DESDEMONA

I stared for a long time, I couldn’t answer Eddie’s question.

I stood beside the window with my hands pressed against my stomach, staring at her as if she had just said something impossible. My heart was beating so hard that I could hear it in my ears, and no matter how many times I tried to speak, the words refused to come.

Was I carrying Alaric’s child?

The question had followed me all night, and now Eddie had finally said it aloud.

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to laugh and tell her she was worrying over nothing. But the fear in her eyes told me she...