Rex
How could someone speak back to me with that much fire… and still look so completely broken?
"We'll start immediately," Gessia said.
For a moment—just a moment—I hesitated.
The feeling slid through me unexpectedly, unwelcome. My gaze flickered to Raven, to the slight rise and fall of her chest, to the fragile way she held herself together as if she might fall apart at any second.
There was a child in her.
My child.
The thought came unbidden, settling heavily in my chest. I had never had one before. Never allowed myself to think about it. But now that it was there, it refused to leave.
Would it have been a boy?
Would he have carried my strength, my features?
Or a girl…
Would she have had Raven's eyes? Her hair?
Something in the core of my being shifted—something dangerously close to doubt. My resolve trembled, threatening to crack under the weight of thoughts I had no business entertaining.
Then I looked at Gessia.
