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Ash took me in his arms, kissing my forehead. “It’s alright, darling,” he soothed while stroking my back. “I’m sorry I upset you.”
I clung to him as the tears continued to spill. Perhaps he was right and my changing body from the pregnancy had me on edge. I remembered a human family that lived not far from the modest hut where I grew up. The mother was always emotional when she was pregnant. Perhaps that was it.
“This is the safest place for them,” he whispered. “Nobody can get past the wyverns.”
I swallowed at that as the nagging doubt persevered. “They would be safest with two white witches,” I whispered back.
He tensed, his fingers digging into my sides. “We’re not taking our children into the demon forest.”
I was going to argue, but my chest ached and my head spun, and then that familiar awful sensation raced up my throat. I spun from him, falling onto my knees, the hard slate floor banging my shins as I vomited again, my muscles tensing and my throat burning. Ugh.
Ash knelt beside me, holding back my hair.
“Poor Mommy,” Aurora loudly whispered. “She should stay here with us.”
Good idea, I wanted to tell her. That way I could keep my children safe.
“Perhaps you should delay your trip,” Finn said.
“No,” Ash growled. “The demon army won’t wait for her morning sickness to pass.”
After heaving up the last of the burning bile, I sat back on my heels, my world tilting as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Ash was right. We needed to go. I couldn’t expect my family to battle demons without me. He handed me a bladder of water, and I swished the foul taste out of my mouth and took several soothing sips before holding it out to him.
I let him help me to my feet, and he scooped me into his arms, frowning. “Before we go, we’ll ask Esther for some herbs to soothe morning sickness.”
I draped my arms around his shoulders, mindful that my breath wasn’t the freshest. “Not a bad idea.” I still wasn’t convinced we should leave the children behind, for even though I felt immensely less nauseous after vomiting, a dark shadow eclipsed my heart.
I was about to argue my case when an agonized dragon’s roar echoed from above, rattling the walls and causing debris to rain down on our heads.
My mates swore, trying to shield us while racing up the ramp. We cleared the pyramid in record time, emerging to find Isa trampling the tall grasses outside the pyramid while spinning in manic circles. Wyverns had flown from the trees, erratically flying through the air. Satyrs had run to the edge of the forest for cover. My sister’s mates had taken to the air. Shiri was in one of their arms, though I couldn’t tell which mate from this distance.
My mates backed up, and we watched the spectacle beneath the shadow of the tunnel entrance.
Isa threw back her head and released a stream of fire. That’s when I noticed Helian dodging her monster tail while trying to escape to the safety of the trees.
My mates swore again as my brain numbed with fear. She wouldn’t hurt him, would she?
Isa quickly spun around, blocking Helian’s path like a cat toying with a mouse. Triss! Where is she? She let out a roar. Where is my hatchling?
Helian held out his hands while slowly backing up. “I-I don’t know.”
She hunched on all fours like a rabid cat. Where is your pet?
Helian stumbled over a rock, nearly falling on his bottom as he continued to back up. “He’s nearby somewhere.”
My gaze shot to Shiri as she and her mates hovered lower. Shiri, stop her, I pleaded through thought. Before she kills him.
She won’t kill him, my sister reassured me, but I will stop her if she tries. She’s upset because Radnor ran off with her hatchling.
Well, damn. That stupid drake.
Two roars sounded in the distance, and my shoulders sagged in relief when Triss came barreling through the forest, knocking down small trees. She slammed into her mother’s legs then rolled back, head over tail, before landing on her belly, her legs flattening beneath her. She let out a grunt just as Radnor charged through the trees like a runaway bull. Pinning his wings behind him, he nudged his daughter with a whimper.
And before he could defend himself, Isa launched on top of him.
Helian jumped out of the way before he was flattened. Luckily, Blaze snatched him up with amazing speed and dropped him on the ground beside us.
Helian, I called out to him through thought.
