A tap at the door interrupted her as she started to dial Azagoth, and she looked up from the phone.
“It’s Eidolon,” the doctor called out. After she’d given permission, he entered, a warm smile curving his made-to-please-females lips. He strode toward her, his tan, muscular physique making the black scrubs he wore surprisingly sexy. A rare breed of incubus, he was literally designed to tempt and please, and she totally got why so many angels had lost their wings for a night with a sex demon.
“How are you feeling?”
“The boys tell me the baby and I are healthy, but until I hear it from you, I’m going to be a wreck.”
“I get it.” He grabbed the chart from the end of the bed and carried it over to her bedside. The black glyphs extending from his fingers to his neck danced as his right arm flexed. “They’re right. Your vitals seem normal for an angel, and so are the baby’s.” He paused. “Do you know its gender?”
She had her suspicions, but she’d kept them to herself. “Not for sure.”
“Do you want to know?”
She hesitated for a heartbeat, but the decision wasn’t that difficult. “I don’t think so. I want Azagoth and I to find out at the same time.”
“You could FaceTime him,” Journey suggested.
“It’s okay. I think we can wait another week or two for the big reveal.” She turned back to Eidolon. “That’s right, isn’t it? We’re still on track for an October fifteenth delivery date, right?”
“We are,” he said, a little too solemnly. “But this has stressed your system.” He glanced over at Journey and Maddox. “Could I have a minute with Lilliana alone?”
“It’s okay, Doctor.” She smiled at the boys with genuine affection. It had taken some time and tears to build relationships with Azagoth’s kids, but she was very glad that they were in her and Azagoth’s lives. Her mate had been alone for far too long. “They’re family.”
“Of course,” he said. “But I really think I should speak with you alone.” At his tone, her hair stood on end.
She nodded at Mad and Journey, and although it was clear they were reluctant to leave, they did.
“Wraith said he was coming by the hospital to say hi,” Eidolon called after them. “You might find him in the break room.”
She knew the boys wouldn’t venture more than ten feet from her room, but she hoped they got to see Eidolon’s brother before they left with her. Apparently, the demon had helped them a few months back when their sister, Suzanne, got into a dangerous situation with her Primori—now her husband—Declan. They’d been friends ever since.
Lilliana could hardly wait until the door closed behind them before blurting, “What’s going on?”
Eidolon propped himself against the counter and set aside her chart, his expression grim. “Is there any reason you would have taken something that would allow you to enter parts of Sheoul forbidden to angels?”
“No.” She blinked in confusion. What a bizarre question. “Why?”
“Because you have something in your system that does exactly that, and if you didn’t take it, then someone gave it to you.”
Now she was even more confused. “Why would anyone do that?”
Eidolon gripped the counter with white-knuckled force as if to brace himself for what he was about to say. “Because it causes fetal death, leading to spontaneous abortion.”
“What?” She felt the blood drain from her face. “You said my baby—”
“The baby is fine. You were lucky. I was able to repair the damage to your womb, but your body still needs to heal. We couldn’t remove the toxin, but we cast a containment spell to keep it concentrated in your wings, where it can’t affect the baby.”
This new information, along with her brush with death, had sapped her strength. She hugged herself as she leaned back into the soothing softness of the pillow. “How long will the spell last?”
“It’ll last the entirety of your pregnancy, so you don’t need to worry.”
You don’t need to worry. She knew Eidolon had intended his words to be comforting, but right now, she was scared out of her mind.
“Someone tried to kill my child.” She hugged herself harder. “I think worry is justified.”
“I know,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”
Feeling bad for being snippy, she closed her eyes and composed herself. “So am I. I’m just shaken. And I wish Azagoth could be here.” She looked up at him. “Does he know?”
“Idess informed him that you and the baby were both out of danger and told him that I’d call with details later.” He paused. “I wanted to wait until you were awake.”
Maddox’s phone felt cold and heavy in her hand. She and the baby were healthy, but things could have turned out much differently. Someone had tried to kill her unborn child. Someone Azagoth trusted. Most likely someone living in Sheoul-gra, right under their noses.
Fear for her child and anger at the betrayal shook her to her marrow. “How was whatever it is given to me?”
“Most likely in an oral form. It was probably concealed in something you ate or drank.”
Although that narrowed the suspect list down a little, she’d eaten a lot of food given to her by almost everyone she knew. Although…there was a chance that the food brought in from the outside could have been tainted by anyone who knew that she was the intended recipient. So, there was hope that no one she and Azagoth trusted was involved.
Please let that be the case.
“Will you please tell the boys to come back inside?”
Eidolon called Journey and Maddox back and then hovered protectively close, his sharp, speculative gaze shifting between the two of them.
“What’s going on?” Maddox stopped next to the bed rail and stared across the mattress at Eidolon, returning the suspicious stare.
There was no point in keeping the information from them, not when she would need their help. “Someone slipped me a toxin that was meant to kill the baby,” she said bluntly, a little amazed that her voice hadn’t wavered.
There were several heartbeats of stunned silence, and then a lot of cursing. Journey looked as if he wanted to hit the wall. Maddox took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. It struck her that he’d never touched her before. He was definitely his father’s son, his grip firm, his skin icy, the way Azagoth’s used to be when she first arrived in Sheoul-gra.
“I swear we’ll find who did it, Lilliana.” Journey wheeled away from the wall, anger scorching his cheeks. “Doctor, how soon can she go back to Sheoul-gra?”
“As soon as she’s ready,” Eidolon said before shooting her a meaningful look. “But there’s no hurry. Stay as long as you want to.”
She wanted to go home. She wanted to go so badly it hurt, and she rested a protective hand over her belly. “I…I’m afraid I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” Journey asked. “Go home?”
“Someone is trying to harm my baby.” Saying the words made it real, and made her decision easier. “Possibly someone inside Sheoul-gra. If they got to me once, they could do it again. I can’t go back until I know it’s safe.”