The King(32)

“On the contrary, I understand completely where you are. Don’t apologize for wanting a young or for doing whatever it is you can to have one. It’s perfectly normal—”
Beth didn’t mean to hug the Chosen. It was just … one minute she was back against the pillows; the next she was holding on to Layla.
“Thank you,” Beth choked out.
“Dearest Virgin in the Fade.” Layla held on in return. “Whate’er for?”
“I need to know someone else gets it. Sometimes I feel alone.”
Layla inhaled a great breath. “I know how that is.”
Beth backed up. “But Blay and Qhuinn are totally with you in this.”
The Chosen just shook her head, a strange expression tightening her features. “It’s not about them.”
Beth waited for the other female to fill in the blank. When she didn’t, Beth didn’t pry. But maybe … just maybe things were not quite as uncomplicated as they appeared on the outside. It was well-known that the female had been in love with Qhuinn at some point—but it had seemed as if she’d come to terms with the fact that he was destined for another.
Clearly, she was better at hiding her feelings in public than people assumed.
“Do you know why I wanted this so badly?” Layla said as they both resettled into their respective pillows.
“Tell me. Please.”
“I needed something of my own. So does Qhuinn.” She glanced over. “And that’s why I envy you. You’re doing it for a communion     with your mate. That is … extraordinary.”
God, what could she say in response? “Qhuinn loves you in a special way”? That was like soothing someone’s compound fracture with an aspirin.
As the Chosen’s pale green eyes shifted back to the television screen, she appeared far older than her youth.
It was a good reminder, Beth thought to herself. Nobody had it perfect—and as much as Beth was struggling, at least she wasn’t carrying the baby of the man she loved … while he was happily with someone else.
“I can’t imagine how hard this is for you,” she heard herself say. “To love someone you can’t be with.”
Wide eyes shot back to her own—and there was an echo of something she couldn’t decipher in them.
“Qhuinn’s a good male,” Beth said. “I can understand why you care about him.”
Awkward moment. And then the Chosen cleared her throat. “Yes. Indeed. So … Patti appears displeased with this gentleman.”
Great, Beth thought. So far she’d made her brother pass out, gotten on her husband’s case … and now she was clearly upsetting Layla.
“I won’t tell anyone,” she said, hoping to make things better.#p#分页标题#e#
“Thank you,” the Chosen replied after a moment. “I would be ever grateful for that.”
Forcing herself into a refocus, Beth found that, yup, Patti Stanger was chewing some greasy-haired lothario a new one.
They’d probably violated her “Nothing in here, here, or here” rule. Either that or he’d jackassed out big-time on the date.
Beth tried to get into the blow up, but the vibe was off in the room, sure as if there were someone else in with them, a specter or a ghost, and not in the Doc Jane sense.
No, a weight had settled in the very air itself.
As the episode concluded, Beth checked her watch even though the TV flashed the time. “I think I’ll go see how Wrath is. Maybe it’s break time.”
“Oh, yes, and I’m tired. Mayhap I’ll sleep.”
Beth got off the bed and collected the empty bowl and carton, returning them to Fritz’s tray. Over at the door, she glanced back.
Layla was sitting against those pillows, eyes staring at the television as if she were mesmerized. But Beth didn’t buy it. The female was a chatterer when it came to viewing, prone to lively discussion about everything from what people were wearing to how they expressed themselves to whatever drama she found shocking.
In this moment, however, she was pulling a Wrath—here but not here, present and disappeared at the same time.
“Sleep well,” Beth said.
There was no response. And there would be no sleep for the female.
Beth slipped out into the hall of statues … and stalled.
In fact, she wasn’t going to go see Wrath. She didn’t trust herself at the moment. She was too up and down and back and forth emotionally—and she wasn’t entirely sure she could not bring up the baby thing with him the second they were alone.
No, before she saw him, she needed some equilibrium.
It was in her best interests.
And everybody else’s.

SEVEN
Assail killed his fourth human a moment after he dropped number three.