Unrepentant, I sighed in defeat, shrugging a shoulder. “It was only a thought.” I flicked my free hand at Bindi. “Go ahead. I’ll just have to make do with my imagination.”
In the quiet, King Zeller’s lips curled deliberately. “And that’s all you’ll ever have. Your imagination.” His eyes flicked down my body. “While I, on the other hand, have actual memories of making you bleed.”
“Nor are you helping, Ezra,” Elder Zeller rumbled quietly.
Swirling the wine in my glass, I stared at it, barely hearing Elder Zeller. “There’s no fucking way you’re her father.” I shook my head, watching the maroon liquid swirl in my glass. My eyebrows puckered as I became lost in thought. “No way in hell.” My eyes lifted to him, watching as he opened his mouth wide for the swab, showing his pearly whites. His gaze didn’t stray from mine through the quick process. I shook my head again, downing my drink. “God, if I did have sex with you, I was stupid as fuck.” I pointed at Bindi as I stood, making my way to the bar. “No more than an hour.”
She nodded, quickly exiting the tent to perform her tests while I uncorked another bottle of red. Rubbing my left temple, I poured another glass of wine to the rim, growling at Antonio when he started to intercept me. “Back the fuck off, Antonio…unless you want to actually speak on this matter.” When his face went blank, I chuckled cruelly. “Yeah, the silent type is only charming to those not needing information, haven’t I told you that before?”
I lifted my glass of wine, aiming it at each of the Elders. “Come on, gentlemen.” I covered my mouth with my free hand in fake apology, my voice mocking. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Come on, Elders. The fiercest four ever. Please enlighten me and King Zeller,” asshole, “on how it could be possible for us to meet again if we’d been lovers.” I downed half the wine in my glass, instantly refilling it when they stayed mute, faces blank. I shook my head, laughing harshly. “Or better yet, tell me if King Zeller,” asshole, “is my baby’s daddy?”
I spoke in a pseudo whisper to King Zeller when they stayed quiet. “It sounds awfully ghetto, doesn’t it? Who’s your baby’s daddy?” Another harsh chuckle as I gulped the entire contents of my glass, slamming it into sink when I was done, the glass shattering loudly. Hard pants racking my body, I turned my back to them, rubbing my face and muttering, “Fucking pathetic, is what it is.”
After a few moments, King Zeller asked calmly, “Do you feel better now?”
“No, I don’t,” I stated simply, honestly, keeping my back to them and staring at the tent’s sparkling protection. “Not a single one of you would understand. And at the risk of sounding sexist, I’ll say it anyway.” My head dropped as I rubbed my temples. “You’re all men. You’ll never know what it’s like to be pregnant. And to top it off, I was pregnant and I didn’t know how I got that way, only having assumptions, analytical guesses at best. I had no clue who the man was I’d had sex with. No recollection of his face, his name, his touch. Nothing to make sense of the fact that I had a child growing inside me.” My hands dropped as I stared at the floor. “So, no, I’m not all right. I’m not all right with any of this. Not to mention, I still may not have my answers, because this doesn’t make any damn sense.”
King Zeller hummed quietly.
That was all.
But…that sound was enough for me to turn swiftly to stare.
His eyes captured mine. “Come here.” A pause. “Please.”
My eyebrows puckered, but I found myself moving toward him at his soft demand. “What do you know?” I sought an explanation in the depths of his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?” I stopped, waiting for an answer.
Again, he hummed quietly. Watching me just as intently as I was him. “Closer.” Again, he asked nicely. “Please.” I hesitated. I was already close enough in my opinion. But when I opened my mouth to argue, he shook his head gently, saying softly, “Trust me.”
My jaw set, but I glanced at Isa. I already trusted him with my one light, my heart. Slowly, I took the remaining steps toward him, and I couldn’t help how I stood on the balls of my feet when I stopped directly next to his chair. And when he hummed in quiet reprimand, I sluggishly lifted my eyes from his hands — where the pain would come from — to meet his gaze.
One side of his mouth curved, and he murmured quietly, “You’re smart to be wary of me, especially because I don’t trust you, either.” Ever so slowly, his hand rose and hovered an inch away from my right hand. “But, I believe I have the answer to the million-dollar question.” His heated palm touched mine, and I barely managed to hold still as he turned my hand until I felt the slide of his palm against mine, holding it gently as if I were made of glass. Eyebrows puckered, I peered down as something caught at my ring on my thumb.