Winter's War (Her Guardians series Book 4)(14)
“Here,” Alex says, coming over and handing me some jeans and a black top, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Your mating marks are beautiful,” she tells me as I pull the clothes on.
“Thank you. They are.” I reply as I pick the awful dress up and walk over to the fireplace. I chuck it in and look around until I find some matches, before setting the damn thing on fire.
“It looks better on fire.” Alex chuckles as she stands next to me, and we watch the fire burn the black material. Even the awful smell from the burning fabric doesn’t make me move. I want to watch it burn.
“What did the crystal say?”
“Nothing I didn’t already know, I think it’s alive,” I reply.
“That’s . . . well, I would say crazy, but we live in a crazy world.”
“A crazy, dangerous world,” I reply, and she nods at me before sitting on the end of my bed and looking down at the ground. Alex never makes much sound as she cries, I know her too well. Alex never cries, it’s just not her way, but the rare times I’ve seen her cry, it’s been for a bad reason, and worry fills me. Nothing else can be wrong, not with my best friend, too.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, keeping the fear out my voice as I walk over and sit next to her.
“I know it’s the worst timing, the worst thing that could have happened right now, and I swear we were being safe, but it happened,” she whispers after a long silence. Confusion fills me as I look at her, I have no idea where she is going with this.
“What happened? Whatever it is, I’ll cover for you. If it’s hiding a body or helping you kill someone, I will, no questions asked,” I say, making her laugh a little as she shakes her head at me. I watch her closely as I take her hand. She shocks me to my core as she places her other hand on her stomach, and I figure out what is going on before she even says it.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispers, and I sit back in shock, keeping hold of her hand. Alex is pregnant.
“Oh, wow. I didn’t expect that,” I mutter, my eyes going from her face to her stomach and back again.
“I know, but it happened, and I couldn’t be more scared. Every time I close my eyes, fear just fills me. I can’t shake the powerless feeling I have,” she admits.
“Why are you scared? You will make a wonderful mother,” I ask her, knowing for certain she will.
“We are at war Winter. We could die, and anything that happens to me, happens to my baby. I love her or him already, I know it’s early to feel this way, but I do. I would do anything to save my baby.”
“No, we won’t die. You will not die, and you will have this baby. He will not win this time. I will fight for our freedom, our lives. The lives of our future,” I say and nod my head towards her stomach. Any doubt I had about winning this war, about giving my life up slips away as I think about Alex’s baby.
“I want to be at your side, fighting, but Drake won’t have it, and I can’t help but agree with him. Vampire pregnancies are so rare, and everyone I’ve asked says they are difficult to carry for half-turned like me,” she says, and it’s not surprising. I know about the low birth rate all supernaturals have.
“Someone will need to be with the women and children who can’t fight. Someone needs to be helping the injured and that’s where you’re going to be,” I say, and she hugs me. Neither of us move for a long time, just holding each other and my mind running over the idea of Alex and a baby.
“I can’t wait to meet her or him,” I whisper to her in the quiet room, only the sound of the fire crackling in the background to listen to.
“Winter, come now,” Leigha bursts into the room, blood pouring down the side of her head. Her clothes are ripped in various places, and when I see the blue dust on her, panic fills me.
“Leigha what happened?” I ask, standing up.
At the same time Alex asks, “Where’s Drake? Where’s our mum?”
“We’d just got to your mum, and demons came. There were so many, we barely got away. I think they were waiting for us, for anyone to come. Drake and your mum are badly injured,” Leigha tells us as we run down the corridor and down the stairs. Alex makes a strangled sound, and everything goes blurry as I run after Leigha.
“No, no, no,” Alex mutters, wiping her eyes as we follow Leigha through the castle and run past many people, who stop and stare. Leigha slams the door of a room open, it’s full of beds, and I see Dabriel first as he is glowing.
“Winter,” I hear someone say, but everything seems slow as I walk over to Dabriel and see my mum on the bed in front of him. There are three long cuts in the front of her top, and there is blood everywhere as Dabriel tries to heal her. I look over at the two silver swords at the side of the bed, covered in blood and back to my mum.
“Mum?” I ask, taking her hand, but she is unconscious. I look over to see another light angel I don’t know glowing lighter than Dabriel and watch as he pulls two daggers out of Drake’s stomach as Alex leans over him. Next to him is a female light witch, three daggers in her arm, and she winces as she pulls them out.
“Winter, I can’t. I’m sorry, but the cuts are laced with the same poison that killed Atti’s mother, and your mother is too human to survive this,” Dabriel says quietly, his purple eyes locking on mine as he gives me the news I knew from the moment I saw my mum. I can’t lose her, too. This cannot be happening. I’m so stupid, I should have demanded she come here, no matter what she wanted.