Page 23 of Monsters in My Bed
“No! I know my mate. This isn't what she wants in her heart. She's just scared of what the baby will be because of who his father is.”
I digest Rastorj’s words. This makes a lot of sense since I know in a different situation, Roxy would be over the moon at having a baby.
“Then we'll just need to make sure the baby’s born the same way mine were.”
“Not the same way,” Mark interjects, and I roll my eyes.
“Not the same.I meant with similar emotions that are not like The Fallacious.”
“Let’s get going.”
I look past Mark and Rastorj to Vizruk and Osz holding my babies, neither making a peep. “Oh, I thought I heard them crying.”
“They were hungry, but they fed.”
I suppress the shiver that wants to run through me at Vizruk’s announcement. I don't get to feed my children like normal moms. Instead, they're feasting off the fear and emotional carnage inside the room, but they look so content, it's hard to be too upset. I'm just worried they're going to ingest and internalize these emotions and become them.
“No, Alexis,” Osz murmurs. “We are swayed by the emotions around us, but we don’t become something unless we’re saturated in it. It’s no different than humans. A happy person can experience sadness or anger, but that doesn’t mean they immediately become depressed. The babies will always have their base emotion, but most of the time, they will be swayed by the majority of their emotional environment. If we build one based on love and laughter, then their temperament will follow suit. And since they’re already born whole, the purity of such emotions won’t mutate them like Viz and me.”
Roxy sits up on the bed, pushing past her pain to stare at Osz. Her face scrunches in contemplation, and I hope it's what Rastorj thinks—that she really doesn't want to end her life or the baby’s, but rather she fears what will become of the child because of who the father is.
“Roxy, can we please go?”
This time, she nods, letting her mate pick her up, and we race toward the exit that leads out into the dark of the land. Far away from the Palasseum, towards the north, where the Tavoli Mountains and the sinqol pools hide. Whether Roxy readily agrees because she knows I can get rid of her egg or because we can manipulate the baby's emotion to evolve into something not like The Fallacious, I'm unsure.
But I won't have long to find out.
The air grows warmer and more humid the closer we get to the mountain range. Mark holds me in his arms, in his shadow form, flying with an ease like he's done this since the day he was born.
“What are you thinking?” he whispers into my ear.
“Just that you make a great bogeyman.”
He laughs, but it's edged with worry for our best friend. “I'm glad you approve. I kind of like this form. I've always wanted to fly.”
“Yeah, Ireallylike your guys' shadow form, too.”
“Oh? Why’s that?” His question catches me off guard, and I blush, realizing I put too much emphasis into my words. “Mmmm, you smell delicious when you're embarrassed and aroused.”
Coughing, I smack at his chest, my hands tangling with the wispy smoke. It's weird to see my mates in this form, tangible and yet intangible at the same time.
“So, are you going to tell me why you like the shadow form so much?”
I know he’s just going to keep prodding, so I answer. “I like the things that you guys can do in this form.”
“Such as?” His voice is a velvety purr, and I remind myself of the dire situation we're in.
“Not now, Mark. I'll tell you later.”
He nods, appearing contrite. “Sorry. Sometimes I get a little carried away where you're concerned—my monster wants to consume you whole.” Mark nips my ear, making me squeak. “Just know that I'm going to remember this and ask you again later.”
I'm perfectly okay with that because if he's asking me later, it means that everything right now is ok—that Roxy is ok—and I can only look to a future where my best friend is healed and whole.
Vizruk and Osz continue to direct us when, suddenly, I bolt up in fear. “What if the False King fled to the Tavoli Mountains? That's what he did before!”
My twin mates and Mark share a glance, Rastorj curses. In his arms, Roxy is deathly pale, trembling, and I want to smack myself for saying that out loud. While it's a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed, I've needlessly worried her. Mark closes his eyes before reopening them.
“He's not.”
