ra'

d waiting room smelled of

he nausea to pass. It didn't. It rolled through me in thick, rele

knee pressed firmly agai

ured. "In through the nos

I'm going to vomit

e through yo

h me. Somewhere behind the curtain that separated the waiting area from the ex

ide me. Her voice was softer than usual

f I didn't say it, may

rvice. He was one of the few physicians in the capital who treated common folk without demanding proof of status first. His clin

id warmly. "Co

enna rose with me, her hand

o," I said. It w

intly and held the curt

elves. A kettle sat cold on a brazier in the corner. The examination table was

ands trembl

When did the sickness start? Had

voice that didn't sound

nearly painless, then disappeared behind a partition for a long while to study it.

ol close and sat across from me. His express

. "You are with child.

oom t

of breath beside me. Felt he

behind the tapestry. The golden-eyed

on. Deep strain and exhaustion. You haven't been eating properly, and your body is under significant strain." He leaned forward sligh

e stone floor

I'd never heard from her before. Tenderness. W

es were fierce and steady. "We'll figure this out. But your family -

I hated that

took a short while, but it felt lik

indows reflecting the afternoon light like blind eyes. I had lived here since I was a small c

a half a pace behind me. The heavy o

waiting in t

ace, arms crossed over his barrel chest.

low and trembling with contr

ed my

beneath his weight. "You vanished for an entire month. No

I

he preparations. The guests. And you - you

e stones. I flinched

me ex

berate, her silk skirts whispering against the stone. Her face was a mask of icy composure, but he

behind me. I felt her

. Say it now, before th

betray

le

ened. The Baroness pa

ting me. Making promises. Then he chose Isolde. Your real daughter." The bitterness leaked thr

is a lord's son. You are a ward.

haking. I pressed them flat aga

ated in the ha

breath, n

e Baron

out and seized my arm, fingers digging in hard enough to grind ag

led, her gentleness gone, replaced

manded, shaking me.

know hi

. "You don't know hi

enough to freeze the air between us. "You spread your legs for some stra

ady rising on my skin where his fingers had

d gone quiet now. Worse than shouting. A dangerous,

d the edge of the hall ta

an invisible wrinkle from her sleeve. "And we certainly won't fun

"You can't just throw

aron's eyes didn't move from min

en I cried. At the woman who had fed me scraps of affection only when it suited her re

me. Tiny. Fragile. Already un

hispered. We choo

" I

n blinke

et rid of

eight. Then the Baroness exhaled throu

hings and leave b

e childhood. It took almost no time. Everything I owned fit into a single battered bag - the s

er my shoulder and

t door, arms still crossed.

rawling back.

ked through the door and into the fading

a hired cart. She scrambled onto the bench s

lurched into motion. "That we

my throat. "You don't h

have a choice, and I'm choosing to be Auntie Brenna." She grinned - wide, defiant, blazing

er. The tears came then, hot and silent.

g the dirt road, leav

"I can feel the pup. A strong heartbeat. P

the echo of whispered words in the dark. Whoever he was, he

was speaking to Moonlight, to the baby, or