Page 102 of Lethal Souls
“It’s the middle of the night.” Caz frowns at her. “She hasn’t even rested.”
I step away from him. “I’ll go.”
“Willow—”
“Wonderful,” Korah says, cutting him off. “Let’s find you some armor.”
SIXTY-THREE
WILLOW
I’m still annoyed with the idea of being useless, and I channel that into sword practicing.
Korah teaches me various techniques, telling me to repeat them with better form, and despite my aching limbs and heavy eyes, I keep going.
It isn’t until the moonlight has been replaced by golden rays that we take a full-length break.
Four days to go.
“Any symptoms so far?” Korah asks, eyeing my belly.
I adjust on a patch of thick grass, guzzling water from a canteen as she stands before me.
“Not many. Maybe more emotional and pudgier in the midsection, but that’s about it.” I squint as threads of sunlight peek through the sloping treetops. “Can you tell how far along I am?”
“Eight weeks,” she answers matter-of-factly.
“Eight?” My eyes expand. “Wow. All this time and I had no idea.”
“Yes, well…” Korah swipes a finger along the blade of her sword, removing a smudge. “It seems you don’t even want the child.”
“What?”
“Actually, allow me to rephrase. It seems you don’t want the best for your child.”
I frown at her. “How can you say that?”
“Willing to kill yourself so the child can live strongly but without a mother? That’s selfish, Willow. You know firsthand how hard life is without a maternal figure.”
I hesitate with my response. “I wasn’t thinking about it that way,” I return, bottling my frustrations. “I was just thinking about the baby being safe from your evil-ass sister. Besides, Juniper and Maeve will be here.”
“This is what she wants, you know?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Selah. She wants to cause a divide. She wants you and Caspian to bicker and argue so you are distracted, and you are letting her win. You had one nightmare from her. Why do you think you have not had any more?” When I don’t answer, Korah says, “Because we are protecting you. You have doubts about that, but I guarantee you, I will not let my sister fuck with your head.”
Wow.
I think that’s the first time I’ve heard her use the word fuck.
“You can’t protect me forever, especially not when you’re in the middle of a war. She’s going to come for our baby, Korah. I won’t be able to live with myself if that happens.”
“She won’t touch a hair on your child’s head, Willow.” Korah’s eyes harden with intention. “Not while I live and breathe.”
I lift the canteen, guzzling down the remainder of water. “She’s like the devil, I swear,” I mutter.
Korah chuckles at that. “Believe me, the devil from Earth holds no comparison to her.”