Chapter 206
“You let her go, young man.”
“I can’t do that, but you are welcome to my pack anytime you would like to visit,” I offered, knowing even as I spoke that she would refuse.
“Go to hell, son of the devil!” she spat, turning to help Kieran who had remained silent during our exchange.
“I didn’t touch her; I am not saying this because I am afraid, but I love her; I would never do that,” he said once he’d caught his breath, meeting my gaze steadily despite his injuries.
There was something in his eyes that made me hesitate, a genuine concern that couldn’t be faked.
“When you were alone with her in the dungeons, what did you do in there?” I asked, remembering the blood I’d seen on Elowen’s lips, the sudden vitality it had brought her.
Kieran’s expression shifted, realization dawning. “Could that…” He shook his head, his jaw tightening. “I need to go get the
sorceress.”
“What sorceress?”
“She can only explain what is going on with Elowen. I will meet you at your pack.”
I studied him, weighing the risk of letting him go against the need for answers. Whatever was happening to Elowen was beyond my understanding. If this sorceress had answers…
“Don’t keep me waiting,”
I watched as he spoke quietly to Isolde, who cast one more venomous glare in my direction before returning to the house. Kieran moved with surprising speed despite his injuries, disappearing into the forest without a backward glance.
The return journey to Ravenhollow was a blur, my thoughts consumed with Elowen and what might be happening to her in my absence. I’d left Frost to watch over her, but how much protection could even he provide against whatever was growing inside her?
By the time I reached the pack house, the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows across the grounds. I made my way directly to the healing wing, my steps quickening as I sensed something wrong in the air–the scent of blood, Elowen’s blood.
The healing room was a flurry of activity, with the healer Daisy barking orders to her assistants as they moved around a bed at the center. Frost stood by the wall, his face ashen as he watched the proceedings.
“What happened?” I demanded, pushing my way to Elowen’s side.
The sight that greeted me struck like a physical blow. Her abdomen Had expanded drastically since I’d left, swollen and distended as if she were months into a pregnancy, not days or hours. Blood stained the sheets beneath her, and her skin had taken on a sickly pallor.
“Is this normal?” I asked Daisy, though I already knew the answer.
“No. It’s not. There is something I want to show you,” she replied, gesturing to a screen beside the bed.
I followed her to the machine, recognizing it as human medical technology
“What am I looking at?” I asked, staring at the grainy image.
- nd.
1/2
Chapter 206
“This is an inner view of her stomach.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to make sense of the shapes and shadows.
“The child is over here,” Daisy pointed to a distinct form. “The child seems alive… but it’s not.”
“What does that mean?”
“We can’t detect its heartbeat, and yet it still lives. It’s growing ten times the speed any usual child should.”
“If you can’t detect a heartbeat, then it’s dead, I insisted, unable to comprehend what she was saying.
“That’s right, yet it is still moving; I have not seen anything like it, Daisy’s professional demeanor cracked slightly. “But more to that, it seems to be feeding off her at the rate of its growth.”
Cold dread settled in my stomach. “What happens?”
“I have doubts; she might not make it.”
Chapter Comments
LIKE
POST COMMENT NOW
5416
