Page 69 of Silverproof Damsel

“I won’t lose the two of you for a maybe. Maybe you succeed in saving her, but you lose our child. Maybe you die too, Love. I’m bound by honor to protect you. That means I must make hard choices. I’ve made the choice already. You’re not strong enough to save her. We’re done discussing this.” Rhys spun on his heel, strolling toward the door. Once he reached it, he bowed his head, turning toward me just enough that I could see the tears swimming in his eyes. “She’s asked to be able to say goodbye to you. When the time comes, I’ll retrieve you so that she may have her last wish,” he muttered, then vanished from sight.

Chapter Thirty

Thebeepingofthemachines, while annoying, was welcomed. Bullet’s static, chaotic heartbeat played throughout the room. Running my fingers over my abdomen, I studied the babe’s reaction to my prodding.

A smile stretched over my lips as the babe removed the fingers they’d been sucking on, then turned its strangely shaped head. I’d asked one of the healers about the shape of the skull, but she’d merely chuckled and assured me it was perfectly normal.

The door cracked open. It forced my attention from the perfect little creature to their father as he stuck his head in the door. As I watched, he slid his regard to the monitor, and a proud smile played over his full, kissable lips.

“Have you been able to rest with all the noise?” Azure eyes glowed with pride as Rhys studied the fetal monitor, then lowered to meet mine.

“I’ve managed to sleep a bit.”

Entering the suite, I noted he still wore the same rumpled suit he’d worn last night. His hair was disheveled, as if he hadshoved his tattooed fingers through the silky ink-colored strands all night or he’d been pulling at them.

I’d very seldom, if ever, seen Rhys look out of sorts. The fact that he was sent caused worry to slither through my mind. My heartbeat increased quickly. It caused the machines to begin beeping to alert the healers. Rhys’ azure eyes widened in worry as he reached me, then carefully searched my face as if it held the answer to his question.

“Nyota?” I asked, lips quivering with worry. “Nyx?” My stomach twisted when no one spoke. It took everything I had to blink back my tears. It felt like an invisible fist was squeezing my heart, working it free of my chest.

“Nyx is fine. Acyn has ensured she’s tended to and protected.” Grabbing one of the chairs, Rhys pulled it over to the bed, then sat down as healers flooded the room. “She’s fine. Go tend to Lady Nyota. She’s to feel no pain.”

“Rhys?” I whispered as fear gutted through me. “Please!”

“She’s—” Rhys hesitated, throat bobbing as he tried to choose the right words. “Nyota’s condition has taken a turn. It’s not for the better, I’m afraid.”

My stomach twisted at the pain in his voice. Nyota had barely been a year old when their mother had been murdered. Rhys and his brothers had raised her themselves. Their father had been inconsolable and out of sorts after Verity’s death. It had fallen upon them to protect, raise, and care for their sister.

“You have to let me—”

Rhys stood abruptly, scraping the feet of the chair over the sterile, white flooring. The sound of it crashing as it toppled was deafening. “I don’t have to do shit, Silversmith. If my only choice is between losing you and our child or losing her, then I must listen to reasoning. You won’t survive if you were to heal her. I’d lose you and Bullet. Nyota wouldn’t forgive me if I allowed you to sacrifice yourself for her. Two lives for one, do the math for theequation.” The raw pain in his voice made the tears fall freely as he allowed me to see his pain.

“You don’t know that I’d die, Rhys. It’s my silver that was used to harm her. I’m the only one who can save her.”

“I don’t know that I won’t lose you, either. I can’t make that choice. I won’t.” The way his voice trembled told me he had considered the cost before making his choice.

“I’m willing to try . . . even if the cost is—” I squeaked as Rhys grabbed the front of my gown, twisting the material as he jerked me forward.

His forehead pressed against mine as he made an animalistic sound from deep in his chest. The hand not twisted in the gown slid around the back of my neck to thread through my tousled strands, winding through them.

“Rhys,” I whimpered his name on a plea, uncertain what his intention was.

Pulling back, he stared straight into the marrow of my soul. “I won’t lose you, Remington. Don’t ask me to choose between you and my sister. She’s made peace with what is happening. I suggest you do the same. You’ve got another life to consider besides your own. Our child is at the mercy of every choice you make. I can’t sacrifice you and our child for her. She made me promise that I wouldn’t choose her over the two of you.”

“That’s not fair. She shouldn’t have made you promise that.”

“Shut up, Remington. Stop talking,” he snarled, anger radiating through the words.

His mouth crushed against mine, ravenously kissing me as if I were oxygen and he was deprived of it. His tongue slid over mine, then tangled against it, drawing me into the kiss.

Rhys lifted me and then pulled me onto his lap as he sat on the hospital bed. The wires tangled around us. It caused his lips to leave mine as he shook his head, as if confused by what happened.

“Bloody hell, Love.” Rhys sat me down before he backed up, slipping his fingers through his silky tresses, then bowing his head. “The choice has been made. It cannot be undone. Nyota made a choice. She’s being kept comfortable and, when the time comes, I’ll take you to her to say goodbye as she’s asked,” he explained.

“Is she here, close to me?” I whispered as I leaned back, eyes swimming with tears.

“Yes,” he said as a muscle in his cheek jumped.

Obviously, she was in the same corridor. That was comforting. I didn’t want her to pass away before I could get to her. The tears that swam in my eyes escaped, trickling down my cheeks.

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