Chapter 60

I don't stay long with my sister. There's too much to do and I'm already feeling the pull of exhaustion after too many days of inactivity. I hug her goodbye and promise to come back later.

"I'll have the palace cook send a meal up to the Warlord's chamber later. The four of us will eat together as a family." The words feel right as they leave my lips and I have to fight tears. I'm being sentimental, but the last time I had an organized meal as a family was when I was a child, when my family was still alive.

Taran answers with a sad smile. She feels the same. Sad for the past, excited for the future.

"Take care of yourself and don't overwork," she scolds as she slowly follows me to the door.

I glance down at her belly, which looks impossibly huge. "How many weeks do you have left?"

"Six." She glances away as she tells me.

"Damn it, Taran!" I snap. "You could pop at any moment. It was reckless for you to come here."