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Iam glad my mates know about my pregnancy. Kronos and Atlas are incredibly attentive. Foot rubs, massages, as many cuddles as I can tolerate. Kronos has me cuddled up in his arms on one of this poor planet’s natural wonders, a geothermal hot spring with sparkling effervescent water that feels lovely and tingly against my skin. The spring is located on the side of a mountain, which would be out of range for me, but Kronos carried me up here, refusing to allow me to walk on my own.
“Are you angry at me?”
I risk the question, which feels so natural to me even though there is less than zero indication that Kronos is even capable of being annoyed at me. He is the kindest, sweetest, most incredibly nice person I have ever encountered. I’d be concerned it is too good to be true, but his every action backs it up.
“I thought you’d be disgusted if you knew I was pregnant to someone else, but you know it really wasn’t my fault. I didn’t…”
I trail off, not wanting to explain the circumstances of the conception. I have done nothing but try to forget about it since it happened. I’ve been running from it since I happened. But you can’t run from a baby, and I don’t want to.
“Nothing you do or happened to you makes me think you are disgusting,” Kronos says. “You are one of vanishingly few human women capable of existing in this lawless sector of the universe. And though you may have caused trouble in attempting to deceive those who bid on you, I can tell you believed it to be a necessity. I do not judge you.”
I lean my head back against his shoulder and look up into his face. I really think he is telling the truth. He doesn’t judge me. He never has. From the beginning of our association, he has always thought well of me. I don’t deserve it, but he doesn’t care.
“How did you get so nice?”
“I saw enough suffering to realize that when someone is running, and struggling, and fighting for survival there’s no point in judging them. Every living thing does what it needs to survive. None of us are any different.”
“And you don’t mind that I’m pregnant already?”
He wraps his arm around me more tightly and snugs me close. “I’m actually very happy.”
“Why!?”
“Because it means you can have a pregnancy. And it means one day you will bear one of my heirs. A baby is a good thing, always.”
“Sheriff didn’t think so.”
“Sheriff knew of your condition?”
I pause on the precipice of a revelation I know there will be no coming back from. But there is something about the warmth of the water and the absolute acceptance emanating from Kronos that makes me want to confess my darkest secret, the one that propelled me across uncharted space in the mad attempt to survive.
“He did,” I say. “Because he caused it.”
Kronos’ arms snug tighter. He doesn’t say anything right away. He does not reply in a horrified manner. He does not exclaim loudly how terrible and disgusting it all is. He simply holds me and allows that revelation to sink through our bodies.
He knows my secret. And I know that my secret is safe with him.
For a long time, nothing is said. I get the impression he is giving me space to have feelings and such. Maybe he wants me to say something else, elaborate on the horrible series of events that led to this predicament. For now, there is a soft swell to my body that hints at the truth inside it.
“We should get back before night falls,” Kronos says gently. “I do not trust the hunger of the valkers after dark. They are running out of food on this planet. They will have to move on soon.”
He’s right.
Soon these valkers will go their mostly separate ways. Emrys will keep his royal entourage, of course, but the others will return to a solitary, predatory lifestyle. They will each stalk the local planetary systems, looking for suitable victims to feed upon. They will consume where they can. They will prey upon the weak. They will amuse themselves with mind games and physical torments. And they will trust that their king is going to produce an heir with me.
My womb has its work cut out for it, that’s for sure. The number of designs on it are almost too many for any organ to bear. I am thoroughly intimidated by how often I will be bred, and how many strange infants will emerge from me, each with the traits of a father I might love… or very well loathe.
Kronos and I leave our volcanic bath and proceed back to Emrys’ temporary palace. From the volcano, it is a series of pyramids and temple-like structures all inhabited by his loyal subjects.
“Please don’t tell the others.”
Kronos looks at me sympathetically. “I will not tell them if you do not want me to, but I think they deserve to know. I also think you deserve to have them know. You deserve to know what it feels like to be entirely supported by those who love you.”
He talks like a hero out of some movie about feelings. I reach out and poke his chest, making him rumble with laughter.
“What was that for?”
“Just checking you’re real,” I say, narrowing my eyes ever so slightly at him. “You’re too good to be true.”
