~LENORA'S POV
"Dove..." he called softly, "you're pregnant," he said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "With my child."
The word hung in the air between us, turning the heat in the room into something freezing.
I stayed exactly where I was, his legs still in between my thighs and my hands frozen against his face, but everything about the moment felt wrong now.
It felt like the floor had suddenly dropped out from under the chair and we were both suspended in a vacuum where I couldn't get enough air into my lungs.
"What did you just say?" I whispered. My voice sounded thin, like it belonged to someone else.
Alaric didn't flinch. He didn't take it back or tell me he was joking. He just sat there with that calm, heavy expression, his hands still firm on my hips as if he was holding me in place so I wouldn't shatter.
"You're pregnant," he repeated.
I let out a short, jagged breath that was supposed to be a laugh, but it came out as a wheeze.
