Storm Born Page 0,99

looked even more enormous than last time.

I clenched my fists, remembering the look on my mom's face when she described her captivity. Wil's picture of a lonely girl, lost in her fantasy world, circled around my mind. "I will kill you, you bastard. But first I'll make sure you beg me for it." I sounded like Volusian.

"Eugenie," murmured Kiyo, laying a hand on my wrist. His voice was firm and cautionary. He apparently feared I'd do something stupid. It was a good fear.

Aeson seemed unconcerned. "Those are kind of extreme measures, don't you think? Especially when there are much simpler ones."

"Such as?"

He shrugged. "I'll turn her over to you tonight."

"Let me guess. If I go live with you instead?"

"No such commitments. Come with me just for Beltane. One night, and both you and she walk free. Not a bad offer, especially since there are still a number of men out there plotting to carry you off for an extended period. Considering the other drivel that's approached you, you could do a lot worse. I'm powerful. Rich. Influential. A worthy consort."

I looked Aeson up from head to toe, glanced at the still-watching Jasmine, and then turned back to him. "I think I'd rather just kill you."

He gave me a mocking bow, face still hard. "I look forward to the attempt." He started to walk away, then gave Kiyo a considering look. "I suppose you could pick worse men to father your child. This one's already proven he can do it."

Aeson swept away from us and headed back to his group. Sliding a possessive arm around Jasmine, he leaned over and kissed her hard, pressing her body up against his. With the difference in their heights, he looked like he was molesting a small child - which, I supposed, he actually was. Puberty be damned.

The anger that sight inspired in me solidified into ice as I turned back around to face Kiyo. The look on his face made something inside of me curl up into a ball.

"What's he talking about?"

He started to open his mouth and then paused, apparently reconsidering what he wanted to say. My incredulity exploded.

"Kiyo! This is where you tell me he's full of shit and you have no idea what he's talking about."

"Eugenie..." he began slowly.

"Oh, my God." I turned around. The ice inside of me melted and made me queasy. "You have a kid you never told me about. You have a kid somewhere."

"No. Not yet."

I spun around. "What the hell is that supposed to - " I stopped. "Maiwenn. Maiwenn is pregnant."

Poor Maiwenn. Poor sick and weak Maiwenn. I'd heard a number of comments made about her condition and never questioned it. It was a sign of my distraction in the last month. Gentry didn't really get sick. They could get killed in battle, die from an infected wound, or die of old age. That was about it.

Even now, looking across the room, I saw her sitting and talking with a few others. She was smiling but looked pale under her tan. The dress she wore was loose and voluminous. The one she'd worn at my house had been similar, albeit not made of silk. She wasn't currently showing off her body.

"You should've told me," I whispered.

"Yes," he said simply. "I should have."

"You should have told me!" I repeated, my voice loud and strained. Most of the room's noise muffled my cry, but a few people nearby gave us curious looks.

"Shh." Kiyo took my arm and steered us back toward the wall. "I was waiting. Things were so uncertain between us. I wanted to have a steady foundation before I told you."

"Did you ever consider that telling me now might help that 'steady foundation'? What happened to all the honesty rhetoric?"

"And how would you have taken it?" he asked quietly. "You've had a hard enough time knowing she and I were together at all."

"No, I haven't."

"Eugenie, I see it in your face whenever her name's mentioned."

"It doesn't matter. This is big."

He shook his head. "It happened in the past. She and I aren't together. We're friends now. You and I are together."

"So what? You're not going to do anything with this baby because you guys aren't together anymore?"

"No! Of course not. I'll be there for the baby, and I'll support Maiwenn as much as that requires."

"Then that's not the past," I snapped. "That's your future. My future too if you were planning on being with me."

His face turned even more sober than it had been. "You're