“Are you sure?” She moved deeper into the cavernous space, her pale lavender gown swishing at her ankles. It didn’t matter how many wall sconces were turned on, the light only ever cast a dull glow over the rows and rows of books and little else. But Aios was like a fiery torch in the dimness. “Besides the fact that I wouldn’t expect you to be after…what happened, your smile says otherwise.”

“What’s wrong with my smile?”

“Nothing,” she was quick to say. “It’s just a bit large.” A pause. “Unsettlingly so. Just like Bele’s when she’s faking it.”

My lips flattened. “Everything is fine,” I said for what felt like the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. “I just wanted to ask you something in private that has nothing to do with the Primals or the meeting.”

Curiosity etched into her features, and she sat on one of the long, crimson-hued couches. “I’m all ears.”

I opened my mouth, but I wasn’t sure how to ask the question without coming right out with it. “What I’m going to ask is going to sound really random,” I began, passing the rolling ladder, my stomach twisting into knots. I glanced at the portraits of Ash’s parents and then quickly averted my attention. Why had I chosen this space out of all the many, many empty chambers? Sadness dusted it and everything in it.

“Sera?” Aios’s brow creased. “I think I prefer the unsettlingly large smile over this.”

I frowned. “What is my face doing now?”

“You look rather…panic-stricken.”

Well, I was starting to feel rather panic-stricken now that I didn’t have the meeting to distract me.

I walked behind the couch across from Aios and willed my nerves to settle. I didn’t need Ash picking up on my emotions. “In the mortal realm, there were these older women who worshipped at Maia’s Temples and were often sought for specific reasons.”

A lock of red hair cascaded down her arm as she cocked her head to the side. “I know of whom you speak. The Matrons.”

“Yes. Them.” I made another pass behind the couch. “They were able to answer certain questions. How? I don’t know. But I assume they were taught by Maia or gods from her Court.”

The crease between Aios’s brows spread to her forehead. “You would be correct.” She tipped forward, watching me. “Why are you asking questions about this?”

My heart thudded. “I’m not even sure—I mean, I am. What I want to know doesn’t have anything to do with them.” Pressure started to build in my chest, causing me to draw in a deeper breath. Stopping, I grasped the back of the couch. Keep it together. The last thing I needed was for Ash to run out of the throne room in search of me. “Are you able to tell if someone is with child?”

Aios’s lips parted. They moved, but I didn’t hear any sound. It could’ve been the blood pounding in my ears because, all of a sudden, sound came rushing back. “Surely, you don’t mean…?” She hesitated as if saying the words aloud would make them real and she had to prepare herself. “Do you think you’re with child?”

“What?” I laughed—or screeched like a large bird of prey. “No.”

Aios stared at me. “Then why are you asking?”

“Because…” I dropped my forehead onto the back cushion and groaned. “Obviously, I’m asking for myself. And, honestly, I’m probably just overreacting. But you see, I’ve been nauseous lately, and I think I’m late.” My fingers pressed into the cushion as something occurred to me. “I’ve been really emotional, too. I want to cry over everything and anything, and that isn’t me. And I’m actually really late. That could simply be because of stress. A lot has happened.” Forcing myself to lift my head, I looked over at Aios. “Are you able to tell me if I’m overreacting?”

Aios’s mouth snapped shut, and she blinked rapidly. “I can.”

My heart felt like it fell onto the floor. “Then you know?”

“Yes. No.” She gave me a quick shake of her head. “I mean, I don’t know simply by looking at you, but you were right when you said a lot has happened. You’ve been through a lot of stress, both physical and emotional. That can do all manner of things to the body.”

Beneath my fingers, the backing of the couch creaked. “I know.”

“And it’s doubtful you would begin feeling symptoms so soon.”

I wanted so badly to believe that. “But it isn’t that soon.”

“It’s fairly difficult for Primals to conceive. Plus, you just Ascended into Primalhood, Sera. You were mortal before then. You would not have been able to conceive.”

“Yeah, see, that’s what I thought, but how mortal was I with Primal embers inside me? How mortal was I after taking Nyktos’s blood?” I said. “Which I did more than once before the Ascension.”

Aios’s chest rose sharply against the delicate lacing of her bodice. “I…I didn’t think about that. There’s no one else like you. I suppose it could be possible, but…”

“I had this dream, or maybe it was a vision, while in stasis—” I closed my eyes for a heartbeat. “I saw two cubs.”

“What?” she exclaimed.

“I saw my nota form, and then I saw two smaller versions of her,” I said.

“Two?” Aios whispered.

“Two.”

“Fates, Sera.” Her throat worked on a swallow, and her shoulders squared. “I can tell you if you are. I would just need to place my hand on your stomach,” she explained, her silver eyes wide. “You really think you’re with child?”

A rather huge part of me screamed no. If I didn’t know for sure, then I could continue on with, well, everything until I found out for myself one way or another. I wouldn’t have to think about how I would accomplish everything while with child…or two. I wouldn’t have to worry about how Ash would respond or—oh, gods—the fact that I could be responsible for another human being. Like really responsible, and not in some vague, Primal of Life and Queen of the Gods sort of way. I could have weeks, maybe even a month of not having to deal with what would be a fairly large complication. I could just pretend. I was really good at that.

But that was irresponsible. And while I was that on most days, I wasn’t actively, idiotically irresponsible. Mostly. I cringed, thinking of what I’d done.

Aios opened her mouth and then closed it.

She rose. Her gown whispered over the stone as she quietly approached me. Coming to stand beside me, she smiled. “It will be easier if you straighten,” she said. “You can still hold on to the couch if you’d like.”

For a moment, I had utterly no idea what she was talking about. Then I realized I was still hunched over, clasping the back of the couch.

Gods.

Prying my fingers loose and straightening, I saw I’d left dents in the backing. “I’m not acting like a…a badass Primal right now.”

Her smile softened. “You’re acting like someone whose entire life may change in a matter of moments.”

A whooshing motion swept through my chest, almost as if my heart decided it wanted nothing to do with this and had exited my body. “That didn’t help.”

“But that’s the reality.” Aios took my hand, and I jumped. I actually jumped. Her chin dipped. “Most people would be this nervous, Sera. Even if they were hoping for a yes.”

Throat drying, I swallowed hard. “Okay.”

“I need to touch your stomach—your bare stomach,” she informed me.

“All right.” Knees feeling weak, I grasped the skirt of the gown and lifted it above my waist. “Aios—” I stopped myself.

“What?”

Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. What I was thinking… “What if I am?” My voice cracked as those knots in my stomach doubled in size. “We have many fights ahead—”

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it,” she cut in.

“We’re crossing that bridge right now,” I countered. “Everything will change.”

“It could.” Her steady gaze held mine. “But it doesn’t have to.”

Air wheezed from my lungs. I knew what she meant.

“We just need to get to that point first,” she continued, her voice gentle. “Okay?”