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Her eyes track along my face, her expression turning guarded. “I’m sure King Asmodeus will handle it. It’s nothing against him or the Princes.”
Ah. I should have seen that coming. “No, Anastasia,” I stop her. “I don’t think you’re turning against the crown or anything. It’s something that has been coming up between Rej’thorek and I as well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I chew on my bottom lip, trying to change directions. “It’s really a testament to what a great father he will be if he wants to protect your child this much.”
Anastasia nods, her eyes going unfocused before falling to the floor. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, and the tension between us blooms.
“Does Rej’thorek know what’s going on?” she finally asks quietly.
Now, it’s my turn to go silent. I’m not sure what to say, running a hand through my hair. “You know, today really isn’t supposed to be about this. It’s supposed to be your baby shower!” I try to punch up the statement with excitement, but it doesn’t come out well.
“I’ve been worried, too.” She shakes her head. “It’s hard to celebrate bringing a child into the world when it’s making me nervous to live here.”
“Anastasia–”
“Laura, I need to know.” Her voice isn’t unkind, but it is stern. It almost makes me think of Cora.
I tug on a strand, sucking in a deep breath. I roll my shoulders back before I finally say, “We should probably go get our mates for this conversation.”
127
REJ’THOREK
I shift, watching Volikan out of the corner of my eye carefully. I’ve never minded him despite his irrational behavior – even for a demon. But the way he’s scowling at the ground – which has already lit on fire once from the concentration of his magic – sets even me on edge.
But the fact that everything has at least stopped spontaneously combusting means that he’s calming down. He lifts the glass of spirits to his lips, sucking down the contents, and a full minute after he finishes his third glass, he shifts up to his full height.
His eyes sweep around, surveying the land, and the tension seems to seep out of his shoulders. I take this as a good sign, and I lift my own glass to my lips, preparing to try and break the attention. Again.
“You know,” I say, a smirk tugging at my lips as I brace for the intensity of his gaze as it sweeps toward me. “I never pegged you as someone who would take to blissful domesticity as well as you have.”
Volikan grunts, a sound that’s nearly a laugh, but I don’t miss the way his lips quirk. Wow. It’s amazing what a little human can do to a warrior. “I wouldn’t go that far.” He refills his glass with the nearly empty bottle. “Anastasia has had me running around the house crazy, decorating for a child that won’t know the damn difference.” He shakes his head, but his features soften and there’s reverence in his voice.
It’s something I recognize well despite him trying to smother it. He’s excited and proud to be a father, and he can blame all the menial tasks on Anastasia. But we both know the truth. He’d do them anyway.
I was the same way with Akos.
I may have grumbled that it was beneath a Prince and that a demon should never have to behave the way I did. But I also didn’t let anyone help me. I wanted to provide for him, and I know that Volikan must be feeling the same way.
“Human ways?” I tease.
“Ridiculous.” He snorts, and we both chuckle. His laughter cuts off abruptly, and as he tips the glass back, inhaling the entire thing, I find myself more than cautiously concerned.
And that leads me to open my damn mouth against my better judgment. “Something wrong?” I lift the liquor bottle, swirling what is left before pouring it for him. He definitely looks like he needs it more.
He huffs, dropping his weight against the railing along the perimeter of the patio. I can see the words fighting to come out, and that makes me more worried. “I just fear for the child is all.”
My heart twists. Surely there isn’t a problem. Anastasia is so close to term, and I feel as if she would have told Laura. “If you need a healer, I can call a royal one for you. I know that it has to be hard for a human to carry a demon child, and we will help you and Anastasia through this.” It’s hard for me to stomach with the situation hitting so close to home, and I drop a hand on his shoulder. “She seems healthy to me.”
He shrugs me off, and I take a step away, giving him the space he wants. “She is healthy.” With a sigh, his eyes shift back down to the ground and his jaw clenches. “It’s not that I fear for my mate or child’s bodily being. It’s more…”
Volikan shakes his head, raises the glass to his lips, and then seems to think better of it. He turns away from me, setting it down, and maybe I should have learned my lesson. I shouldn’t take a step closer and press. But he seems to be struggling with whatever is weighing on him, and I want to help alleviate it.
“More what?”
Back still to me, he gestures to the sky and landscape before us. “The world.”
