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She was proud of Ronin for taking charge, and disappointed in Finnian’s ruthless tendencies. It was an awkward place to sit in, loving both Ronin and Finnian. Pressure furled in her to resent Finnian for everything he’d put Ronin through, but the part of her who knew Finnian, prior to his title as a High God, couldn’t abandon him. He would always be the little boy throwing himself in front of her, begging Mira to punish him instead of her; chasing their father down the corridor before he vanished.

Naia swallowed away her rising emotions towards the subject. “I am sorry Finny did that to Jules.”

As discomforting as it was to hear, she savored learning more of Ronin’s past outside of the things he had not yet shown her through a spell.

Ronin stared at her, his gaze tracking all the shifts of her expression.

“Babe.” He propped himself up on his elbow, the muscle in his bicep flexing. Naia used all her willpower not to admire parts of his exposed body the position gave her access to. “I’ll always hate Finnian, but I don’t ever expect you to choose between us. Or our child, for that matter.”

The idea of Ash meeting Finnian made her heart flutter. To see two of the people she loved most, aside from Ronin, interacting with each other was like a dream.

His words eased the pressure behind her sternum. “I appreciate that.” She twined a piece of Ronin’s hair around her finger, fixating on its black, shiny contrast against her olive complexion.

“Do you think we can save him?” she asked in a timid voice.

As much as she tried to savor the present moment, all her worries sat in the back of her mind, churning in her subconscious restlessly. The waiting, the planning, the hoping. It was slowly gnawing at her from the inside out.

Ronin reached up and took her hand running laps in his hair.

“I can’t promise you it will all work out.” He interlaced their fingers and brought her knuckles down to his lips. “But I can promise you I will do everything in my power to fight for us.”

Naia studied the devotion glimmering in his eyes, and her greed flared, wanting this with him every day, forever. She knew she should be grateful for the time she had; that what she’d gotten should be enough. But it wasn’t even close.

How will you respond?

Naia squeezed his fingers tighter.

I’ll make a way.

Naia abandoned mortal luxuries in the last month of her pregnancy.

As Ronin slept, she paced back and forth in the room like a waddling duck. Not as dignified and graceful as Mira had been during her pregnancies.

Walking around the room created the illusion she could run away from the anxiety festering within her. With her due date two weeks away, her peace of mind had vanished.

She ran smooth, soothing circles around her expansive belly and stood in front of the window, peering at the full moon’s silvery glow over the silhouette of rolling waves of the sea.

“I will not let him take you,” she murmured.

Ash gave a kick towards the low region of her abdomen, as if he’d heard her.

A smile touched her lips. “That’s right, Ashy darling.”

These one-sided conversations with her child momentarily grounded her.

She let out a long exhale and moved near the bed, sweeping her gaze over Ronin’s sleeping face.

She stared down at him with one word surfacing in her mind. Infinite. Regardless of what lay ahead, her soul had complete faith that they would always find their way back to each other. There was peace and reassurance in it.

The feeling was harrowing, squeezing the last bits of air from her lungs.

What if Cassian killed Ronin? What happened then? Would Cassian allow Ronin to be reincarnated again, now that Cassian had what he wanted? Naia doubted so.

Ronin promised to do everything in his power to ensure they were victorious in the end, but what about her? What would she do to ensure the same?

Enough. You cannot afford to be useless anymore. Being useless will no longer keep you safe.

As the epiphany struck, Naia’s breath hitched in her throat.