Darkness Rises (Immortal Guardians) by Dianne Duvall Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Dianne Duvall
again.
Are you afraid? he asked softly.
Ami’s throat thickened. Her vision grew hazy as tears welled in her eyes. Raising her head, she met his gentle gaze. Terrified.
Zach’s chest constricted when tears spilled over her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. Ami was the kindest, gentlest mortal he had encountered in his long existence. Ironically, she was also one of the fiercest, most determined fighters. To see her so vulnerable made his heart hurt.
And Zach hadn’t even realized he had a heart.
I wish I could see the future, he said, so I could tell you how this will turn out .
She smiled and brushed at her cheeks. At least you didn’t tell me everything will be all right.
Is that what your husband does? he asked curiously.
She shook her head. Marcus never lies to me. A sad smile tilted her lips. So he says very little. He asks how I feel and does everything he can to make me happy, help me feel better, keep me from stressing over what might happen, all the things that could go wrong. More tears welled. And tries to carry all of the burden himself.
Zach swallowed. There really wasn’t anything he could say to ease her mind and steal away her despair. It surprised him that he even wished to try.
Did you know, she asked, sniffling, that before I came here I had never seen a pregnant woman?
No. He couldn’t imagine it, and sometimes forgot that she was from another planet.
She smiled. The first one I saw had a belly so huge I thought something was seriously wrong with her.
She must have wondered what the hell was in that belly. How is that possible? he asked. Don’t people on your planet reproduce the same way we do?
She nodded. Visitors came to us from another solar system under the guise of friendship and used a virus as a bioweapon against us. No one died from it, so we thought it was an accident, that they hadn’t known they were carriers, and didn’t think much of it until we realized that almost every woman on our planet had been rendered infertile by it. Those who weren’t usually miscarried. Successful pregnancies that go to term are practically nonexistent now. And female children are just as likely to be infertile. It’s one of the reasons I came here. I hoped to find some Earth women who might like to either serve as surrogate mothers or marry our men and help us repopulate.
And the other?
She shook her head. To warn you that the beings who tried to eradicate us are on their way to eradicate you .
Lovely. And for that you were ruthlessly tortured for six months.
Yes. She was quiet for a long moment. I never thought I would be a mother. Another minute passed. Marcus never thought he would be a father.
The odds of either were . . .
Well, hell, he would have thought it impossible even without knowing her people’s history.
Congratulations.
She stared at him. Moisture once more welled in her eyes.
Again Zach’s chest tightened. He cupped his knees in his palms, slid his hands over the soft leather anxiously. Should I not have—?
She shook her head, lips curling into a trembling smile, and brushed the tears from her cheeks. I’m sorry. It’s just . . . you’re the first person who has congratulated me. Everyone else . . .
Is concerned.
She nodded.
He looked at her stomach, hidden beneath one of Marcus’s large sweatshirts. May I?
She nodded.
Zach leaned close. Placing a hand on her stomach, which was rounder than he had expected beneath the soft material, he concentrated on the life it sheltered. The babe seems healthy. Maybe a little large.
She smiled, her face lighting a bit. That’s what Seth said. Marcus is large, too, though, so that’s the one thing that doesn’t concern me.
He hoped that was the explanation. A mixture of gifted one and alien DNA with the vampiric virus thrown in . . .
No one knew what the hell to expect.
And all feared the worst. Those who knew, anyway.
You know what I think you should do? he said, drawing back.
What?
Enjoy the
Are you afraid? he asked softly.
Ami’s throat thickened. Her vision grew hazy as tears welled in her eyes. Raising her head, she met his gentle gaze. Terrified.
Zach’s chest constricted when tears spilled over her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. Ami was the kindest, gentlest mortal he had encountered in his long existence. Ironically, she was also one of the fiercest, most determined fighters. To see her so vulnerable made his heart hurt.
And Zach hadn’t even realized he had a heart.
I wish I could see the future, he said, so I could tell you how this will turn out .
She smiled and brushed at her cheeks. At least you didn’t tell me everything will be all right.
Is that what your husband does? he asked curiously.
She shook her head. Marcus never lies to me. A sad smile tilted her lips. So he says very little. He asks how I feel and does everything he can to make me happy, help me feel better, keep me from stressing over what might happen, all the things that could go wrong. More tears welled. And tries to carry all of the burden himself.
Zach swallowed. There really wasn’t anything he could say to ease her mind and steal away her despair. It surprised him that he even wished to try.
Did you know, she asked, sniffling, that before I came here I had never seen a pregnant woman?
No. He couldn’t imagine it, and sometimes forgot that she was from another planet.
She smiled. The first one I saw had a belly so huge I thought something was seriously wrong with her.
She must have wondered what the hell was in that belly. How is that possible? he asked. Don’t people on your planet reproduce the same way we do?
She nodded. Visitors came to us from another solar system under the guise of friendship and used a virus as a bioweapon against us. No one died from it, so we thought it was an accident, that they hadn’t known they were carriers, and didn’t think much of it until we realized that almost every woman on our planet had been rendered infertile by it. Those who weren’t usually miscarried. Successful pregnancies that go to term are practically nonexistent now. And female children are just as likely to be infertile. It’s one of the reasons I came here. I hoped to find some Earth women who might like to either serve as surrogate mothers or marry our men and help us repopulate.
And the other?
She shook her head. To warn you that the beings who tried to eradicate us are on their way to eradicate you .
Lovely. And for that you were ruthlessly tortured for six months.
Yes. She was quiet for a long moment. I never thought I would be a mother. Another minute passed. Marcus never thought he would be a father.
The odds of either were . . .
Well, hell, he would have thought it impossible even without knowing her people’s history.
Congratulations.
She stared at him. Moisture once more welled in her eyes.
Again Zach’s chest tightened. He cupped his knees in his palms, slid his hands over the soft leather anxiously. Should I not have—?
She shook her head, lips curling into a trembling smile, and brushed the tears from her cheeks. I’m sorry. It’s just . . . you’re the first person who has congratulated me. Everyone else . . .
Is concerned.
She nodded.
He looked at her stomach, hidden beneath one of Marcus’s large sweatshirts. May I?
She nodded.
Zach leaned close. Placing a hand on her stomach, which was rounder than he had expected beneath the soft material, he concentrated on the life it sheltered. The babe seems healthy. Maybe a little large.
She smiled, her face lighting a bit. That’s what Seth said. Marcus is large, too, though, so that’s the one thing that doesn’t concern me.
He hoped that was the explanation. A mixture of gifted one and alien DNA with the vampiric virus thrown in . . .
No one knew what the hell to expect.
And all feared the worst. Those who knew, anyway.
You know what I think you should do? he said, drawing back.
What?
Enjoy the