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"I should tell you that Sydney and I have been considering…" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck "She wants a youngling"
Lucan couldn’t keep the surprise froerous"
"I don’t disagree But she refuses to put life on hold for a bully In her head, giving into the fear Mathiashim win You kno stubborn she can be"
"Youabout someone else Sydney stubborn?" Lucan teased
Caden sent ainto his shoulder The coffeethat the breas ready They both lunged for the pot, but Lucan was faster With a supre with deep delight
"No ht," Caden drawled
"I’hts I was alone and had to listen to you two"
Caden’s grimace said he hadn’t considered that before "We should move our bedroom down the hall"
"Good idea You don’t need to stay that close to es where I try to tear the house apart with my bare hands"
"Thank God" His brother clapped him on the back, then withdrew another cup from the cabinet, filled the kettle for tea, then waved his hand at the stove to turn it on
"What flavor does Sydney want today?"
"She likes that PG Tips with a cinnamon stick" Caden waited for the water to boil, then fixed the cup of tea "Good luck with Anka You know I only want you to be happy If she’s the one, then do whatever you must to win her"
"Thanks, brother That’s precisely my plan"
As Caden left, Lucan made Anka a cup of tea He couldn’t cook well, but he could e toast Within seconds, he’d retrieved bread froical toasting He piled it all on a tray and conjured a flower fro the rising sun pour into the kitchen with satisfaction Fro ways, in little ways… She would never doubt hi the tea by jaunting up the stairs, he teleported to the landing Faster anyway, and Lucan couldn’t deny that he was damn near desperate to return to Anka’s side, slip into bed with her, and wake her up in one of the thousand deliciously wicked ways bo his brain
He kicked the door open Sunlight glowed through the s, and his gaze autoy level
At the sight of her, his ers It crashed to the carpet with a clatter
Anka’s signature blared in a bright swirl of colors--far more than expected Hers, yes His, too And colors he didn’t recognize at all A blend of their respective signatures glowing in a faint ring just inside of hers But that only happened when…
"You’re pregnant?"
Anka ceased stretching and stiffened Her eyes flared open and she studied the edges of her own signature, her eyes groider and wider She gasped, blinked, then looked at hianna’s spell orked Yesterday, at Bram’s house…"
When she’d taken him into her body so he could plant his seed, she’d declared hiiven him fresh hope for their love
And then, unbelievably…they’d created life together
Lucan ju her against him "Love, this is anna had a hand in this Please tell ave hi hands over her flat sto for such a long tiht we’d actually be blessed"
Blessed Yes That was how he felt now This was like the huical couples so rarely conceived He’d alanna for the spell yesterday It had nearly killed Anka, but she’d survived And now, he was tempted to thank the ancient witch He and Anka would hold the product of their joy and love in their ar will have a playrinned "Do you think we’ll have a boy or a girl? It doesn’t matter--"
Suddenly, her sirl This will be a girl Oh my…" She covered her face, but not before Lucan saw a terrible guilt rip across her face
"I don’t knohy you think that, but it’s all right, love I will love a little girl We will raise her to grow into a strong, true woman, like herto the far side of the bed, cradling knees to her chest and bowing her head "No! This is htmare I wanted to tell you, but not like this"
"Like what, Anka?" Confusion fused with dread in his chest "What’s going on?"
She stared at hi to hate ht to push his worry aside and keep her cal about You can tell , love"
"There’s another reason I didn’t come back to you after my ordeal with Mathias Do you remember when I confessed that he used et? Lucan willed her to spill her secret now The feeling of standing on the edge of so down into an unknown chas hi more than my voice" She closed her eyes as if she could keep her shame hidden Sobs shook her shoulders
"Your voice?" He reached across the distance she’d put between the, love?"
"I’ as if she wished she could keep the words to herself forever "I’in to cover his reaction as he drew back his hands A ball of dread gathered in his gut, and he stared at her as she buried her face against her knees, in the circle of her ar everywhere as she continued to sob