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“It is notmyselfI fear for,” she said, turning her hand over so that their wrists were pressed together, their pulses beating in tandem. “If you are caught, your King will kill you, will he not?”

“I will not be caught.”

“Stay away, Thaddius,” Farra told him firmly, her eyes wetting. “Please.”

He pulled her against him then, lowering his mouth to hers and catching her in an urgent kiss. A kiss that was an apology, a promise, and a salvation all at once. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” he said against her lips. He kissed her once more, then moved away on a deep sigh.

“Tell no one,” he said to Annika.

“Ha!” the female barked. “Half the Colony will know by now, Thaddius. Nothing is secret here.”

“Then tell them I will stomp down their houses and breathe fire if they open their mouths.”

Annika only rolled her eyes.

Thaddius looked back at Farra once more before departing, regret and panic breaking his façade for a moment. And then he was gone.

Farra turned back to her newest keeper. “Thank you for the fur,” she said, uncertainty making her fidget.

Annika glared at her. It rather reminded Farra of her own mother’s reproach when Farra would spill or break or burn something. “It was my son’s,” she said. “Ryon’s.”

Farra turned her eyes downcast and nodded a little. “Thaddius told me of him.”

“Did he?” Annika said bluntly. It was apparent the female did not want her here in her home, wearing her son’s bed pallet, endangering her safety. “Did he bed you afterward?”

Farra’s throat constricted. She stilled.

And Annika nodded dolefully. “When is your next cycle, girl?”

“My…” Farra reeled, her mind racing. “I… uh…”

“Mother above,” Annika murmured. “Do you humans have no sense of preservation?”

The barb stung more than it should. Farra swallowed, determined to regain composure. “Any day now.”

“Well,” Annika said sharply, turning for the flap of cloth concealing the other half of her home. “We will soon see just how much trouble you are in.”

She disappeared behind the divider and Farra let loose a shuddering exhale. Her mind whirred, eclipsing all thought of escape plans. She looked to her abdomen, and closed her eyes as a curse escaped her lips. “Have mercy,” she uttered, shaking hands coming over her stomach. Then she sank to the floor, and for the first time since she was a child, she prayed.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT

Thaddius stayed his distance for seven days.

In truth, Farra had expected him sooner. He entered Annika’s home with apology eking from every pore of his being. “I am sorry, malishka,” he said, lowering himself to her pallet beside her. “I was sent to hunt.”

“You aren’t supposed to return at all,” she reminded him, though she could not completely disguise the hurt in her voice. She never thought it would be quite so easy for him to leave her alone.

“Are you well?” he asked, eyes scanning her for any hint of abuse or injury.

“I have not bled,” she blurted, forcing the words past her lips. She had thought on what to say to him when he came, but painful news was better delivered quickly.

It took the Glacian longer than she had expected to understand her meaning. A line appeared between his eyebrows first, but then his face became blank, stark, before his eyes dipped to her stomach.

“It is still too soon to tell,” she said, though it was in complete contradiction to the sickness that had begun to keep her awake at night, the listlessness she felt.

Still, the Glacian said nothing.

“I should have thought of it sooner,” Farra said, her sight blurring, as it had often done these past days. “We shouldn’t… shouldn’t have–”