Diana’s voice carried from the foyer. “You have some nerve showing up here.”
Kat sat up straighter.
“I need to speak to Katherine.”
Lann.
The throbbing of Kat’s heart echoed painfully in her chest. She couldn’t face him. Not now. Not ever.
“You should go,” Diana said.
“I’m not leaving until I’ve seen her.”
Her friend’s tone was clipped. “Haven’t you upset her enough?”
“This is between Katherine and me.” His voice rose in anger. “Step out of the way, Diana.”
During the time they’d been together, he’d never raised his voice, not even the time when he’d almost strangled a man who’d dared to dance with her.
Getting to her feet, she hurried to the door and laid a hand on Diana’s shoulder. “I’ve got this.”
Diana still had her hand on the door, looking like she was ready to slam it in Lann’s face. “If you don’t want to talk to him—”
“It’s fine,” Kat said. If Lann suddenly decided he had something to say, sooner was better than later. “Do you mind giving us a moment?”
She felt bad for all but throwing Diana out of her own home, but this was a discussion she should be having with Lann in private.
After a moment, Diana gave a tight nod. “I’ll go out for a while. I’ve got my mobile.” She glared at Lann. “Call if you need me, Kat.”
When the door slammed behind Diana, Kat and Lann faced each other in an awkward silence. His gaze homed in on her face before slipping to her stomach, much like he’d done earlier in his study.
Turning from his piercing stare, Kat led the way to the lounge. “Can I offer you a drink? I suppose this calls for something strong.”
“No, thank you.” He crossed his arms. His yellow eyes seemed haunted. “I came to ask you two things, and I want honest answers.”
She gaped at him. He wanted honest answers?
“My first question,” he continued, “is why you broke our thirty-day exclusivity agreement.” His eyes turned colder. Calculation made his beautiful Russian accent sound harsh. “My second is who is he?”
Was he for real? “I can’t do this. I won’t play this game with you.” Too tired to fight this battle, she said, “You have to go.”
He took a step toward her. “I’m going nowhere until you tell me.”
“Why? So that you can kill him?”
He didn’t bat an eyelash.
She gave an internal start. She was only half-joking, but he was dead serious. A part of her knew what he was capable of. She’d witnessed it in the tango bar. She’d seen the inhuman scars on his body.
Uttering a strained laugh, she said, “You’re crazy.”
His eyes crinkled in the corners, but the gesture wasn’t friendly. “You better believe it. Tell me his name.”
She hugged herself. “There was no one but you.”
“Don’t lie to me, Katherine.” His yellow eyes shimmered with pent-up rage. “Not about this.”
“I didn’t break our agreement.” Not able to stand the disbelief in his eyes, she launched into her own attack. “Why don’t you rather tell me why you lied? Why did you tell me you’re infertile?”
Indecision played over his face as he considered her question. Instead of answering, he walked to the window and stared outside. He didn’t look back at her when he said, “I didn’t lie.”
“Then it doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s plain old science,” he said, his voice hard and cold. “Someone other than me fucked you.”
She swallowed a gasp. “That was cruel.”
“Alas, the truth often is.”
“How can you even think that?” she exclaimed.
He spun around. “That time I was away, when I had to leave for business, you conceived during that week.”
“Oh, no.” Shaking her head, she backed up a step. “Don’t you dare.” She was close to tears again, fighting to contain them. “I did what I believed was right. I told you the truth. If you’re not man enough to handle it, get out of my house.”
For the first time, he appeared uncertain.
“Why would I have told you if you’re not the father?” she asked. “I didn’t ask you for anything. I don’t need your money and I sure as hell don’t need you in my baby’s life.”
He regarded her with a pained expression. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I’ve had enough. Please see yourself out.” She turned. “Have a nice life.”
He grabbed her arm. “I want to believe you, but I’ve never lied to you either. Whatever is happening,” his throat moved as he swallowed, “you need to have an abortion.”
His words were like a knife jammed into her heart. She jerked her arm free and stepped outside his reach. Her voice was tremulous. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Moving fast, he gripped her shoulders. “I want tests done.”
Tests? It was clear he didn’t trust her. It was even clearer he didn’t want to be a father. This was a road she’d have to walk alone. What had she expected? Had she believed he was going to give her an explanation and confess his love? He’d only promised her thirty days. Nothing more.
“I’ve got this under control,” she said. “Just go.”
He shook her gently. “Like hell you do. You will have an abortion, do you hear me?”
Such cruel words. The air was gone again. Her chest heaved.
“Katherine, breathe.”
She tried to drag oxygen into her lungs, but the simple action she’d always taken for granted was ineffective.
“Let me help you,” he said, dragging her closer.
She pushed him away. She didn’t need his help. She could do this on her own.
“Kat!” Diana rushed across the floor. “What have you done to her?” She gave Lann an accusing look. “Just as well my gut told me to come back.” Taking hold of Kat’s shoulders, she pushed her down onto the couch. “This has been happening a lot lately. I think you need to see a doctor.”
