Page 163 of The Gods Order

She’s thinking about her mom.

No one rushes to answer. No one tells her she won’t die.

No one can promise that.

I reach across the table and tap my fingers against the wood to grab her attention. A faint smile dusts my mouth as I force myself to hold my own emotions at bay.

“You know,” I say quietly, “that’s a really big thing to worry about.”

She shrugs one shoulder.

“It’s not impossible. It happened.”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “It did.”

She nods, holding my gaze.

“So…I know I don’t ever want one.”

She finally places her hand in mine, and I lace our fingers together, giving her a small squeeze.

“And that’s okay.”

She blinks.

“It is?”

“Of course it is.”

“It’s not wrong?” she asks. Before I can answer her, she carries on. “Everyone back home used to get really happy when someone had a baby. They said it was the biggest blessing from the Valories. Momma used to say I was a blessing.”

“You are a blessing,” I say, smiling. “But some people grow up dreaming and praying for children. Some don’t. Both feelings are okay.”

She falls silent again, her gaze drifting between the sleeping baby and my face. She studies me.

When she speaks again, her voice is so soft I almost miss it.

“Do you want a baby?”

The question catches me off guard.

Not because I don’t know the answer.

Because no one has ever asked me.

“No.”

She tilts her head, searching my face for any uncertainty.

“Are you only saying no because I said I didn’t want one?”

A quiet laugh huffs out of me.

“No, Laney girl. I’m just telling you the truth.”

“Like you promised you always would?”

Emotions clog my throat, and I swallow through it, still holding my small smile in place.