The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,196

you to have contractions, which created a tear and then the bleeding. Luce was able to get the poison out of your system quickly.”

I could feel myself trembling as I tried to brace for the inevitable.

“Once she had you stabilized, she was then able to check on the…on the baby.” His throat worked on a swallow. “Luce didn’t find any tissue in your bleeding. She did an ultrasound—sonography—to check for a heartbeat.” He took a shuddering breath, his eyes meeting mine. “According to Luce, the baby is incredibly strong-willed and determined to be born.”

I blinked once and then twice. “W-what?”

“You didn’t lose the baby. At least, not now,” he explained. “She said it’s a high-risk pregnancy and that you need to be monitored, but she’s cautiously optimistic.”

“I… I’m….” Stunned, I couldn’t find words as disbelief rose. “I’m still pregnant?”

Caden nodded.

Tears welled so fast that I smacked my hands over my face. Relief and happiness turned out to be way more powerful than the crushing dread and fear. I couldn’t believe it. This baby has survived Aric and a poisoning. Strong-willed was an understatement.

“Are those tears of happiness?” Caden asked. “Or disappointment?”

I yanked my hands away from my face. “What?”

“I think it’s a valid question,” he said. “Because I don’t know if you’re happy or sad to know that you’re still pregnant.”

“I’m happy,” I told him, shocked. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Why?” A harsh, short laugh left him. “How would I know what you’re thinking? You’ve known this whole time that you were pregnant. Eleven weeks, actually. Luce was able to confirm definitively, by the way.”

I gave a little shake of my head. “I’m happy. I want this baby—”

“You do?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “I was planning to tell you. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about later.” The cloudy feeling in my head had completely disappeared. “I didn’t tell you, because—”

“Because you were trying to save the world. Yeah, I know. Luce told me.” The tension brackets increased around his mouth and then he rose, turned away.

“Caden—”

“I didn’t know,” he said, voice rough. “I thought I was hearing things when you asked about the baby.” His voice cracked on that word, and I felt it in my heart. “I learned that I was going to be a father at the same time I learned that someone out there knew and tried to kill not only you but also my child.”

“I was trying to do the right thing,” I told him. “I was doing the right thing—”

“I stood there, trying to process that someone had almost killed you and my child,” he cut me off. “And in the midst of watching you nearly die and being unable to do a damn thing, I realized that the only reason Kalen knew to tell you not to drink any more of that soda was because he knew that you were pregnant.”

“I’m sorry. He wasn’t supposed to know. He overheard me telling Tink—”

“I know.” He faced me. “He knew. So did Tanner. So did Faye. Are there any more who are sworn to be loyal to me that knew you were carrying my child?”

“No. They weren’t supposed to know. I told Tink because I had to tell someone—”

“You should’ve told me, Brighton.”

“I wanted to. I did. But I thought that if you knew, it would be harder for us to do the right thing—”

“Doing the right thing never should’ve included you keeping the fact that you were pregnant with my child from me.” His eyes weren’t cool then. They burned with anger. “I get what you were trying to do. Your desire to protect my Court and others is something that I love about you, but this is different.”

“How is it different?” I tried to sit up but found it was harder than expected. Caden snatched a pillow from the counter and shoved it behind my back. “Thank you.”

“That is our child, Brighton. Not just yours. Ours.” After ensuring that I was sitting up easily, he stepped back from the bed. “And our child should matter more than everything else. That’s why it’s different.”

“I agree, Caden, that’s why I needed you to choose a Queen because I didn’t want our child to grow up in a world that was being overrun by Winter fae,” I reasoned, trying to keep my voice calm.

“I chose you as my Queen.”

“But I didn’t know that!” The heart monitor beeped loudly, earning a dangerous look from Caden. I forced myself to calm down. “I didn’t know,