Page 35 of A Sanctuary from Shadow
Briar hunched at the café table. His auburn hair shot out in all directions, his face waxen. He’d changed into jeans and an army-green tee-shirt. Telling wet spots mottled his top, like he’d scrubbed himself clean many times.
“Oh, Goddess,” I moaned, covering my eyes. “I threw up on you!”
When I finally dared to make eye contact, Briar looked ready to wring my neck. “I found you near death in the parking lot of a drugstore, andthat’syour first thought after waking?”
I frowned, ashamed of nothing.
Briar stomped over, grabbed my face in his hands. “For the love of all that’s sacred! Do you really hate the idea of having my baby that much that you’d rather end your life?”
I pushed his hands away. “I wasn’t trying to kill myself! I didn’t know I was allergic to the pill. I’d never taken one before.”
Briar rubbed his temples like he might have a stroke. “You think you’reallergicto it?”
I blinked. “Yeah.”
Swearing, he sat at my hip and squeezed one of my hands. I lacked the energy to disengage. “Amy, you’re not allergic to the pill. It’s toxic to Dananns.”
“What? It’s just hormones.”
“Right, but hormones your body can’t process. No Danann female can. It’s like poison to you.”
“And I’m only hearing about this now?”
“You’ve been warned not to take the pill or any other hormonal contraceptives hundreds of times!” Frustration flushed his face. “Starting from when we were 12! Remember? Your uncle had midwives take over Sunday circle lessons for two weeks to warn you and the other girls of its dangers!”
“But they saidnothingabout Dananns being any different from other women! And you know they sounded like all those religious zealots who think it’s a crime against nature to prevent pregnancy! The ones who claim the pill will cause birth defects or infertility! Well, guess what, Briar—I looked up their weak-ass claims on the internet. Even at 12, I knew how to fact check.”
He swore into his palms.
“The science wasn’t in their favor! So, if they wanted to protect me, then why didn’t someone give me specifics?”
He stiffened. “I guess nobody expected you to go out and revenge abort our baby!”
I shoved myself up to sit against the paneled headboard. “Two things!” I blustered. “First, the morning-after pill doesn’t abortanything. It’s just a heavy dose of the birth control pill. If a baby had already been in the works, it wouldn’t have harmed it.”
“Again—Dananns are different, Amy.”
“Second, I didn’t take it out of revenge, Briar. I decided to do it before I even knew you were faking our whole relationship.”
He shook his hands at me. “Why?”
“Because I obviously don’t want to get pregnant! Duh!”
Jerking away from me, Briar dropped his head into his hands, stewing.
I might’ve stewed along with him—I had more right to do so, after all. But he’d just saved my life. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so hard on him.
“How’d you find me?” I muttered.
“Zinnia—she circled back to tell me where you were.”
I should’ve been grateful to her, but I felt betrayed. “What was that stuff you made me drink? It tasted awful.”
“An herbal antidote made of mugwort, wild garlic, and a few other things.” He swiped a hand through his hair, demonstrating why it was so mussed. “It’s used to purge the stomach and counteract the effects of poison.” His gaze dropped to my stomach. “At least some of the effects.”
I scowled. “Anyway—thank you for helping me. I know you think I was reckless and stupid, but—”My body, my choice, butthead.
“I don’t think you’re stupid. You’re just ignorant, and that’s not your fault.”
