Page 53 of A Realm of Shattered Lies

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that you said you needed me.”

“Okay, well, I qualified it quite a bit after that.”

Evander wags his finger. “No, no, no. You, Elynore Payne, said that you needed me.” He points at his chest as if there were another Evander Thornwall in the room. “I would have thought you didn’t need me for anything, well, other than—”

He squeezes my butt, and I can’t help the laugh that follows.

“You can’t distract me from this.”

“I can’t?” he asks, slipping his hands down to my hips and bringing his mouth to mine.

Okay, so that’s a tad distracting.

“Evander,” I say, pushing him away. “I need an answer. Or at least for you to tell me you’re considering what I’m saying. That you’re thinking up an answer. Because I could have not told you, you know. Okay, so that would have been slightly manipulative, and maybe I shouldn’t hold that over your head. But…”

“Ellie,” he says, taking my hands in his. His gaze dips to my belly, and his hands follow. “Something’s brewing on the horizon, something big. I can’t explain it, but…” He shivers, and for a moment, my carefree husband lets a spark of fear shine in his gaze. “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know what?”

“That I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

CHAPTER 19

EVANDER

I’m not sure which idea is more terrifying, that I’m going to be a father, or that I’m about to transport my family to the Rip.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have told Ellie she could come along.

But it’s not as if I can very well take it back now, not when I’ve given her my word.

And besides, the selfish part of me, the part of me that seems to refuse to grow up no matter how many decades pass, is glad she’ll be by my side.

I’ve spent months away from her, all the while feeling like a piece of my chest cavity was missing. And now that I know she’s carrying a child—our child—I’m even less keen to leave her.

Which leads me to the other glaring “in hindsight,” which is that I likely shouldn’t have promised Blaise that I’d go with her to help free Nox from his curse.

It seemed like such a noble thing at the time, to promise my aid to my friend. I already got my dream—though part of it I didn’t know about at the time. And since I didn’t save her from the pain she endured as a youth, I’d thought this was my chance. Not that I can ever hope to make it up to her.

There’s something odd that happens when people get their happy ending. I always scoffed at it when I was younger—friends finding love and getting married, and then the inevitable…a long line of suitors hand-picked by my incredibly happy friends, just insisting that they wanted the same for me.

I’m happy with Ellie. It’s like the part of me that wandered about aimlessly for so many years is finally anchored at shore.

I’m happy, and I want my friend to be happy too.

But it was stupid to promise that I’d be the guarantor of that happiness.

Again, not something I can take back now.

I rub at the back of my neck before I go to find Blaise in the library.

There’s no dousing the joy in my heart at the news that I’m going to be a father. A father to Ellie Payne’s child—Fates, the thought threatens to plaster a stupid smile on my face.

But I’d be lying if I said the sight of Blaise doesn’t, if not dampen my joy, then at least push it to the side for a moment.

Everyone evacuated the library after Lydia’s surprise arrival, pairing off with their confidants to make joint decisions about what needs to be done next. Asha with Kiran. Ellie with me. Lydia with Elias. Even Marcus with Amity.

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