Kat didn’t need a doctor. It was just a small panic attack. In and out. Easy. When she made an effort to relax, her lungs filled again.
“You should really go,” Diana said, shooting daggers at Lann.
He walked to the couch, but Diana placed herself between him and Kat. “Can’t you see you’re upsetting her?”
He appeared indecisive, but after a moment he turned and left. The door shut quietly behind him.
Diana went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. “Drink.”
“Thanks.” Kat took a few sips and left the water on the table.
Diana plopped down next to her. “You’re pale. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“It’s nothing. I’m upset, that’s all.”
Diana didn’t look appeased. “Maybe you should get a restraining order.”
Kat rested her head on the backrest. “What a grand mess.”
For once, Diana sounded scared. “We’ll figure it out.”
Kat’s phone rang early. Wiping her hands over her eyes, she looked at the screen. It was an unlisted number. She pulled the pillow over her head, deciding to let it go to voicemail, but it started ringing again five seconds later. Maybe it was a die-hard journalist who was hard up for a story that was now like old, warmed up food. Changing her number had helped, but some reporters still managed to get it. Facing the breakup with Lann on social media and through the gossip columns had been hard. It wasn’t easy being dumped in public, in front of the whole world. That’s what you got for dating a mysterious millionaire.
She took the call with a tired greeting. The voice that sounded on the other end wasn’t who she expected.
“Katherine, please don’t hang up.”
She sat up. “How did you get this number?” Did she really have to ask? “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
He sounded genuinely concerned. “How are you?”
Tired. “I’m good.”
“We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing left to say.”
“Katherine, this is important. Let me come over, or let me fetch you and bring you here.”
She groaned. “I already told you, you’ve got nothing to fear. I’m not expecting you to—”
“What I need to say can’t be said on the phone.”
“There can’t be more to say.”
“There is.”
She rested her hand on her forehead. “Fine. I’ll listen to what you have to say if you say it calmly, but I don’t have to agree.”
“I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
She regarded her reflection in the mirror and flinched at her disheveled state. “You better give me half an hour.”
“You can’t face him again,” Diana said.
“He’s a dangerous ass,” Enrico chipped in.
They sat in the kitchen in their apartment, Enrico eating cereal and Diana sipping coffee.
Kat sighed. “He’s got a right to say how he feels and what he wants. I can’t deny him that. This baby is half his.”
Diana snorted. “He gave up those rights when he acted like an asshole. I don’t like this.”
“Just give us a few minutes. This has to happen. If not now, I’ll have to face him later.”
Diana left her mug on the table. “You call me if he stresses you out again.” She took her bag. “Come, Enrico.”
He looked at his breakfast. “I haven’t finished.”
“We’ll have croissants at Fournos.” Diana gave Kat a peck on the cheek. “Are you sure about this?”
No. She smiled. “Thanks for understanding. Sorry for kicking you out of your own home, but I simply don’t have the energy to go somewhere else.”
Lann arrived as Diana and Enrico left. Diana gave him a measured look as she squeezed past him. Enrique offered a greeting but he didn’t look Lann in the eyes.
“Come in,” Kat said.
He walked inside and stopped in the lounge. “You look pale.”
Kat didn’t offer him a seat or coffee. She just wanted him to have his say so that she could carry on with her life and put her energy into making new plans for her future. “You said you had something to say.”
“We didn’t finish our discussion yesterday.”
“Discussion?” She crossed her arms. “You accused me of cheating on you and told me to have an abortion. In my books, that doesn’t count as a discussion.”
“You need to terminate the pregnancy.”
She blew out a long breath. “Are we back to that again?”
His voice was stern. “Katherine.”
“Save your breath. I can’t do it. Ever. If you—”
“You don’t understand.” He fixed her with a piercing gaze. “If you are carrying my baby, Katherine, you’re going to die.”
Chapter 3
The words echoed in her mind, but they refused to register.
“Katherine, listen to me—”
Backtracking, she shook her head. He closed the distance and took her arms. “Will you just listen?”
The word slipped over her numb lips. “No.”
“You’ll die!”
Die? It didn’t make sense. She pulled to free herself, but he tightened his grip.
His tone was urgent. “I’m not a normal human being. If, God forbid, you’re carrying my baby, you’ll die giving birth to it.” He dug his fingers into her arms. “You will die unless you get rid of it.”
The strength left her body. It sounded like a lie, but Lann didn’t lie. “Let go of me.”
A look of defeat washed over his features, but after a moment, he dropped his arms to his sides.
Walking to the sofa on wooden legs, she sat down.
Lann followed. “I didn’t want to tell you like this.”
“When were you planning on sharing this tidbit of information?”
He sat down next to her. “I couldn’t tell you. My kind is hunted. The less you know, the better. But this … this changes everything.”
“If not normal, what are you?” she asked.
The word was hollow. “I’m an aeromancist.”
It had to be a dream. A crazy nightmare. She knew about the forbidden arts practitioners from her study of daemon literature, but those were only tales.
“Aeromancists don’t exist,” she said. “It’s only a legend.”
