free hand. “I’ll honor it.”
“Thank you.” Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to her abdomen while inwardly praying that this wasn’t the closest I ever came to kissing or holding my child. I stayed there for a second, my forehead pressed against Trixie’s stomach as I blinked back the tears and swallowed past the lump that was choking me. My throat was raw and the ache in my chest left me feeling as if my heart had been passed through a meat grinder.
After several deep breaths, I stood again and took a step back. Trixie was crying openly now, while trying to keep a smile pasted on her lips as if she could reassure me that this was for the best.
“I’ll send pictures and letters somehow. I’ll keep you updated on everything, I promise,” she said in a wavering voice.
“And I will find a way to make it safe. Even if it means tearing down the Towers one by one. It will be safe for you and our child. We’ll be together one day, I promise you that.”
“I know we will,” she said and then turned quickly and hurried out the door. The sound of her sobbing could be heard echoing down the hall as she descended the stairs.
Eldon moved to follow after her, but I grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against the nearest wall. The elf glared at me, his hand going to his side like he was going for a weapon, but I was already there in his face.
“You will watch over her. Keep her safe with your people. Do you understand me?” I snarled.
“Yes,” he hissed as me through clenched teeth.
“No one bothers her. No one goes near her or upsets her.”
“My sister is in enough pain. I would not have her suffer more.”
“And our child—”
“I will protect the child as if he were my own,” Eldon replied, his tone softening slightly for the first time.
“I don’t what him to suffer because of who his father is.”
“The child will not.” Eldon paused, looking a little uncomfortable. “While I might not be fond of you, the people of the Summer Court know what you have done for our race. You are . . . respected. Your child will be held in high esteem.”
With a nod, I released Eldon and stepped away from him. The elf gave me a small bow of his head and slipped out the open door. The silence of the empty apartment was suddenly overwhelming. I closed the door with a loud slam and leaned against it with my hands over my head.
“I will keep you safe!” I screamed, the desperate shout reverberating through the emptiness. “I will destroy them all! I . . . I will keep you safe.”
And then I let the pain consume me.
CHAPTER 8
I woke up lying half under the dining-room table, staring into the kitchen. I had no idea how I’d gotten there. It was only extreme discomfort that finally drove me to sit up. Sun poured through the open window blinds, casting the dusty living room in a golden light that was almost sickening considering the state of my life. Trixie was gone and I felt like I had no reason to ever move again. There was no reason to get up, make coffee, take a shower, or breathe.
Leaning back against the wall, I placed my elbows on my bent knees and roughly rubbed my face. My eyes felt like they had a pound of sand in them and my throat was raw. The throbbing ache in my head was getting worse the longer I stayed conscious. It was tempting to call up a snowstorm to blot out the sun while I crawled into my bed to stay for a few days.
But what would that have accomplished? I groaned and leaned my head back until it banged against the wall behind me. Trixie would still be gone. The killer stalking pregnant women would still be free, murdering more people. The other psychopath would be preparing his final triumph and Gideon would not be able to stop this asshole alone. And the Towers needed to be taken down permanently.
If I stopped the killers and destroyed the Towers, Trixie would come back. The world would be safe. She’d have to come back. I didn’t know if I was right or even if that was the sanest thought to cross my mind that morning, but it was a start. It was enough to get me to my unsteady feet. I had