Page 162 of His Darkest Desire

Ghostfire blazed hypnotically around Shade’s dark core. “She has good reason, magus.”

“There is no good rea—”

“Kinsley is with child,” Flare said.

Vex’s mouth hung open, remaining that way as his mind struggled to decipher Flare’s words. “What did you say?”

“Kinsley carries your child. Your seed has taken root within her womb.”

Now it wasn’t just pressure from within—Vex was being crushed from all directions at once, the entire universe collapsing upon him.

“That… That cannot be,” he finally rasped. “She…”

“Is with child,” the wisps intoned together.

Vex knew they were not lying. He also knew Kinsley would not have lied to them, especially not about this. But it shouldn’t have been possible. She’d taken measures to ensure she could not conceive, to protect herself from all the heartache and danger she’d faced.

“Gods,” Vex breathed, raking his fingers through his hair. “She is with child. My child. And I banished her. Sent her away just when she most needed me.

“Fuck!” His claws bit into his scalp as that hole inside him yawned. “I must find a way to reach her.”

Breathing raggedly, he hurried to the nearest pile of books, tossing them aside one by one as he sought anything regarding travel between worlds.

Voice quavering, Echo said, “Magus, please.”

“She mustn’t be alone,” Vex growled. He could not stop Kinsley’s voice from sounding in his mind, telling him anew of what she’d been through—of what had happened the other times she’d been with child.

He’d sent her away, but he refused to lose her.

He flitted from book to book, muttering the titles upon their spines. There was a solution somewhere. Something he’d misunderstood, something he’d overlooked, something he’d missed. There had to be.

“Magus,” one of the wisps said with concern.

“Please,” another begged as Vex dug into more books.

“Vex.”

That name, spoken in Shade’s voice, punched through Vex’s focus, stilling his hands. His pounding heartbeat pulsed throughout his body, making his soul itself quake.

“You need not a book to tell you, Vex,” Shade said, their words like a cool, caressing wind on a hot summer’s day. “You know what must be done. Know what you need.”

Kinsley.

She was all he needed.

And this news…it meant he might have her again.

No, it meant he would have her again.

Vex released the book in his hand and slowly straightened. “Patience and faith. No small things to ask of myself, given the circumstances.”

Kinsley carried their child, and he could not reach her, could not help her, could not be beside her were anything to go wrong. He was truly powerless now—and he’d chosen this.

“She shares your lifeforce,” said Echo.

“And a strength all her own,” added Flare.

Yes, Vex’s mate was strong. Strong, brave, selfless, and stubborn. She could see this through. She would. And he’d spend every night in worry, would spend every day cursing not the sun but the barriers separating him from his mate. Helplessness and concern would eat at him.

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