“No shit. It’s infecting him. Whatever it is, it’s spread all over his torso. He said”—my voice cracks as I remember his last words—“he said he could smell burnt flesh and hair.”
“I don’t get it. Every time I try to understand this mark, it’s like it starts to get clear, then moves out of focus,” he says, shaking his head.
“What do you think that means?”
“I’m not…” he gapes at me, yanking his hands back. “Holy shit—you’re pregnant?”
“I don’t know that it’s any of your business,” I say, blinking hard at him.
Dominic scrambles to his feet. “Like hell. You wanted to know what’s happening—what’s coming. How am I supposed to be effective when I don’t have all the information?”
“You’re psychic. I figured you’d find the information that was relevant. It’s not like I was trying to hide anything. I just found out. He doesn’t even know. And besides, I’m not asking about being pregnant,” I say, blinking back tears. “I’m trying to save Wade.”
“Well, then things just got a helluva lot more complicated for you,” he snickers under his breath.
I gape at him, waiting for him to explain himself.
After a moment, he shakes his head and meets my gaze. “Look, I need more intel—the kind I can get when I level up. But I can tell you the Moirai aren’t just searching for a way to take you and Wade down. They’re coming for your baby, too.”
My heart races as I push myself to a stand. It’s not like I didn’t know this—the curse has damned us all. But it’s something entirely different to hear that it’s set in motion.
If they plan on taking out our child, the easiest way to do that would be to end his or her life before the baby has a chance of being born.
That means time’s almost up and I’m running out of options.
Chapter 14
An Insane Gamble
The room spins, and I walk over to the bed and take a seat.
For some reason I thought I’d have more time. If nothing else, the duration of the pregnancy, before shit hit the fan. But if they’re coming for all of us, all bets are off.
“When are they coming, Dominic? Has it started already? Is that what this is? They’re attacking Wade?” I ask, tears blurring my vision.
Dom shakes his head. “I don’t know. Like I said, the whole situation around him is weird—there’s so much interference.”
“Then make it clearer,” I spit at him.
“I can’t,” he says, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m not omnipotent, for fucksake. I’ve been trying to tell you, my abilities have limits.”
I narrow my gaze. “So, basically, you’re withholding information until you get what you want?”
“What?” he sputters, making a face. “No. That’s not what this is.”
“Maybe this was a mistake,” I say, dropping my gaze to the floor. The room still feels like it’s rotating and my stomach is precariously on the verge of pushing the contents back up.
I swallow hard, trying to ignore the pressure.
Dominic opens his mouth to say something, but my phone rings, cutting off whatever he planned on spouting out. I tug my phone from my pocket, and flip it over. It’s my mom.
For a second, my heart stops beating.
“Hey, Mom. Is Wade—” I sputter, trying not to panic.
“He’s stable for now and they’ve moved him from the ER to the ICU. Unfortunately, that’s as much as they can tell me at the moment, sweetie. How are you doing there? Did you make it okay?” she says, trying to keep her voice calm and even.
I shift my gaze to Dominic and nod. “Yeah, I made it okay. I’m with Dom now, but I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, I’ll call if I hear anything else. Text when you’re on your way back, okay?” she says.
“Yeah, okay,” I say.
“Love you, Autumn.”
“Love you, too, Mom,” I say, hanging up the phone.
Again, my gaze flits to Dominic. Things are just as ominous for me now as they were when he said the same thing to his mother.
He takes a deep breath, cramming his hands into his pockets. “Look, Autumn, I know this is the last thing you want to do right now, but it’s really important to me. And if all goes according to plan, me leveling up might be the one thing you need in order to protect yourself from this curse. Obviously, your dad’s research didn’t save him. This isn’t just about Wade anymore.”
I stand up. “Don’t you think I know that?”
“Well, then, what the hell are you waiting for?” he spits back.
I blink back angry tears and I ask myself the same question. Then, it finally dawns on me. It has nothing to do with helping him with this, or even the timing so much.
“I’ve been surrounded by death from the moment I came back to Windhaven. I just lost my dad, my boyfriend’s in the ER, and as you said, time is running out for everyone. Myself and my baby included,” I say softly, my hands instinctively lowering to my abdomen. “Why would I want to intentionally kill a friend, just to test whether or not I can bring him back? Right now, it seems like an insane gamble.”
Dominic’s blue eyes widen and for a moment, he doesn’t say anything.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Look, I know you think I only reach out to you when I need something, and maybe there’s some truth in that. But you’re one of my good friends, Dominic. I don’t have many of those and I don’t want to lose you, too,” I whisper.
His chin juts out, rolling it from side to side as he fights the emotion welling in his eyes. “Yeah, well…the feeling is mutual,” he says, his voice cracking. “There’s just one difference.”
“What’s that?” I say, looking at him from under my eyebrows.
“I don’t think it’s a completely insane gamble.” His lips twitch slightly.
I roll my eyes, dropping my gaze to the phone still clutched in my
