Page 146 of Stars in Umbra
Not only that, thriving.
Every biological marker was at above-average levels, ranging from strength to neural responsiveness, bone density, and cardiovascular rhythm, all of which were elevated.
Her inhalation hitched.
Then came the thread of light, luminous, delicate, drifting over her skin in a slow ripple.
A thin corona of golden energy whipped around her belly, shimmering like stardust caught in gravity’s breath.
She stiffened.
‘Fokkme,’ she whispered. Not out of fear, but awe.
She wasn’t carrying the child of a mortal man.
The scan faded, and she wiped down the wand with trembling hands.
Blinking tears away, she shut the system down just as she caught footsteps outside the bay.
The heavy, familiar tread sent an arc of panic through her.
She killed the privacy shield and slid open a drawer, rifling in it just in time to be discovered mid-search.
Mo’s silhouette filled the doorway, broad and warm. ‘Searching for something,mi kaya?’
‘A headache tablet,’ she muttered, not meeting his eyes, hating the lies and subterfuge.
He stepped inside, took one look at her flushed face and unshed tears, and crossed the room.
His hands framed her face, rough thumbs brushing her temples, kneading, sending bliss through her.
‘Too much thinking, my love?’ he murmured, kissing her brow. ‘You need to let me massage it out of that fine head of yours.’
The tenderness and timing of it were overwhelming.
She almost crumbled right then and shared her secret.
Her arms slipped around his muscled torso, pulling him close, fingers sliding down to his ass and gripping tight as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck.
The scent of him, a blend of cologne, clean skin, and his male musk, so primal and heady, filled her lungs like oxygen.
He chuckled, the sound reverberating through her. ‘Easy, woman. You keep touching me like that, and I’ll forget we’re on a mission.’
She laughed through the emotion pressing at her throat, blinking fast to hold it at bay.
His quip, small, intimate, and well-timed, reminded her again why she was falling for him, why a possible future with him mattered.
Before she had a chance to respond, Mirage’s voice crackled over the intercom.
‘Team, you’ll want to see this.’
They pulled apart with reluctance, walking side by side to the bridge.
Rina’s secret remained tucked safely between her ribs, growing stronger by the hour.
But first, the mission.
In the cockpit, Mirage stood near the central console, her tone clipped, the overlay of high-speed scrolling data lighting up her face.
