Page 30 of Hateful Prince
“Why does your face look like that?” Kiki’s assault hit me as soon as our video call connected.
I wrenched away from the screen, then immediately flicked my gaze to the little version of myself in the corner to make sure I didn’t have ink staining my cheeks or something. “What do you mean? It’s just my fucking face, Keeks. Not all of us can look like you, no matter what the situation.” I took in her dewy, glowing skin, the intricate Dutch braid keeping her hair off her face, and the hot pink sports bra she wore. “I bet you just ran a marathon or something, didn’t you? Not even a drop of sweat, you asshole.”
“Power pilates, actually. And I don’t sweat. I sparkle.”
She waggled her eyebrows, and before I could say anything in response, she waved her hands in front of her like they were windshield wipers and chanted, “I sparkle, I bubble, I get in a whole lot of trouble.” She giggled at the end, and I couldn’t help but do the same.
“Do you need me to get you pom-poms for Christmas this year? Maybe a cheerleading costume?”
“They’re called uniforms, babes.”
“Fuck off. You knew what I meant.”
“You’re in a mood this morning. Now the face makes sense. What’s going on?”
My gut twisted. “How late do I have to be before I start worrying?”
“Late for what? A therapy session?”
I stopped dead and stared through the camera. “Late, Kiki. The only late a woman cares about.”
“But... I mean, the dragon gave you a”—she leaned in close to the camera and whispered—“magical vagina tattoo.”
“He did. It should’ve worked, but I’m not sure. I’ve been pretty regular for the last few months, and if the schedule is still solid, I’d be on day two.”
“You’re not regular. Even when you’re regular, you aren’t regular.”
“Yeah, but?—”
“Magical. Vajayjay. Tattoo.”
I heaved a sigh. “I know. But what if the magic didn’t work and I’ve got a Viking baby in there—or a dragon? Oh God, what if it’s an egg? I can’t give birth to an egg.”
“Pretty sure eggs are supposed to be in there.”
“No, Keeks. A dragon egg.”
Her expression was comical, or it would have been if I were in a laughing mood. Her eyebrows were in her hairline, and her jaw was hanging open. She blinked at me several times before sputtering, “Is that even possible? Oh my God, do you have to lay an egg and then sit on it like a chicken until it hatches? Can you even get warm enough as a human mama and not a dragon mama? Or is Kai the one who has to keep it warm? Girl, I have so many questions.”
“So do I. I’m not ready to be a mother. I can barely feed myself most days. This is going to be a disaster.”
“Hang on, we don’t know you’re knocked up. Give it a few days. The more stressed you are, the worse it is. Remember that time you were on deadline and didn’t have a period for two months?”
That made me feel a little better. She was right. There’d been no possible way I’d been pregnant then. “But that time, there weren’t any active swimmers up there. The wall hadn’t been breached.”
There was no hiding Kiki’s laughter. “Babes . . .”
“I’m serious, Kiki. What do I do?”
She schooled her expression. “What I already said. You wait it out. You did what I can only assume was a responsible thing and trusted Kai when he said the tattoo would protect you. If for some reason he was wrong, or it didn’t take, then you figure out what you want to do and talk to your men. Neither one of them seemed like they’d run screaming from their responsibilities. It’s your body, babes. The choice is yours.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I’m just freaking out. I know it worked. It had to. Magic. Magic is like... infallible. Right?”
Her eyes widened, and she looked at me like I was wearing a weiner dog as a hat. “Yeah, sure... I guess.” The way she said it, drawing the words out as though working through a plot hole with me, made my gut sink.
“Way to instill confidence in me, Keeks.”
She threw up her hands. “Well, I don’t know! Until you got there, I didn’t even think magical tattoos and dragon dicks existed. Now these guys are all ‘let me put my baby in you’ with you every night, and I don’t know what to do with it.” She blinked at me, a smile creeping across her face. “Well, I mean, I know what to do with it, but I’m no expert on magic.”