Page 24 of Inked Athena

“Oh, God,” I groan. I press my forehead to the mirror in hopes I’ll fall through into an alternate reality where I’m not the dumbest woman alive.

The pill container is like a half-finished tic-tac-toe game. I thought I’d maybe missed one or two doses here or there, but it’s more like I’m forgetting as often as I remember. Add to that the kidnapping stress and the antibiotics for my injuries, and there’s no way this medicine is doing what it’s supposed to.

I press a hand to my stomach, jostling it like it’s a Magic 8 Ball.

Am I pregnant?

There’s a gurgle.Reply hazy, try again.

I try to think through my options. The yacht has a fully stocked medical unit. There could be a pregnancy test in there, but I’d have to ask for it. And it’s not as if I could lie and say it was for a friend.

Louisa might keep my secret if I asked her to, but I don’t want to put her in that position.

Plus, it doesn’t matter. As I breathe through another wave of nausea, the haze of uncertainty clears fast. I can feel the truth in my bones.

I’m carrying a child.

I press my hand to my stomach again, waiting for panic or another bout of heaving. But there’s nothing. No dizziness. No feeling of the walls closing in.

Instead, as I circle my thumb over my stomach, I picture a rosy-cheeked baby with Samuil’s silver eyes and my dark brown hair. I picture a little human who is part Samuil and part me. I close my eyes and imagine the three of us at the park, a giggling toddler chasing after Rufus and Ruby in the grass. Chubby little hands would reach for Samuil, and he’d scoop our child up and spin in circles until he tumbled dizzily to the soft grass, laughing in that rare, carefree way I love so much.

This isn’t happening the way I would have planned it. But then again, nothing in my life so far has gone to plan. Why start now?

“Nova?” My heartrate kicks up, and I snap my eyes open as Samuil’s voice slips under the crack in the door.

“In here!” I’m going for an “easy, breezy, beautiful,CoverGirl”kind of tone,but my voice comes out shaky and unconvincing.

He tries the knob, but finds it locked. “Louisa said you ran off the deck.”

So much for Louisa keeping my secrets. She ratted me out the first chance she got.

“I’m fine,” I insist.

“Then let me in.”

“I can’t. I’m… sick.” The best kind of lie has a little bit of truth in it, right?

“Then let me in,” he repeats, trying the knob again. “Let me help you.”

“You’ve done enough.” I snort with laughter, still processing what I’m accepting, more and more by the second, to be true.

Sam slams a hand against the thin wooden door. “Open the damn door and tell me what’s going on, Nova.”

I’m not ready, but I don’t think I’ll ever be. So I pull open the door to reveal Samuil glowering on the other side.

His eyes scrape over me instantly, assessing me for injuries. Finding nothing, he frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know for sure, but… I kind of know for sure.”

He frowns. “I don’t like guessing games. Tell me what’s happening.”

My mouth opens, and…

Between abductions, espionage, and all the unprotected sex we’ve been having, I forgot to take my birth control. Congratulations, Daddy.

“Nova…” Samuil growls, taking a step closer. He fills the small bathroom, making it hard to breathe.

Maybe that’s why the truth tumbles out of me with no build-up.

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