“Dami, please, you’re killing me. What’s wrong?” Calix’s hands are balled up into fists on his thighs.
I lower my eyes to the floor. “I’m pretty sure… I’m pregnant. Not pretty sure, just sure. And I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t know anything about kids. And it’s not like I need to trap you guys. Pretty much already did that, which was also unintentional,” I ramble. When I’m brave enough to actually lift my gaze, I wish I had a camera.
Grim’s eyes are as wide as I’ve ever seen them, Calix’s mouth is actually gaping open, and Gunnar is just sitting there blinking rapidly. “Can you say that again?” Calix is the first to speak.
“I can, but it’s not going to change the truth. I’m pregnant,” I tell them, enunciating the words slowly.
“That’s what I thought you said.” Calix scratches the top of his head.
“Like with a baby?” Gunnar whispers.
A laugh escapes me. I feel kind of bad, I was that shocked too. “Who knows? Between the four of us, it might just be a fucking octopus. It’s not like any of us are rocking normalcy.”
“A babe,” Grim breathes reverently. “That was the extra presence within you when you began meditating.” He’s speaking to himself. His chair tips backwards as he rushes to stand before coming around the counter. The next thing I know, Grim is on his knees in front of me, his hands inches away from my lower stomach as if he’s afraid to actually touch me. “I felt her.”
“Her?” I have to grab the counter when my knees buckle.
The sound of another chair scooting back has my eyes jumping up to see Calix hustling across the room like his feet are on skates. It’s the least graceful I’ve ever seen him. “What do you mean you felt her? Is something wrong?”
“She wasn’t calling to be reaped. I just sensed her when I helped Damiana release the captured souls.” Grim’s hands are still hovering over me.
“Can you feel her now?” Calix asks in an awe filled whisper.
“Just a spark,” Grim murmurs. At least no one is freaking out—yet. I look over to see that Gunnar is still seated at the table, his eyes unfocused as he stares at nothing.
“How do you know it is a girl?” Calix shuffles his way even closer.
“I just do.” Grim finally places his hands on my hips and looks up at me. His gray eyes are still wide, but with wonder instead of shock. “We’re creating something.”
I shrug and kind of nod at the same time. “I think we already did the creating part.”
“She’s been eating. Is this why you’ve been eating? How far along are you? When will she be here?”
My head is about to spin with all the questions Calix just threw at me. I open my mouth to tell him I have no clue, but he starts speaking again.
“We can’t go back to Savannah, it’s too dangerous. Call Torin.” As soon as the name falls from his lips, Calix turns and looks at me. “He knew. You told him before you told us?” he accuses.
I shake my head and try to answer, but I get cut off again, this time by Grim. “The wolf,” he snarls. “How does he know?”
“Are you actually going to let me speak? I don’t want this shit to get out of hand again because of a misunderstanding.” I plant my hands on my hips and glare at both of them. Grim rises to his feet but doesn’t back away, while Calix has the good sense to lower his head. I peek over at Gunnar again. His mouth is moving, but he’s not speaking.
“We can most certainly go back to Savannah, and Torin only knows because he was eavesdropping on Aeson and me while we were in the kitchen. I never talked to him about it, and he never talked to me.”
“So Aeson knows?” Calix questions. “I knew that vaginal dryness story was such bullshit.”
“She said something to me about eating… and it all connected in my head.” I point to my temple.
“This is what you wanted to tell us?” Calix winces and lets out a heavy breath.
“You grabbed her.” Grim shoves Calix’s shoulder hard enough that he stumbles back. I put my arm against Grim’s chest to stop him from advancing on Calix.
“Enough, not right now, not after you let him get away with it yesterday.” I scowl, and Grim backs down immediately. Using the extra space, I step away so I’m no longer caged between the two men and the counter.
“Don’t start this overprotective crap already,” I grouch, then I turn to face Gunnar. I didn’t really know what to expect from any of them, but seeing him so completely still and absolutely quiet didn’t even make the list of how I thought he would react.
I take the seat next to the big man and lean over so I’m in his field of vision. He blinks several times as if I’ve broken some sort of trance. “It’s a lot, I know.”
Gunnar snaps into action and grabs my hand. “You may not possess me, because I am my own, but I give myself to you freely. I pledge your name will be the only name I cry out for.”
