I started hearing a familiar voice outside the carriage—so familiar that my heart stopped mid‑beat. Leon. His voice carried through the night, woven together with the soft echo of his piano playing. And somewhere beside him…I heard my sister. She wasn't running, wasn't hiding—she was holding her ground.
Panic rushed through me. I didn't want Darius to get angry, not when he had made it painfully clear that I was not to disobey his rules. But how could I sit still when my own family was out there fighting for me? Fighting because of me?
Instinctively, I placed my hands on my belly. My stomach had started to round out, more visible now than I had noticed before. A small bump—my bump. When did Darius even realize I was pregnant? When did I realize? I prayed silently that my children wouldn't turn out like Hazel's, who practically popped out a baby in one month. Goddess forbid.
