Suddenly, she realized what it was.
“His baby,” she whispered, a feeling of wonder filling her. “It’s Karn’s baby—his son—and it’s alive inside me!”
It won’t be for long, whispered a nasty little voice in her head. Not if Mother has her way. You’ll be losing it tomorrow, Lilli, so don’t get too attached.
A wave of fierce love and protectiveness swept over her and Lilli put both hands to her belly, cradling the tiny life there.
“No!” she whispered, stroking the barely-there bump. “No, I won’t let her kill you! I’ll protect you—I swear I will!”
But how?
Lilli had to face the facts—she was stuck in her mother’s house with no way to leave. She had a bit of money in her account, but what could she do with it? If only she knew how to fly a ship she might be able to get away, but that wasn’t a skill they taught at the convent where she’d been raised. Also, where would she go, even if she did get away?
“To the mines,” Lilli whispered to herself. “I’d go to the mines and save Karn, if I could.”
But again, it was impossible. Though the Diluthian mines weren’t that far away—they were just located on one of Yonnie’s Six’s moons—they might as well have been on the other side of the universe.
“Because I can’t fly,” Lilli whispered to herself. “And I have no one to fly me. Oh Karn, if only I could get to you! I’d forgive you for what you did and we could fly away together and make a life for ourselves and our son…”
It was a beautiful dream but that was all it was—just a dream. She had no way to get to him—she was a prisoner in her own home. Her mother would make her get rid of Karn’s baby so she could be impregnated with a daughter—an heir who would take Lilli’s place.
But I don’t want a daughter—I want a son—Karn’s son! The one growing inside me now, Lilli thought desperately.
“I don’t want to lose him,” she said aloud. Curling on her side, she cupped her barely swelling belly with both hands. “Oh please, can’t anyone help me?”
“I will help you, daughter.”
The warm, powerful, feminine voice which filled her room surprised Lilli so much she almost fell off the bed.
“H-hello?” she stuttered, looking all around. “Who…who is that?”
“I am the Goddess the Kindred worship—the Mother of All Life—including the tiny life now growing within you,” the voice told her. “And I say to you now, my daughter, that you shall not lose your baby.”
“But how?” Lilli asked, her voice trembling. Karn had spoken to her of the Kindred Goddess, the female deity his people worshiped, and it had been clear that he really believed in her. But Lilli had never expected to actually speak with her!
“Do not worry about how—only be on the lookout and help will come to you,” the Goddess told her. “Seize the opportunity when you see it, for it will only be offered once.”
“All right,” Lilli said, nodding her head to the unseen presence. “I promise—I’ll take it. But…” She bit her lip. “But what about Karn? You’re his Goddess—can’t you save him too?”
“You shall save him yourself, my daughter,” the Goddess told her. “Do not ask how, for you will know when the time comes. And remember…do not be afraid to attempt the impossible.”
Then the voice and the warm, feminine presence that accompanied it faded. It left behind only a fresh, sweet scent that seemed to lift Lilli’s spirits and make her feel like a new person.
“Thank you,” she whispered, though she sensed the Goddess was gone. “Thank you so much for giving me hope.” She put her hands on her belly again. “Thank you for me…and for my baby.”
Forty-Four
Lilli waited anxiously, but no help came. The hours ticked by on her chronometer and nothing happened. She just stared at her walls and wondered where Karn was now and if he had reached the mines yet and if he was all right. Maybe she had imagined the voice and the presence. Maybe the stress of the situation and her deep desire to protect her baby had made her have a hallucination.
Maybe she was going crazy.
She kept feeling the fluttering in her lower belly—Karn’s son telling her he was alive and well—but the tiny movement made her feel hopeless.
“How can I protect you if I can’t get the two of us out of here?” she whispered, rubbing her belly. “And how can I rescue your father so you can know him instead of just hearing about him after he’s already dead and gone?”
She was about to give up and go to bed to have another good cry, when there was a knock at the door of her apartments. Swiping at her eyes, Lilli padded to the door and opened it, only to see a vaguely familiar bodyslave standing there with a tray.