Page 11 of Bombshell

Because, in reality, she wasn’t.

Out of all of the things Daphne could have told her, this was probably the worst.

“Lass,” I started gently when I got close enough to touch her. I grasped her hands, finding the normally warm fingers to be cold and clammy.

Effie’s attention snapped to me, her eyes filling with tears.

“Dallan…” she began before the overuse of magic finally seemed to catch up with her. Her knees buckled as the plants began to recede back into their homes and I caught her, cradling her close.

“Will one of you please tell me what’s going on?” Daphne asked, sounding like she was about to start crying herself.

I couldn’t blame her. She didn’t know about this part of Effie’s past because the woman refused to talk about it. Ever.

The only reason Cash and I knew was because of her fits—a form of anxiety that culminated in a sometimes disastrous pulse of magic. She’d reluctantly told us after the first one and over the years of us sleeping together she sometimes let her guard down and told me more.

“Effie’s a halfling,” I told her as I scooped the unconscious woman in my arms. Her vines, which were normally curled up against her back, dragged on the floor as I carried her through the beaded curtain and into her bedroom.

It still smelled of the two of us, Effie’s minty scent mixing in with my own.

Laying her on the bed, I gently pulled the blankets up to her chin and turned to find Daphne and Cash standing in the doorway, watching me.

“She needs to hear all of it, Dall,” Cash said, his hand slipping up and down Daphne’s back.

“Why does it matter that she’s a halfling? I know her dad was pretty bad but we’d never treat our baby badly because they’re not fully gargoyle or human.” Daphne looked almost offended as she looked between me and Effie’s sleeping face.

I let out a long sigh. “Effie thinks you’re going to die. Just like her mother did when giving birth to her.”

Chapter 3

As soon as I awoke, I was greeted with a pounding headache and a healthy dose of confusion as I tried to remember what had happened before I passed out earlier.

Daphne had been so excited to tell me something, practically buzzing in her seat while she waited for things in the shop to slow down a bit…

Then I saw the gold flash of Dallan’s eyes, and after that, nothing.

I could remember the icy wash of panic easily because the cold fingers of it still lingered in my chest, but what had it been about?

With a groan, I pulled myself up into a sitting position in my bed, frowning over the fact I was eveninmy bed.

“Lass?” Dallan’s gentle voice came from the doorway where he was peeking his head into the room. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel…” my voice was hoarse, like I’d been screaming though I didn’t remember doing that either. “Like shit.”

Dallan’s chuckle washed over me, chasing away the chill in my chest with the sheer warmth of it. “I’ll bet you do after youcaused all of the plants in a five mile radius to go insane. A new record for you.”

I grimaced, choosing to ignore his joke. “Why did I freak out like that? What was it that set me off?”

The tentacles on Dallan’s face curled inward, a telltale sign that he didn’t want to say what he had to say.

“Dallan… you know it’s going to come back eventually and I’m going to be even more pissed that you kept it from me,” I warned, my anxiety starting to ratchet up again.

The fuzziness that always accompanied my panic attacks was usually triggered by something that I wanted to forget—it was like my mind was taking over to protect me. I had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with Daphne because her face was the last thing I really remembered aside from Dallan’s eyes.

“Lass,” Dallan sat on the edge of my bed and pulled my hand into his. My vines slipped around our hands, joining us at the wrist. “Daphne and Cash are going to have a baby.”

It all came crashing down again, Daphne telling me, her eyes sparkling with excitement as the reality of it hit me like a bomb.

I found myself wheezing as I tried to suck in a deep, steadying breath. Dallan hushed me, rubbing his free hand up and down my back as he tried to soothe me. “It’ll be all right, Effie, they’re going to be fine.”

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