Chapter Fifty-Eight

Poppy.

Listening to Daegal’s heart, I found myself overwhelmed with a sense of fear. Kelli had just sent thousands of hellhounds here. And she was considered weak at the moment.

Weak. This wasn't weak. It was demented and scorned. Evil.

I screwed my eyes shut.

All of this had turned into a sick game that I knew Kelli would do anything to win. She wasn’t some average person that we pissed off. She’d gone to the lengths of giving her life to evil to defeat us.

Jeremiah kicked beneath my palm and I felt him moving circles inside of me. Perhaps he sensed my unease Or he was ready to come out.

This wasn’t the time. Jeremiah couldn’t come out until after Kelli was gone. I hadn’t even held my baby in my arms and she was planning on taking me out before I could.

He didn’t deserve this. He hadn’t asked to be brought into the world. Into this chaos.

I tucked myself into Daegal’s side and allowed myself to rest. They’d worked together to kill all of those hounds. There had been a quick second that I wasn’t sure they’d make it out alive. I pushed those intrusive thoughts out of my mind.

Someone tapping on my shoulder woke me.

I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep. But Daegal was so warm and comfortable that it was inevitable.

Rachel’s face came into focus above me with her usual smile. “I hate to wake you but I need to check your blood pressure.”

Daegal was still asleep on the bed. Unmoving. Dead to the world.

He needed it. I lowered my feet while trying not to stir too much. Rachel pulled her equipment over quietly and wrapped the cuff around my upper arm.

I listened to the pumping sound of the cuff and watched Rachel’s face grow pale. As if we needed another problem.

“Why are you looking like that?” I asked.

She pressed her mouth into a thin line. “It’s 140 over 90,” she mumbled. ‘It’s high. I think we need to put you on bed rest.”

I cringed. How on Earth would we keep me on bed rest with what’s going on? "Oh sorry, Kelli. I'm on bed rest come back again later."

Rachel turned to face me. “I understand what’s going on,” she said. “You’re in a position that makes it impossible not to stress. Your entire world is being threatened.” She bent down in front of me. “But if you don’t rest, you’re risking your life and your baby’s life. Do you understand? You have to rest. Lay down and stay laid down until I come and get you.”

I looked down at Daegal’s resting body, and back at my interlaced fingers. “This is so much for us. What about when she comes, Rachel? What then.”

“We will deal with it then. You put your feet up and relax. Right now.”

I obeyed her because I had no other choice. Her tone had turned icy and she meant business apparently.

The light outside indicated that it’d been at least eight or nine hours since the hellhounds. Daegal had never slept so long since I’d known him. Especially during the day.

“I’m going to tell Melinda you’re up and you’re ready to eat. Don’t get up. I’ll check to see if they have a bell.”

A bell to ding at them like some sort of servant? Could this possibly get any worse? I turned onto my side and faced Daegal. He stirred awake seconds later. “Hey,” he said. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long,” I said. “Rachel came to check on me.”

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shifted to a sitting position. “What’s the verdict?”

I didn’t want to tell him. He had enough on his plate.

His light eyes turned toward mine. “Ember, what’s the verdict?”

“She’s putting me on bed rest because my blood pressure is too high.”

Daegal frowned. “It’s the stress of everything happening. I’m so sorry, Poppy—,”

“Don’t act like this is your fault,” I said, rolling onto my back and bringing my giant belly with me. “This isn’t your fault or my fault.”

Quick footsteps hurried up the stairs and Melinda walked in with a tray of food. “I’m so glad you’re up. I was worried you’d miss dinner,” she said. “How are you both feeling? Rachel mentioned you’re on bed rest,” she said.

I nodded. “Yeah, lucky me.”

Melinda frowned while putting out our trays. “It’s going to be okay. The baby is fine and you’re fine.”

I knew I was becoming a negative Nancy, but I felt the world was falling down around us. “Thank you for the meal,” I said. “I’m sorry for my attitude.”

Melinda cupped my cheek and handed Daegal his food. “How about you? Do you feel well-rested?”

“I feel better.”

Which wasn’t the answer any of us wanted to hear. There wasn't enough belief in his tone.

“I’ll be back shortly to get the plates. You both call if you need something."

“Where is Selena?” Daegal asked while picking up his fork.

“She’s been putting protection spells on the bunkers and the castle while you two were asleep. She’s attempting to block any unwanted guest, but she’s not sure how long it will hold Kelli.”

Daegal nodded, his attention turned toward his plate. Thirty minutes went by with no talking, only eating. It was unlike us to stay quiet but I sensed the heaviness of his heart through our bond.

Daegal sat our trays on the floor beside our bed and reached over to palm my stomach. The fluttering of Jeremiah’s feet brought tears to my eyes.

“He’s getting bigger and stronger,” Daegal whispered. “I can hear his heart beating.”

I smiled and placed my hand on top of his. “Can you hear anything else?”

“Just the swooshing of him moving around. He’s an energetic little thing, isn’t he?”

“Looks like it. He doesn’t get that from me. Must be your side of the family.”

Daegal turned onto his side while keeping his palm on me. “You’re going to be okay,” he said.

I didn’t argue with him. I nodded in agreeance. There was no reason to sit around and cry. We were past the point of being able to stop her.

I woke in the middle of the night with the sudden urge to pee. I couldn’t stop my eyes from looking at the door where I’d seen Kelli last.

Moving my legs, I pulled them toward the floor and stood up.

Dizziness hit me like a swarm of bees and I sat down to catch myself.

Cradling my head, I mustered the strength to walk toward the bathroom. The inability to get there quickly enough hit me and I found myself nearly peeing in my underwear before I made it.

I’d heard the stories of loss of bladder control but this was for the birds. I sat down and relieved myself, feeling instant relief.

The moon cast a glow into the bedroom over our bed. Daegal’s sleeping body moved as he breathed heavily in a deep sleep.

He looked like someone taken out of a fairytale.

I chuckled as I wiped myself. A fairytale. This story was anything but. The girl gets kidnapped by the dragon king, falls in love, then is kidnapped by immortals and now a witch is after her.

I was the epitome of a damsel in distress.

How freaking pathetic.

I flushed the toilet and started my waddle back to the bed. The floorboard creaked under my newfound weight and I groaned as I laid back down.

Bringing my feet up, I felt a sharp pain in my lower stomach. Like a severe period cramp.

I stopped. Hadn’t I read something about that somewhere?

Contractions were like period cramps on crack?

I laid for a few more minutes, and let my eyes drift closed. It was just a cramp. He was tap dancing on my bladder and my insides causing cramps.

It wasn’t anything to worry about.