Page 130 of Stars in Umbra
Her breath hitched.
Her heart lurched against her ribs.
Had that chant, spoken like some archaic prayer, carried enough potency to become truth?
Panic slammed into her chest like a pressure wave.
She gripped the edge of the vanity to steady herself, knuckles white against the marble. Her mind replayed the moment, his fierce eyes, the power in his tone, the sense of an ancient potent force threading between them.
She’d thought it wild, fanciful, and incredibly intense.
Now it seemed prophetic.
Issa’s words crashed into her next.He’s a god-scion.The offspring of Sulfiqar, the Most High Deity of Sacra.
A god’s son.
A half-mortal man engineered by fate and time-honored bloodlines.
Her stomach churned.
Had he spoken this child into being, and was the baby now part divinity?
She tried to apply logic, order, and freakin’ reason to her panicked thoughts.
Her officer’s mind churning, dissecting it like a field operation, planning contingencies.
It was useless. Her cognition kept tangling.
Her instincts warred between clinging to Mo and telling him the news, and running as far and fast as her legs would take her.
Her emotions swirled: panic, fear, awe, and protectiveness.
Tears slid down her face as she sank to the floor, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.
‘I’m not ready.’
She whispered the words, repeating them in a chant, even as her thought roiled.
What would happen to her career now? Was she even prepared to raise a child? With Mo, or without him?
Her chest heaved, and she realized she was on the verge of a panic attack.
She took a series of deep breaths to calm down.
It took several harsh inhales and a full round of grounding exercises, eyes closed, pulse counted, exhalations held and released, before her heartbeat slowed.
Then she rose on shaky legs, her fingers moving on their own, prying open the toilet lid and tossing the test in.
She flushed it, exhaling as the evidence disappeared with a rush of water.
She opened her eyes and turned to the mirror, staring at her pale face.
Her eyes appeared dilated, red, and bright. The bathroom lights were freakin’ harsh on her skin.
Her stomach churned again, but she stayed still, pressing her hands to her temples, whispering.
‘Get it together, Rina. Women have gone through this shit and survived it. You can do this.’
