Page 129 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

My already frazzled nerves prick, and I snap, “Um. Yeah. We know that.”

“I’d need to do a swab to tell whether it’s viral or bacterial, but if he came down with this last night, it may be too soon for anything substantial to show. If his fever doesn’t break over the next few days, that might be a clue he needs antibiotics, so I can have some prepared. For now, just try to keep him comfortable.” Heavy brow lowering, Pollux looks toward me. “Don’t give him anything over-the-counter. Cold medicines aren’t for infants, and certainly not infant fae.”

“I’m not an idiot, Pollux,” I growl.

Alexios’s hands brush my arms, making me jump, but when I look back at him, he doesn’t move away, so I guess one hundred percent of my anxieties are preoccupied at the moment. He murmurs, “Snowflake…it’s okay. Pollux doesn’t know what you do or don’t already know. He’s just focusing on keeping Ash safe.”

I am too mad at Alexios right now to care about his good reasoning, so I jerk my arms out of his hands and step squarely away to address Pollux again. “You don’t seem overly concerned.”

“About Ash being sick?” Pollux mumbles. “I’m not. AboutAsh existing…” The dream eater’s dark red-and-black eyes narrow. “That’s a different story.”

“Maybe you and Castor need to have a good grown-up discussion about your feelings,” I quip.

Pollux arches a brow. “Spoken as though we haven’t?”

Alexios murmurs, “Now, likewise, Zahra doesn’t know what you have or haven’t done, but she’s—”

I whirl, stabbing my finger into Alexios’s waistcoat. “Stopmediating! In fact, just—go away.” My voice breaks on the words, and I watch Alexios’s weariness shift into confusion, then hurt.

His emotions harden after a moment, and he turns his face from me as he slips his hands into his pockets. “Ican’tvery well leave you to manage this breach of security on your own.” Lethal, his gaze cuts toward Pollux. “I must secure a promise that the information about Ash’s existence remains confidential.”

“You should really tell Cael about this,” Pollux grunts.

“That is the opposite of what I just said, isn’t it?”

Eyes rolling, Pollux says, “Not quite, which is why you had to phrase that as a question.”

Alexios extends a hand past me, fingers open. “Promise.”

“No. This is information Cael needs to have. An ent is no weak unseelie. The manipulation of a dryad’s sapling is not a small crime.” His nostrils flare, and despite the fact I know Pollux has a charm on him to mitigate the fear-soaked presence of a dream eater, a shudder rolls through me. “Thatyouhad a hand in the manipulation baffles me thoroughly. I warned you about Castor the day we met.”

“What do you think introduced us?”

Suddenly, I get the feeling I’m the one imposing on the conversation. Chest tight, I harden myself against the torrential emotions and open my arms. “Pollux.” My voice wavers, and my heart lunges when only his eyes cut to me. “My baby?”

Whatever he sees in my glassing expression gets through to him well enough that he delivers Ash into my arms. My little boy feels so limp, and my panic doesn’t settle as I press the cool backs of my fingers against his cheek.

“All will be well, dear,” Pollux murmurs. “Illness builds immunity.”

“He’s only a few months old, though. Barely ten pounds,” I whisper. “It’s my fault. I took him with me to the store yesterday. What if he—”

Pollux’s hand lands on my head. “Shh, Ash isn’t human. Only miracles bring fae into life like his. There is no chance his will to live is so feeble that anything would take it from him so quickly.” His hand slips away, and the tension returns as he fixes his narrowed eyes on Alexios once more. “I must report this to Cael.”

“You must not.”

“For everyone’s safety, Cael needs to know what is being harbored in his kingdom.”

“For your family’s safety, I suggest you keep it to yourself.”

My heart trips, and I find myself backing away as waves of power pound into the space between Alexios and Pollux.

Alexios doesn’t so much as flinch, going so far as to look bored.

An inch away, Pollux growls, “Are you threatening my family, Xios?”

“Whether you see it or not, you threatened mine first. I am pledged to Cael as a member of his eclipse, so nothing I’ve done goes against his laws. Introducing this situation before its time will not be favorable for anyone.” Alexios glowers up at his adoptive father. “ButI can promise it will be least favorable for those you care about.”

A scream catches in my throat when Pollux’s hand wraps around Alexios’s neck.

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