’t hurt, and I wasn’t vomiting. “Okay.” My voice was hoarse. “I think.”
He reached over, picking up a pitcher and pouring a glass of water. “You should drink this.”
I took the water, welcoming the cool rush against my scratchy throat. It helped clear some of the fog that seemed to still fill my brain. I would’ve drunk the entire cup if Caden hadn’t caught the bottom of the glass, tugging it away.
“I think that’s enough for right now.” He placed the cup on the table. “Luce warned that your stomach might be sensitive.”
“What…what happened?”
“You were poisoned.”
I tensed. The baby. “So hearing that said wasn’t a figment of my imagination?”
“No.” He sat forward, hands falling to the space between his knees. “It was done with a flower similar to Pennyroyal found in the Otherworld. Fae often use it as a powder for inflammation or bruises. We believe it was placed in the sodas.”
I tried to process what he was saying. “All of them?”
He nodded. “The rest of the drinks have been pulled and are being tested, but the ones Fabian and Kalen had, also had traces of it.”
“Are they okay?”
“They won’t be affected by such a substance.”
“Because they’re fae?”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Because you’re pregnant.”
I drew in a shallow breath, but it went nowhere.
“The flower, when consumed in large quantities, can cause expectant mothers to miscarry,” he continued, his voice strangely flat. “Luce believes it affected you more because you’re mostly human, causing the vomiting and the seizure.” He inhaled deeply. “And she believes that is also why you survived. Someone fully human wouldn’t have. You’ll be weak for a while. You may have more seizures, but she believes that you will recover fully.”
It connected in the back of my mind that he must’ve told Luce about the Summer Kiss, but that didn’t matter at the moment. His features blurred as tears filled my eyes. My brain wasn’t working right. A part of me knew that this wasn’t how I’d wanted Caden to find out. How I’d planned on any conversation about the baby going, but I had to know. Even though I was terrified, I had to know.
“Is the…am I still pregnant?” I whispered.
His eyes closed briefly. “The poison caused you to have contractions, which created a tear and then the bleeding. Luce was able to get the poison out of your system quickly.”
I could feel myself trembling as I tried to brace for the inevitable.
“Once she had you stabilized, she was then able to check on the…on the baby.” His throat worked on a swallow. “Luce didn’t find any tissue in your bleeding. She did an ultrasound—sonography—to check for a heartbeat.” He took a shuddering breath, his eyes meeting mine. “According to Luce, the baby is incredibly strong-willed and determined to be born.”
I blinked once and then twice. “W-what?”
“You didn’t lose the baby. At least, not now,” he explained. “She said it’s a high-risk pregnancy and that you need to be monitored, but she’s cautiously optimistic.”
“I… I’m….” Stunned, I couldn’t find words as disbelief rose. “I’m still pregnant?”
Caden nodded.
Tears welled so fast that I smacked my hands over my face. Relief and happiness turned out to be way more powerful than the crushing dread and fear. I couldn’t believe it. This baby has survived Aric and a poisoning. Strong-willed was an understatement.
“Are those tears of happiness?” Caden asked. “Or disappointment?”
I yanked my hands away from my face. “What?”
“I think it’s a valid question,” he said. “Because I don’t know if you’re happy or sad to know that you’re still pregnant.”
“I’m happy,” I told him, shocked. “Why would you even ask that?”
“Why?” A harsh, short laugh left him. “How would I know what you’re thinking? You’ve known this whole time that you were pregnant. Eleven weeks, actually. Luce was able to confirm definitively, by the way.”
I gave a little shake of my head. “I’m happy. I want this baby—”
“You do?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “I was planning to tell you. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about later.” The cloudy feeling in my head had completely disappeared. “I didn’t tell you, because—”
“Because you were trying to save the world. Yeah, I know. Luce told me.” The tension brackets increased around his mouth and then he rose, turned away.
“Caden—”
“I didn’t know,” he said, voice rough. “I thought I was hearing things when you asked about the baby.” His voice cracked on that word, and I felt it in my heart. “I learned that I was going to be a father at the same time I learned that someone out there knew and tried to kill not only you but also my child.”