He seemed remorseful, as if he already regretted what he was going to do. He lifted his hand, palm up. A tiny ball of lightning formed at his fingertips, the electric fibers winding like the thread of a ball of yarn. It grew bigger. When he flicked his fingers, it raced through the room and exploded in mid-air. It was only a pop, a small demonstration, but she jumped as if he’d released a hurricane in the room. Her heart raced. Her body shook.
“Please, don’t upset yourself.” He reached for her. “I didn’t want to frighten you.”
She slapped his hand away. “Why?” she asked through parched lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’re a clever girl. You know why.”
“Then why get involved with me in the first place?” She jumped to her feet. “Why didn’t you just stay away from me?”
He blinked. “I couldn’t stay away. Not from you.”
This couldn’t be happening. She wished she’d never met him. No, that wasn’t true. Despite everything, she wouldn’t have wanted it differently. He’d given her more than the best sex of her life. He’d made her discover love. He’d given her a child. New life. And now the promise of death. It couldn’t be true. She sunk back onto the sofa.
He got up, walked to the kitchen, and came back with a glass of water.
“Drink,” he instructed gently.
It wasn’t water she needed. It was vodka, neat. When she shook her head, he left it on the coffee table and went down on his haunches in front of her. She turned her head toward the wall. She didn’t understand any of this. It wasn’t possible.
“Katherine.” When she didn’t look at him, he gripped her chin and turned her face back to him. “All mothers of forbidden art babies die at birth.”
Her fingers trembled in her lap. She clasped her hands together to still them. “It can’t be true.”
“Please, don’t deny it. It won’t change anything. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I don’t know how you conceived. I can’t explain it. I hoped it wasn’t mine and hated the thought of it being someone else’s.”
“The baby is yours, Lann.”
“I’d like to have tests done.” When she parted her lips to object, he said, “I want to have tests done to know what went wrong.”
“Wrong?” She got to her feet again. “Is this all it is to you? Something went wrong?”
His jaw set in a hard line. “If it’s going to cost your life, then yes, it’s wrong.”
“Maybe this time it’ll be different,” she said, clinging to hope.
His tone was sad. “No mother has ever survived. Why do you think there are so few of us?” As her hands went to her stomach, his eyes followed the movement. “I want you to move back to the monastery and stay there at least until after the abortion.”
She almost choked. “I don’t want to kill my baby.”
Balling his hands into fists, he said in a raised voice, “I don’t want to be the reason for killing you.”
She flinched, leaning away from him. He took a ragged breath, seeming as if he were fighting for control.
She needed time to process all of this. “You have to go.”
He pursed his lips. “I’m not leaving you.”
The support he offered was born from duty instead of care. It wasn’t the kind of support she needed.
“If it wasn’t for this pregnancy, you wouldn’t be here right now,” she said. “By choice, you would’ve never seen me again. That’s what the contract was for.”
“Katherine,” he said, palms spread to the ceiling.
“Tell me, La
nn. The truth.”
He hung his head. “I didn’t plan on seeing you again, but only because I didn’t want to ruin your life.”
“Then don’t,” she said. “See yourself out.”
“No.”
She got to her feet. “It wasn’t a request.”
“Katherine—”
“I need time.” It was too much to absorb. “Please.”
When he didn’t budge, she walked to her room, and closed her door. She leaned on it until she heard a click followed by the fading sound of his footsteps on the landing.
After two days of isolating herself, ignoring Lann’s calls and messages, there was a soft knock on Kat’s bedroom door.
“Kat?” Diana called.
Kat hadn’t told her friend what Lann had said. She’d been thinking about her options. There really was only one decision to make. She’d researched for two days. There was no doubt in her mind what Lann said was true. The choice was her life or their child’s. Either way, someone had to die. By her conscious choice. By her hand. A shiver ran over her.
“Kat?” Diana’s persistent knocking pulled her back to the moment.
She closed the reports on forbidden arts on her laptop, and smoothed down her hair. “Come in.”
Her roommate entered, but she wasn’t alone. With her was a tall, slender woman with short hair, styled to look messy, dressed in a sleeveless black dress.
Diana’s shrug was apologetic. “I brought a visitor.”
“Hi, Kat,” the woman said in a melodic voice. “I’m Eve. I’d like to talk to you.”
Kat turned in her chair, her body tensing. “Who are you?”
Eve nodded at Diana, and when the latter left the room with a solemn face, Eve sat down on Kat’s bed.
“I’m Lann’s doctor.” Kat opened her mouth, but Eve lifted her hand. “Just listen before you make any judgment. Lann told me that you’re pregnant, and that you’re claiming the baby is his.”
“He still doesn’t believe me?”
“He does, and so do I, even if, from a medical perspective, it’s impossible to explain. I’ve personally conducted the fertility tests on Lann. This morning’s analysis shows a reversal, an abnormally high sperm count, and I want to do more tests to determine what’s going on. In the meantime, Lann told me you know what will happen?”
Aeromancist (SECOND EDITION): Art of Air (7 Forbidden Arts Book 3) Page 2
