Page 137 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

Rage filters into every last one of my limbs, battling fear. If this comes down towhose side I’m on, he will rue the day he turned my interests of living peacefully witheveryoneupside down. If he forces me to go with him in order to keep Ash, I will singlehandedly become his downfall. I will shed my humanity, gather my allies, and tear his kingdom apart. I will become known as destruction, and his end will come pitifullyslow.

“Do you feel her malice, Cael?” Castor murmurs.

“It seems you have let her mother this child.” Cael’s blackened gaze lands heavy on me. “What wouldn’t a mother feel in order to protect her young?”

Castor frees another short laugh and rocks Ash, tryingfruitlessly to soothe him. “Yes, then? Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you allow malice in thatshiningkingdom of yours?”

A sudden force pounds into my lungs, leaving them stricken of breath. In the wake of the power display, Cael’s voice rumbles. “I am presently allowing mine.”

“Of course you are,” Castor mutters, tilting his head away from me. “When don’t you let yourself be an exception to all your rules?”

While Castor appears distracted, I lunge for Ash, swiping air.

“Ah-ah. Valiant effort, Razah.” Castor dances back, just out of reach once more. “You’ve a trade to consider.”

“What kind of trade?” I snap.

His short fangs glint in the fading sunlight. “I’ve found Dani.”

My heart lunges up my throat.

“Do you want her…or Ash? As I find myself wanting for both friends and family, the least you can do is humor me by picking one or the other, don’t you think?”

No, I don’t think. I don’t know what I’ve been thinking. Giving this man the benefit of the doubt has been among my worst decisions ever. The age-old question that has haunted me my entire life rears, blaring past the pound of my heart in my ears.

What Would Jesus Do?

How stupid.

Howstupidto even think I’d have a clue what the literal Lord of the Universe would do in a moment like this. Thinking about what He would do is what got me into this mess.

And, besides, the best I can come up with isflipping a table, but there aren’t any close enough to grab.

Squeezing my eyes shut for half a second, I let my senses take in the fragile sounds of my crying baby. Hejustgot better. I’ve only just found reassurance that I’m not going to lose him and bury my little boy before I can so much as hear his first laugh, hisfirst word.

However horrible her lot in life, Dani is a grown woman who can make her own choices. I am not responsible for her. No matter what I could have done to help.

My throat closes, but I force out the words: “I want Ash.”

For some reason, when Castor’s smile spreads, I fear I’ve made the wrong choice.

Delicately, he rests Ash in my arms. “In that case, he’s yours. Now…” He releases my baby’s weight, and I find him plucking his dagger from the pinata after I blink. “…I do suppose I have a dungeon to ready for Danielle.”

“What?” I croak.

“Please. Obviously, the choice waswhich of your precious people…do I get to keep?”

He’s gone before I remember how to inhale, leaving nothing but the swaying pinata and my sobbing baby behind.

Chapter 36

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Broken trust can be like broken ground, if you let it. Seeds planted in soft soil grow the strongest.

But, you must still take great care of them.

The whispers in Willow’s living room are still deafening even beneath the sound of Ash’s whimpers filling my ears.

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