"I don't need to," I replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Anyone can tell you're carrying a child now."
"Does this mean the baby has a heartbeat now?" she asked, hopeful.
I palmed her belly. "Not yet, my love. But it's now obvious you're carrying another life inside you."
"Oh, that's good news! I've been scared, but because of you, Drevon, I think we can make this work. I need you to promise me something."
"Anything, my love."
"Promise me that when the baby comes, our love will be enough, no matter what."
I already knew which Eloise would choose, and as much as it ate me from the inside out, I knew what I had to do now.
"I promise."
~•~
"My liege?" Celia said with trembled eyes. "What did you say?"
"I shall give you a vial of Eloise's blood; you shall use it to study her lingering ailment."
She gulped. "But—"
"Your main priority is to develop a cure. This shall be a covert assignment. Do you understand me?"
