Page 112 of The Royal Marriage Alliance

A sob escapes my throat at his words.

No.Thisisn’t how it’s supposed to end. We’re supposed to have a long, happy life together. A life where we have lots of children and we grow old together.

Evander gets onto his knees on the floor behind me. He slips an arm around me, so I bury my face in his chest, letting him support my weight as I sob against him. Stellan’s hand slips out of mine. I start, looking up. King Basilicus has Stellan in his arms and is moving him somewhere else—probably somewhere more comfortable. Before I can get up and chase after him, Evander tugs on my arm. I turn to him.

“Wisteria, he’s going to be okay. You’ll see. My brother is strong and he has a lot to live for. You’re not going to lose him.”

I try to take comfort in his words, but the pain is too deep. My chest aches worse than any pain I’ve ever felt before. I want to lose it, but I can’t. Right now, I have to keep it together. Stellan needs me.

I force myself to take a deep breath and go to stand. Venali steps in front of me, offering me his hand. I accept it, letting him pull me to my feet. He tugs me a little toward him and wraps his arms around me. I allow myself to feel comfort in his embrace for a few seconds before I pull back.

“Stellan,” I say, my voice breaking as I say his name. I clear my throat. “He needs me.”

Venali shakes his head. “Stellan is recovering. He won’t even know if you’re there. Right now, you need to take a few minutes and get yourself together.”

I shake my head. “No—”

He cuts me off. “You can’t just think about yourself right now, Wisteria. You’re pregnant. You must think about the babies.”

Babies.

Of course he’s right. Just in my panic, I completely forgot about the pregnancy.

“I think you should see a healer, just to confirm the pregnancy and make sure that everything is all right,” Venali says.

“But Stellan…”

“Can wait.” He nudges me down a corridor and I don’t fight him any further. He’s right, of course. I can’t just think about myself right now. And it would be smart to make sure the babies are okay.

I glance back and see Evander walking with us. King Basilicus will be with Stellan, and I’m sure Dove will be there too. He’ll be well looked after.

25

The council will not be happy

Wisteria

The healer confirms my pregnancy, though he says it’s too early to confirm much. With his magic, he can there that there are twins. The healer looks at me with fascination on his face.

“Are there not many dragon shifters that have twins?” I ask.

“No. It’s very rare,” he says. “And it’s never happened before in the royal family.”

“Are they okay?” I ask, looking at my stomach. It looks the same as it always has, though I don’t expect it will stay that way for long, not with twins on the way.

“They are perfectly healthy.” He looks at me for a few more long moments. “You are aware that birth control doesn’t work with dragon shifters, correct?”

My cheeks grown warm, but I nod. “I was informed.”

He nods. “Good. I expect I will see you often.”

Great… even the healer thinks I’m going to have a lot of babies.

But then a sharp pain goes through my chest when Iremember that Stellan is currently lying in a bed right now, still unconscious.

I stand quickly from the chair. “I want to go check on Stellan.”

He nods. “I will be staying with him overnight. You can come to see him, but I will not allow you in the room tonight. You need to sleep in your own bed. I’ll give you something to help you sleep. You have to think about the babies. Rest is especially important during the first trimester of your pregnancy.”

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