The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,198

two have a lot to discuss, but we need to keep her heart rate and pressure stable.”

“I’m fine.”

“This is not keeping her stable,” Luce continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “And so soon after everything, this could threaten the pregnancy.”

“You’re right.” Caden folded his arms. “When do you think it will be safe to move her?”

“I think tomorrow will be fine, as long as her stats remain stable, and she’s kept as…” She glanced over at me. “Stress-free as possible.”

“She will be,” barked Caden, and I raised my brows. “I don’t want her here for one second longer than necessary.”

“Understood.”

Caden turned to me. “When we leave tomorrow, you’ll be coming home with me.”

“To your apartment?”

“No. To a place very few are aware of,” he said. “And do not argue with me about this and cause yourself unnecessary stress. Your house is not suitable.”

Too much was happening, and strangely, my brain focused on that statement. “Why is it not suitable?”

“Because too many people know where to find you, and I cannot possibly begin to secure the house,” he replied, turning back to Luce. “Notify me the moment you leave here.”

She nodded.

There was no way he was leaving. “Where are you going?”

Caden didn’t answer. He simply turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him without answering my question.

Without so much as looking at me.

Chapter 15

“He hates me.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Tink patted my arm. He’d followed Luce in, advising that he was on the approved visitation list.

In other words, he was allowed to see me.

I had a feeling that Caden had prohibited everyone else from getting close to me, which was understandable. But Tanner and Faye? Kalen? Ren and Ivy? Fabian? They were the only ones I trusted, but apparently, Caden was taking no chances.

While that should give me some relief because it meant that he still cared, I had a sinking feeling that he was more worried about the baby.

After all, according to him, I wasn’t all that easy to kill. Or whatever.

“You don’t understand, Tink.” I sighed as Luce came over to check my blood pressure. “He feels betrayed, and I can’t blame him. Not really.”

“Neither can I,” he agreed. “But I think he just needs time. He knows you were trying to do the right thing.”

I nodded.

“He was dealt one hell of a shock, learning he was a baby daddy while you were vomiting up your guts and seizing,” Tink pointed out as bluntly as possible. “I imagine most expect to learn that kind of news in any other way than how the King learned it.”

“I know. It’s just…” I could still hear him saying that I hadn’t loved him enough. That wasn’t true. It was the exact opposite. I loved him enough to not be the source of his downfall, and I loved our child enough to do everything to bring him or her up in a world that was stable.

Well, as stable as it could be.

“Is everything still okay?” I asked as Luce placed the cuff on the counter.

“All of your stats look good.” Luce came back to the bed. “I’ll check the hormone levels in the blood I just took, and then I’ll take some more blood tomorrow. If you were to start to miscarry, we’d see those hormone numbers going down.”

My stomach dipped. “Do you think there’s still a chance that I could lose the baby?”

“The pregnancy is considered threatened, so yes, there is a chance. But you’re different, Brighton. You’re not entirely human.” Her pale eyes narrowed on me. “Which would’ve been something useful to know when I first examined you.”

“Hey.” Tink lifted his hands. “She didn’t even tell me.” He slid me a look. “Hussy.”

I sighed once more. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was something I was supposed to share, and in my defense, a whole lot of shit has been happening. I obviously haven’t been making the best decisions.”

“That’s an understatement,” Tink muttered under his breath as he leaned back in the chair.

I ignored that.

“Learning that you were given the Summer Kiss explains why you’ve been healing so well from your previous injuries,” Luce went on. “Since you were given it before conception, it probably aided with that too. That’s got to have something to do with the child being so resilient, but I can’t be sure. I’ve never met a human who’s been given the Summer Kiss.” Her brow puckered. “But you stopped bleeding last night, so that’s great news. You haven’t been experiencing any more cramping or