“Trent did what?” No one knew better how not delicate I was than my werewolf husband. While Gray always tried to treat me like I was breakable, Trent would toss me onto the front lines with him because he wouldn’t want anyone else watching his back.
Of the two approaches to marriage with me, there was definitely one I preferred, though Gray had been coming around to my way of thinking.
I was worried I’d taken one step forward and twelve years back with my demon husband.
Fen’s lips curled up. “Dad said I might want to watch my language around my mother. Out of respect.”
“Huh. I should think about that. I’m worried about this one’s first words.” I put a hand on my belly and then realized it might be weird for Fen.
“Dad’s going to be so excited.” Fen got down on one knee, his face lit with joy. “Hey, little bro. We’re all waiting for you. Stop making Mom sick. We need her to kick some ass.”
Or it wouldn’t be weird at all.
“I’m hoping I don’t have to kick ass for a while.” In my defense, when I’d gotten pregnant the world had seemed pretty sweet to me. The Council had been rock solid, and we’d made some real inroads to get the king to meet with the demons and renew our contracts. The day I’d married my superhot guys and asked Dev Quinn to perform a fertility ritual on our wedding night, I’d deemed it as perfect a time as I would get.
Now I had to face the fact that the world had changed, was infinitely more dangerous, and I couldn’t sit this one out because I was pregnant.
I was the Nex Apparatus, the Council’s death machine, and it was my job to find a way to put the world to rights, and it started with that book.
There was a brief knock and then Eddie was walking through the door. Our demon butler still wore a suit even in the wilds of Iceland. He carried a small tray with a mug and a Danish on it.
“My mistress, I’ve brought you some ginger tea. I was hoping you were feeling better,” Eddie said, looking me over. “Perhaps we should put this trip off. I can go to Atlanta and bring Master Trent back here for you. Frelsi is safe, and there is a midwife. His Grace is also here.”
I was sure having a fertility god around who could put a hand on me and tell me if my baby was okay would be comforting to all of us, but like I said, I had a job to do. Skipping breakfast this morning because I had my head in the toilet had obviously worried Eddie. He wasn’t used to me passing on food. Luckily my gut was calmer now, and though I didn’t deeply want a pastry, I could eat one.
I took the Danish and had a big bite. I knew it should taste delicious, but it was sawdust in my mouth. Still, I forced myself to eat. “I’m good, Eddie. I want to go. I need to talk to the primals, and Casey assures me we’ll be safe down there.” I had to wonder how comfy this nest thing would be, but it didn’t truly matter. It was underground, so I wasn’t expecting luxury. “I’m ready to go.”
Fen gave me a thumbs-up. “I’ll go get Evan.”
“Fen, are you sure? Her mom just got back. Maybe you should stay here with her.” I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to grab him with both hands and never let him out of my sight again, but honestly, I was feeling guilty for asking Lee to come with us. I hadn’t thought about it at the time. I’d only thought about how much I wanted to get to know this Lee.
I was sure Zoey did, too. I was sure the idea of not being with her daughter would make her ache, and she’d ached enough.
“No.” Fen was back to frowning and looking worried. “I want to go with you. I was planning on joining Dad no matter what. And Evan comes with me.”
The wolf was back in the house. Jealous and possessive. I would have to talk to Trent about that, too. However, I knew better than to try to talk down crazy wolf hormones. “All right. Then it’s time to head out.”
Eddie nodded. “I shall gather our things. We’ll be in Atlanta in no time.”
And then I would start looking for answers.