Page 18 of Broken Hearted
Not caring about decorum at that moment, I burst forward andyanked open the train door. Leaping onto the platform, I smiled as the frigid, snowy wind slapped against my skin.
I bolted around the train car and jumped over the connecting point, grateful I was wearing pants.
“Dawn!” I shouted as I approached her.
She grinned and slipped down from her horse slowly, awkwardly, and it was at that moment that I remembered why. When she turned to face me, her swollen pregnant belly protruded out from the slit in her cloak.
My dearest friend, married and with child. It felt like a dream.
She opened her arms and smiled at me. “I’m pregnant, not contagious. You can hug me.”
With a laugh, I fell into her arms, careful not to press against her belly.
She squeezed me hard.
“I didn’t realize you were so far along,” I said with a giggle when she finally let me go.
She pressed her hand to her stomach and shook her head. “I’m not, but my husband’s family has a history of multiples, so we think that’s why I’m carrying so big. I’m sure you know by now all the Ethereum lords are quads.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, no, Dawn. How many are in there?”
She shrugged as if the thought of having a bunch of babies at once didn’t horrify her and gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t know. But I’m hoping for no more than two.” She waved a hand through the air and changed the subject. “Thank you for not hurting Adrien when you first saw him. They are all such good men. My mother lied to us, Izzy. Thank you for believing me.”
I nodded. “I know. Zane is …” I peered back at the train platform where he was directing his men to unload our bags and put them on horseback. “Wonderful.”
Dawn smiled and wagged her eyebrows a little. “How wonderful?”
I rolled my eyes. “Listen, I’m happy for you and Aribella, but that’s not how this is going for me.” I pointed to her belly and then her wedding ring.
She frowned, looking back at Zane as if she were sure some magic would have had me confessing he was my mate.
“And forget all that. How are things going here? Zane said you are thinking of evacuating?” I asked.
Dawn’s face instantly changed, as if I’d just snapped her back to reality, and she cradled her belly, nodding.
“This land is no longer sustainable. We sent word to Adrien, and he’s agreed to allow our people to stay there in the villages surrounding Soleum, though I sensed some reluctance from his fiancée.” She rolled her eyes then.
“What do you mean?” I asked, curious about her reaction.
“We were told not to have any refugees visible during the wedding.”
I growled. “She’s awful. Why don’t you ask Zane if you can go to Windreum? I’m sure he would be more than happy to take your people in. Then you don’t need to worry about Elisana.”
Dawn shook her head at my response. “We speculate that’s where the curse will hit next. So we intend to get our people as far away as we can.”
Oh. Because she thought Zane was my mate, and the curse always hits in the princess’s mate’s kingdom. At least that’s what Zane told me.
“Well, good luck with Elisana. Not sure what that wench did to deserve Adrien.”
She perked up at my response. “I heard you came out of the portal directly before Adrien and not Zane. That’s interesting.”
I frowned, shifting on my feet. “Interesting how? Those mirror portals can’t be controlled, you know that.”
“Do I?” she said. “I thought I did … but now I’m not sure.”
Okay … whatever that meant.
I peered around the frigid landscape and smiled a little. “The Summer princess living here? You must hate it.”
