Chrysabelle smiled, but the smile wasn’t wholehearted. “We all have problems.”
“What are you going to do about Mal?”
“Nothing. I have to move forward.” While she waited and watched and prayed she didn’t have to kill him.
“There’s always something you can do. Don’t you love him? He needs you.”
“I told you I did, but Fi, I don’t think you understand what happened.”
“I do. The fae sucked out all his love for you. I promise, I get it. Now answer the question. Do you love him? Not did you, do you.”
Chrysabelle struggled to keep her mind off the child she carried. “Yes. That’s the hardest part of moving forward.”
Fi’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t just stop being in love with someone.”
“I don’t see what choice I have.” Chrysabelle stood, ready to get back to work. As she came to her feet, the floor twisted beneath her. The world had suddenly gone off balance. She put her hand out, but found nothing to grab onto. She stumbled, going down on one knee. Her stomach revolted and her mouth watered. She doubled over and pointed to the corner of the room. “Trash can.”
“What?”
“Trash. Can.” She swallowed, trying to hold herself together. “Now.”
Fi scurried to get it, sliding back to Chrysabelle’s side just as her control left. She vomited into the metal bin. Relief settled in immediately. Fi stuck her hand on Chrysabelle’s forehead. “Are you sick? You don’t feel warm.”
“No, I’m fine, just something I ate, I’m sure.”
Fi’s brows arched in disbelief. “Really? Because when I got here, Damian told me there were plenty of leftovers since you’d skipped breakfast.” Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Holy crap. You’re pregnant. Are you pregnant? You’re pregnant!”
Chrysabelle was about to deny it when her stomach heaved again. She sighed and wiped her mouth on her sleeve as she lay down on the gym mats. She crooked her elbow over her eyes, wishing she could block out the reality of what was happening just as easily as that.
Fi didn’t get the hint and kept talking. “Whom did you sleep with? Not that it’s any of my business, but that’s never stopped me before.”
Chrysabelle lifted her arm long enough to shoot Fi a look. “Mal. Who else would I sleep with?”
Fi’s jaw dropped open and for a few brief but glorious moments, she was speechless. Anticipating the questions, Chrysabelle dropped her head back down and explained. “He drank my blood during… our time together, which brought his body to life. That’s how.”
“Does Damian know? Holy crap, is he going to go all big brother and go after Mal? Defend your honor and all that?”
Chrysabelle kept her head down. The cool mat felt good against her neck. “No, he doesn’t know and my honor doesn’t need defending. The only people who know are Vel, Mortalis, maybe Nyssa, and now you. And I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Mum’s the word. Or not, seeing as how mum means—”
“I get it.” Chrysabelle felt Fi lay down beside her.
“You should at least tell Damian. He’s family. And he’s about to be an uncle to a half-vampire kid. You should give him a little time to prepare for that.”
Chrysabelle sighed into the air. “I know. I’m just worried about how he’ll react.”
Fi was quiet for a long second. “You know this means you have to find a way to fix things between you and Mal.”
Chrysabelle turned her head enough to see Fi. “It doesn’t mean that at all. My being pregnant doesn’t make the impossible any more possible.”
“Really? Because your getting knocked up by a vampire seems like the definition of that.” Fi frowned. “Look. Mal’s daughter was killed by a vampire. You can’t take this child away from him too.”
“He’s not the Mal he was a few weeks ago, Fi. He’s the Mal who killed you. The Mal the nobility wanted to erase. He’s become a monster again. He was here last night, watching me. If Mortalis hadn’t intervened…” She sat up a little, causing her insides to slosh unpleasantly. “The house next door was broken into and the alarm was set off. When the police came, they found one of those white-tailed deer dead on the property. Its neck was slashed open and it had been drained of blood. Do you understand what I’m saying? That would have been me.” She lay back down. “The best I can do right now is pacify him, something I’m going to see Dominic about this evening.”
Fi grunted. “I’ve never known you to be a quitter.”
“I’m not quitting. I’m—”
“You want to be safe? You want this child to be safe?”
“Of course I do.” Anger skipped along Chrysabelle’s nerves. She blew out a breath and forced herself to remember Fi was only trying to help. She pushed to her elbows and met Fi’s gaze. “Look, if there was a way to fix Mal, I would do it. Whatever it was, short of sacrificing the life of this child, I would make it happen.”
Fi’s eyes glittered with determination. “Then we have to figure out what that is.”
Chapter Seven
Things were oddly quiet in Paradise City. Lola tapped her fingers on her desk, knowing it wouldn’t last. In fact, it would probably end the moment she announced she’d been turned into a vampire at this evening’s press conference, but the citizens needed to know how far she’d gone to bridge the gap between the othernaturals and the humans. Word was starting to spread. Better they heard it from her own lips.