I lifted a hand and then dropped it back to my lap as I refocused on Tatiana.
“I came here to implore you to do what the King cannot. Not because I love him. I don’t. I do not know him well enough to feel that. But because I love my Court. He could still keep you. If that is what you both wish,” she continued. I jerked. “Or he could choose a fae other than me, as long as he chooses one of us. He needs a Queen.”
Unease had rapidly spread like a weed, tangling with every part of me. I had no idea what to say. Caden knew this, knew what a risk it would be to choose me, and he still did.
That was…flattering, and also batshit insane.
“I hope that because you are a member of the Order, you will understand the danger Caden will place us in, the risk he will place all of mankind under.” Her eyes glimmered with tears. “If we fall to the Winter Court, mankind will fall next. You know that to be true. Is love really worth that?”
Looking away, I took a breath, but it seemed to go nowhere as the implication of what Tatiana claimed settled over me. Was love really worth that? Yes, screamed a selfish, not-so-tiny voice inside of me.
But the potential downfall of the entire Summer Court? And mankind?
I closed my eyes.
“I wish I was here to wish you well, but…nothing good will come to my people or to the King if he gives up his throne,” she said quietly. “So, I ask a better question. Do you love him enough to save him?”
The breath expelled out of me in a harsh cry. How could I answer that? How could I be with him if it would weaken him and put him at risk?
I already knew the answer to that.
I just couldn’t speak it aloud.
I really didn’t even want to think it.
How could I go from feeling hope to crushing dread in the matter of an hour? To having something ripped away before I even had a chance to hold it?
Because that was how it felt. Knowing what I did now, there was no way I could allow Caden to do this.
“I think…I think I need to be alone,” I said, my voice hoarse as I opened my eyes.
“I understand.” Tatiana rose. “I am sorry.”
My gaze cut to her. She turned, walking toward the door, her steps light. I started to look away as she pulled on the handle, but her startled gasp stopped me.
“Oh. Sorry!” Luce exclaimed. “I was just about to knock. Would’ve been your face had I done it a second earlier.”
“I am glad you didn’t.” Tatiana glanced over her shoulder and nodded. “I was just leaving.”
Luce glanced over at me, her brow knitted. She waited until the female had left. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Yes. Are you here to check on me?”
“I am. Kind of.” Luce closed the door behind her. “I need to talk with you.”
I wanted to throw myself on the floor and scream, so the last thing I wanted to do was talk to Luce or be checked out.
“I feel fine. A thousand times better than yesterday,” I told her as she came around the couch. “I think—” I squared my shoulders. “I think I can go home.”
Her forehead wrinkled as she took the seat Tatiana had just vacated, much to my dismay. “We’ll talk about that later. There’s something more important to discuss.”
A laugh burst out of me. Something more important than learning that the man I loved could end up risking not only his life but also the lives of his entire Court and mankind by being with me? Unless I chose to be his…his side piece while he married a fae and fathered a whole litter of children.
Luce frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay, Brighton?”
“I am.” I stopped the next laugh from bubbling up. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
She looked down and then up. “Remember when I said that I was waiting on some blood work to come back? I wanted a full workup to make sure there were no hidden infections.”
I nodded. “I’m guessing it came back?”
“It did, and there was something noted that required further testing to confirm.”
“What? I have sepsis of the heart or something?”
Luce’s brows crinkled once more. “I do not think that is a thing, but I will have to check—”
“I was kidding,” I said. “What did you find?”
“The blood test picked up an abnormality in a hormone, an increase in HCG.” Her eyes searched mine. “After seeing that, I ran a quantitative blood test just to confirm the levels that were present and what it meant.”
“Can you just give me antibiotics for it?”
Her frown increased. “You cannot take antibiotics for this.”
“Okay.” I stared back at her. “Then what do I do?”
“Well, there’s a lot to do, actually. Another test just to be sure, and then—wait.” She drew back. “You don’t know what HCG means, do you?”
“No. I mean, maybe I did, and I’ve just forgotten it.”
Her shoulders tightened. “HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that is produced when someone is pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” I repeated.
Luce nodded. “You’re pregnant, Brighton. And based on the levels, you’re at about eight weeks. Maybe a little more, but you’re definitely pregnant.”
My brain stopped working.
“That means you conceived before you were taken. And, somehow, by some miracle, you’re still pregnant,” Luce continued. “I would like to do some more testing. Your body has been through a lot, so there are a lot of risks that this…this fetus will not hold or may be...”
It was like an out-of-body experience.
I was sitting, but I felt like I was floating, and I knew Luce was still talking, but I couldn’t hear a word she said.
I was… I was pregnant?
Possibly eight weeks or more pregnant?
That was….
“… I have to ask you this because it could change everything—the tests I need to do, what you can expect,” Luce was saying as I refocused on her. “Is it possible that the…?” She paled, much like Tatiana had earlier when I’d spoken Queen Morgana’s name. “Is it possible that the King is the father?”
Possible?
It was the only likelihood.
I was pregnant with Caden’s child.
The Queen
Acknowledgments from the Author
Thank you to Liz Berry, M.J. Rose, Jillian Stein, Chelle Olson, Kimberly Guidroz, and the amazing team behind 1001 Dark Nights for allowing me to tell Caden’s and Brighton’s story.
None of this would be possible without you, the reader. Thank you. Thank you.
Chapter 1
Pregnant.
Eight weeks pregnant. Maybe a little more.
The most common response in the history of womankind was dancing on the tip of my tongue, threatening to make me sound like an idiot.
That’s not possible.
But the logical and sane voice in the back of my head whispered that it was as I stared at the silvery-skinned fae doctor. The same voice that also whispered, that’s what happens when you have unprotected sex, Brighton Jussier.