Page 39 of Fate of the Fallen

However, this room served its purpose in times like these, when a girl needed to talk to her best friend in private.

“I’m so sorry about your brother,” Beth said.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded before replying. “It’s so strange. I hardly know the six of them, but there’s such a deep connection and love I feel already. I think that might be because my dragon hasn’t forgottenanything.She’s holding on to my brothers, Elise, Hilda, just like she held on to Liam.”

Beth reached out and my hand warmed in hers when she held it. She seemed to understand despite it sounding a bit odd.

“And … I’ve been having the strangest dreams the past couple nights,” I admitted. “At least, I thought they were dreams, but … the more I think about it, the more I’m sure they’renot.”

I glanced up just as her brow quirked. “What do you mean?”

An answer didn’t come right away. Mostly because I had no idea how to explain, but I tried.

“I think they’re … memories.Mymemories. After talking to Liam about them, too many facts line up for it not to be real,” I shared. “It was weird. Liam was present in both, but we weren’t inthistime. Everything—the entire setting, our clothes, the way we spoke—it was all from before. Like …longbefore,” I added with another smile. “He once told me about the moment I finally stopped denying my feelings for him. In the vision, there were definitely traces of what he shared with me, but … more. More detail, more emotion.”

I could have told her about the dark nightmare from the night before, but it was still too haunting.

Beth moved her thick, blonde hair behind her shoulder before responding. “It’s probably the baby.”

I laughed a bit. “You think?”

She nodded while explaining. “I’ve heard of women having strange dreams when they’re expecting, so … it’s possible. And because you’re a supernatural being, this experience is kinda supernatural, too. Instead of dreaming you’re giving birth to an alien or something crazy like that, he or she’s helping you see your past.”

If I’d learned anything since I first started sensing Liam, it was that dreams of him were rarely simple. Keeping that in mind, this theory of hers could have been true.

“One thing’s for sure,” I sighed. “You’re dead on about this experience leaning toward being anythingbutnormal.”

“Ofcourseit’s not normal,” she scoffed. “I mean, you’ve had the entireworldthrown at you these past few days. I’d say a minor freak out is allowed.”

It was nice to be understood. Not that everyone else didn’t get me, but that understanding was different coming from another girl, one my age. Beth could easily put herself in my shoes and relate to how all these changes might make an eighteen-year-old feel kind of overwhelmed. And another thing I knew she’d relate to was my concern for a mutual friend, despite him having tried to kill me a couple days ago.

“So, have you heard anything new?” I asked, drawing my legs closer when I clarified. “About Nick, I mean.”

Beth’s expression turned somber when she shook her head. “Only that his family’s gone looking for him. You?”

I sighed before speaking. “Nothing but the fact that there were signs of a struggle in his cell, which means he was likely taken against his will.”

We were quiet, maybe both worrying if he was safe, or even alive. Maybe both worrying ifIwas safe with him roaming around out there. But with time winding down, I didn’t want to talk about that. If I was going to have my head in the game for this rally, I couldn’t focus on him.

On beingafraidof him.

“Your parents tell you stuff,” I blurted, changing the subject. “Any chance you heard of something called cresting?”

When one eyebrow lifted, I took that as a no, and then sighed when she answered. “Not that I can recall. Why? Should I have?”

I shook my head. “No, but I thought … maybe there was a chance you’d read about it and could help me figure something out.”

Her foot bounced over the edge of my bed when she asked, “Figurewhatout?”

The short answer to a really long explanation was, “I was hoping you might know of a way to tell how I would‘present’as Elise put it. Apparently, because I’m a hybrid, this pregnancy could go either way.”

That word … pregnancy … it felt strange rolling off my tongue. I did my best to hide the fact that I didn’t think such a term would apply to me before age twenty-five or thirty.

“Dumb this down for me,” Beth laughed.

“Lycans carry a kid for nine months like a human. Dragons? Try three,” I revealed, watching as her expression shifted from bearing a huge grin to going slack in a matter of seconds.

“My sentiments exactly,” I added. “And … I guess I’ll have my answer in a couple weeks.”