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“Potions, now!” Ari barked as Enry gave a sharp cry.
Visir and I rushed forward with the potions, carefully tipping the small bowls to Enry’s lips, and he drank as Eli swabbed the sweat from his face. Then Ari nodded to Layne, who gently placed his open palms on Enry’s belly. Ripples of heat rose from hands and turned the rivulets on Enry’s skin into wisps of steam.
And as Enry’s breaths became deep and rhythmic, his body coiled with tension. We felt his focus, and the air stood still with our hope that this would be it. I saw the determination on his face, the bravery, as he pulled together every last ounce of his essence into this final moment—and then a triumphant cry and an explosion of elation and relief amongst us all. A grin pulled across Ari’s face, and a moment later, he rose cradling the ruby opalescent egg in his arms. Enry managed a choked laugh like he was astounded at what he’d just accomplished. And it was truly incredible.
My emotions were all over the place, waving this way and that like trees in a storm. Before Ari carefully passed the egg to Enry, I got lost in the moment seeing him holding it in his arms, and everything I’d just been feeling about my predicament went flying out the door.
Ari had no business looking so perfect holding that egg. And it was incredibly rude of him to make me imagine myself lying in that nest with him.
No, no, no. This was not something I was supposed to want.
Kai, Makoa, and the others gathered around Enry and Layne, and their animated conversations and tender embraces all seemed to unfold at a snail’s pace as I watched from the fringes of the celebration. My attention kept coming back to Ari, who was busy filling an iron bassinet with glowing fire orbs. He didn’t know what I was feeling; he didn’t even care. And I didn’t expect him to care. Why did I wish he would look at me and tell me that together we would make this work? He wasn’t my mate. He wasn’t someone who could hear my call from halfway across the world. What did we even really know about each other?
I felt a gentle touch on my arm. It was Visir, standing beside me. His eyes flicked over to Ari. Leave it to my cousin to read me without exchanging a word.
I nodded. “It’s his.”
And what did I even want from Ari?
Did I want to keep this child?
Chapter8
Ari
It took several days before Istil and I could meet with Eli and confirm what I’d smelled on his blood. The mahinui was open and the house had become a harbor of activity, with guests coming and going almost constantly. I had to be there to greet and give the usual immigration health inspection to what felt like Enry and Layne’s entire flight. I met their adopted son Frel, Theo’s son Haru, Shen’s mate Marin, and Istil’s other cousin, Thran.
I didn’t expect Istil to stick around. I thought the moment the gate opened he would go home, but he didn’t even go through to visit, even when Visir left with Thran to show Kai their mountain.
“It would be much easier if I flew us,” Istil said to me as our cart bounced over a rock in the path.
I cracked the reins, and the horse made a spirited protest with an irritated snort that reminded me very much of the omega seated beside me. “This is fine. We’re not far.”
“I think you’re just afraid to fly,” he said.
“Would you rather us swim?” I asked. “You could ride on my back.”
“Oh, no, no. I’ve ridden you once, and that’s more than enough.”
“Sounds like you’re just afraid to swim.”
“Afraid? No.”
“You’ve yet to learn,” I said. “It’s a pretty important skill to have when you live on an island.”
“I’m only visiting.”
“But you’re still here. You could’ve left already, but you haven’t.”
Istil pulled his feet up onto the bench and hunched over his knees. “No, because I have unfinished business with you,” he muttered.
Istil had this way of jumping between looking viciously tough and disarmingly vulnerable. It was incredibly alluring. I’d thought he was doing it intentionally to provoke me, but now I realized that wasn’t the case at all.
Wasn’t it true I’d been drawn to him since the first time I saw him on the beach at my cousins’ guesthouse? I’d tried to play off my interest with indifference and to keep some distance so that my attraction to him didn’t get out of hand. But by the Gods and the wind and sea, he was too fucking irresistible. And now here we were.
He wrapped his arms around his knees and peered at me from the corner of his eyes. “What do you think Eli is going to tell us?” he asked with none of the combativeness that had been in his voice earlier. “Honestly.”
“I think he’s going to confirm what we both know,” I said. “But I think we both need to hear it from someone other than me.”
