Isabella strolled over to him, placing her hand on his back, and he spun around, his dark eyes creased with worry.
“You need to listen. You have no claim on me. This is my body, my child and my decision. You don’t need to be involved at all. You set me free—remember?”
The vampire didn’t respond. Instead he stood, gazing down at her friend and back at them, as if reluctant to speak. The vampire marched away from the witch’s touch, almost to the front door. “I set you free because I believed it was for the best, for everyone’s sake, but things changed.”
Isabella flew at him, grabbing his jacket and tugging it. “You pulled some ancient voodoo shit on me, didn’t you? That’s why every time another man so much as touched me, I got zapped. Admit it…come on.” Isabella slapped him over and over until he grabbed her hands in his.
“Okay…I admit it. You should know by now, I always protect what’s mine, and you are mine.” Roman pulled the witch in close until they were nose to nose.
“You are a real asshole, you know that?”
The prince of vampires hung his head. “Call me all the names you wish. I did what I did to protect you. I tried to resist you, I did, but in the end, I couldn’t. And now we’re here. A pregnancy such as this cannot be hidden. Those vampires in Boston are working for Gabriel. He’s made it clear he doesn’t believe I have control over my family, and he’s doing his best to have me replaced. I believe it’s because he wants someone on the East Coast he can control. Someone willing to do his bidding. When he discovers you’re pregnant—and he will—you won’t be safe. He’ll use you any way he can. Even getting married may not stop him. And have you thought for one minute, if you survive, if you give birth, what kind of monster we will have created?”
Isabella hissed at him and shoved him into the stone wall, gripping his neck. “Our daughter will not be a monster. And what makes you think for one second I would marry you? It didn’t work out so well the first time.”
Ella crossed her arms over her chest. The passion between these two was as clear as day despite everything. She glanced upstairs, wondering over Nate and his new ability. What else lay ahead? How would she feel if she were Isabella right now?
“Let him go, Izzie. Fighting won’t help,” Ella said, and her friend released her hold, flying to the other side of the room to slump in the armchair. There were no easy answers. They both had valid points.
“I think you’re wrong to underestimate Isabella, Roman.” Marcus rubbed the rim of his glass tumbler, lifting his head to face her. “What I know of her, she is a fighter who surprises me every time. As her partner, you should at least let her try.”
Ella was speechless. She expected him to display a completely different attitude, one that she would have agreed with. She bowed her head low. She didn’t want to lose Isabella, and knew deep down this beautiful, feisty, crazy woman had longed to be a mother, and to take this away from her—she couldn’t do it. It was Isabella’s choice and hers alone. She sighed. “It isn’t anyone’s decision except Izzie’s. You say Gabriel would use her, but what if she couldn’t be found?”
Roman raised his head toward the ceiling.
“What if we sent her away to stay with Lady Tenille?” Ella continued.
“Are you going to go with her and be willing to let her feed multiple times a day?” Roman asked.
“Now hang on, multiple times—just how much blood will Isabella need?” Marcus asked.
“It’s hard to say for sure, but a growing fetus requires food, and the bigger it grows, the more blood it needs,” the vampire said in a monotone voice that clearly reflected his resignation to an impossible situation.
“There has to be a way.” Ella wandered around, thinking about what she had gone through, reaching for anything. “What about the witch doctor?”
Isabella jumped out of her seat like a bullet. “Oh my God, how stupid of me. You’re right. I’ve heard tales of the witch doctor putting patients in a prolonged state of stasis. I wonder…” With that, Isabella vanished.
Yet Roman remained with his arms folded, watching her, silently brooding. His ebony eyes drilled holes into her, until he lowered his head and strolled toward her.
“I’m sorry you lost your baby, I am, but that doesn’t give you the right to judge me. I may not have a heart that beats like yours, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel. Isabella is carrying my child. You have no idea how that makes me feel. Do you hear me? But I will tell you this: I’ll kill anything or anyone who harms her—this child included.” He leaned in close before he vanished, too, leaving her staring at a silent Marcus.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Since Isabella and Roman’s bombshell, Ella longed to hear news from her friend. Desperate for an update, she messaged and called the witch multiple times but with no response. All this worry made her restless, and the fact the Morrigan’s voice plagued her sleep, taunting her, added to her anxiety.
Don’t get too settled, Ella.
The high-pitched croon made it impossible to be near Marcus, even though Ella needed his touch. Keeping her distance hurt deep inside.
Wanting everything to be over, she asked her husband to gather the Assembly together. Now, she strolled around Steel’s dining room, listening to everyone as they offered their
