Page 83 of The Breeding Cave
“We already agreed,” Luciano said. “We don’t need them.”
“Don’t you think we should have a plan before making any rash decisions?”
He clenched his jaw. “This isn’t a rash decision. The Colossals threatened you more than once in your dreams, and they knocked Brent out in the woods so they could get you alone in the cave. I don’t trust them.”
Almost instinctively, I placed a hand on my stomach. I didn’t have a bump yet, but I knew there was a baby growing inside me. I didn’t know what the right choice was anymore. Honestly, I never did. But I had to think more than just about myself now.
I made a vow to have his baby before I died, and I wasn’t going to break that.
Suddenly, bile rose in my throat, and I dropped Luciano’s elbow and stopped in the forest. Luciano paused and glanced back at me. I stumbled back a bit, finding the nearest tree to support myself, my head swaying.
After hurling up the breakfast we had made at the cave, I wiped my lips. Hell, this is going to be a long pregnancy. Would this happen every morning and into the early afternoons? Were beast babies the same as human babies with the pregnancy term and symptoms?
Mom had always avoided conversation about her pregnancy whenever I asked, so I wasn’t sure if the women in my family had a rough time or not. Already, after experiencing the first day, it definitely wasn’t going to be all sunshine, like I’d imagined.
“Are you okay?” Luciano asked.
“Yes,” I said, letting go of the tree to continue walking.
But as I moved ahead, the dizziness clouded my vision again. The trees wobbled in front of me, and I squeezed my eyes shut so the sudden sensation of hurling would pass quickly again. I really didn’t want to burn the back of my throat for the second time today.
“Yeosin,” Luciano said.
When I looked his way, all I saw was a blurry outline of his body. Behind him, deep in the forest, was a spark, a flame, moving toward us. As the object approached, the fire seemed to disappear, and a monster stood behind Luciano.
Though he wasn’t a threat like the Colossal had seemed yesterday.
Standing at the same height as Luciano, the monster had large wings and eyes as golden as the sun. Luciano and Brent hadn’t noticed him yet.
“Turn back now, Yeosin,” the monster said, his voice so familiar.
“Yeosin,” Brent shouted.
The monster moved closer. “You’re in danger with the beasts.”
“No, I’m not,” I said. “I’m in more danger alone.”
“Yeosin,” Luciano said, placing his hands on my shoulders and snapping me back to reality for a split second.
Then the dizziness came back, and the man with wings returned behind Luciano.
“Luciano doesn’t know your true power,” he said. “He can’t protect you from what’s to come.”
“What’s to come?” I asked. “My nightmares?”
“Some of them, yes.”
“Fire will rain down upon us,” I whispered, my chest tightening and nerves nipping at my stomach. I stared ahead at him, his outline becoming more visible, the longer he stayed in place. I knew this man from somewhere. “Do you work with the Dragon Clan?”
“No.”
“Then who are you?”
“I can’t tell you,” he said. “Not now. You’re not ready.”
I pulled myself out of Luciano’s hold and stepped closer to the monster. “I am ready.”
“No, Yeosin. You’re not ready until every part of you burns alive.”
