“Then go,” I said, forcing the words out before I could second-guess them.
All three of them turned toward me at once.
Benedict’s response was immediate. “No.”
“You have to,” I insisted, even as my breath hitched. “If the ritual isn’t completed—if the center isn’t anchored?—”
“We’re not leaving you,” Kieran said, cutting me off.
“You don’t have a choice,” I snapped, sharper than I intended. “If the island collapses, none of this matters. Not me. Not?—”
I stopped myself, but the thought was already there.
Not the baby.
Fear crept in then, quiet and insidious. Not for myself, but for what I was about to bring into a world that might not hold together long enough to welcome it.
Benedict stepped closer, his hand coming up to steady me, his touch grounding in a way nothing else was.
“Look at me,” he said.
I did.
“You are not expendable,” he said, his voice low but unwavering. “Not for this island. Not for anything.”
The truth of that might have comforted me at any other time. Now, it only sharpened the impossible choice in front of us.
“Neither is the island,” I said softly.
His jaw tightened, and I saw the conflict there—clear and unavoidable. He could not protect me and save the island if those two paths diverged.
Another contraction tore through me, stronger than any before it, and this time my legs gave out completely. The world tilted as I dropped, caught between them before I hit the ground.
“Wren,” Kieran said sharply.
I couldn’t answer. The pain consumed everything, pulling my focus inward until there was nothing else.
It was too fast.
Everything was happening too fast.
“This isn’t—” I tried to say, but the words dissolved as another realization took hold.
I knew what this was.
Not because I had experienced it before, but because there was no other explanation left.
“This is a really bad time,” I managed, my voice thin.
Another contraction followed immediately, stronger, undeniable. Benedict’s expression shifted in an instant, all his attention locking onto me.
“No,” he said under his breath.
Veskor stepped forward. “Bring her with us.”
They all blinked at him.
Another contraction ripped through me, almost taking me out. There was no room left for hesitation.
