Page 117 of A Realm of Shattered Lies

So I start talking to them too.

I’m not sure whether they hear the prayers of night stalkers who betray their friends. Part of me wonders if asking will only make things worse, but the prayers come anyway, almost contrary to my will, a string of pleadings incomprehensible in my panic.

“You need to get her under cover,” Marcus grumbles, face strained as he stumbles backward toward us, still letting arrows fly. My stomach plummets when I catch sight of his quiver and realize he’s only got three arrows left.

I make the decision to carry Ellie into the trees.

Ellie’s breathing has gotten more rapid. She keeps clenching her jaw instead of allowing herself to scream.

“It’s okay; you can scream,” I tell her as I set her on the ground close to where the group hid their baggage.

She shakes her head, sweat drenching her forehead. “It’ll alert them.”

“No more than the scent of your blood already has.” I’m not sure it’s the right thing to say, because Ellie’s cheeks sink with horror, but the next time a contraction rips through her, she lets herself shout all the same.

“How is she having contractions? Shouldn’t the venom be keeping that from happening?” I ask.

Amity shakes her head. “If it’s psychosomatic like lychaen venom, it shouldn’t matter. Ellie isn’t in control of her contractions; her body is.”

Amity’s pulling vials and other materials out of her satchel, but her fingers keep fidgeting.

It’s not like Amity to shake like this.

It’s then that I realize Amity is preparing to deliver a child who won’t be viable.

No, no, no.

I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t…

But no. I have to breathe. This is my fault, and I have to see it through. I have to be here for Ellie, for…

Evander comes bursting through the trees, front soaked in the inky blood of the Others.

There’s a crazed look in his eyes, one that’s utterly unfamiliar on his usually gentle, carefree face.

It slowly morphs into horror when he realizes what’s happening.

Ellie catches his eye, and the sorrow they exchange with that one look threatens to shatter me.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby,” Ellie whispers. “I know it’s too early. I couldn’t…I couldn’t let…”

Evander kneels on the ground next to his wife. He takes her trembling hands in his and touches them to his forehead. “I know. I know. You were so brave, and I’m so proud of you. So immensely proud to get to say you’re my wife.”

Ellie’s brow furrows. “It’s too early.”

Evander’s voice breaks, and my heart cracks in two. “I know.”

Ellie begins sobbing.

No, no, no, no, no.

I can’t breathe, I can’t—

Evander’s neck snaps upward, his fiery gaze meeting mine, as if noticing I’m here for the first time.

“What are you doing here?”

My voice catches in my throat. Next to me Marcus goes stiff, though he keeps his eyes trained on the wood for any prowling Others.

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