Bombshell (Monstrous Ink #2)

Chapter 13

“ D allan, can’t you drive any faster?” Cash asked from the back seat of my SUV as I hung up the phone with Effie.

“If I drive any faster around these bends we might all end up in the ocean,” I growled back, chancing a quick glance in the rearview mirror to find Daphne still looking just as pale as she had when she dropped in the middle of the shop’s lobby.

The morning had been normal. Daphne had gone up to the mansion yesterday before the party for Alexander Finch’s prenatal spellcasting and had come back looking just as healthy as before.

In fact, she’d even looked okay as she hurried around to the different artists collecting invoices and going over their scheduled sessions for the next month so that the computer system was completely correct for potential new clients to see.

At nearly seven months along she had a considerable bump that appeared like any normal human pregnancy bump, so much so that it was easy to forget the half-gargoyle child resting underneath her heart .

Or, at least, it had been until all of the color had drained out of her face and she’d crumpled to the floor.

Daphne was barely awake now, her hazel eyes heavy and lidded as she rested against Cash’s chest. A soft moan of pain left her lips that sounded so pitiful that I found myself flooring the gas pedal despite the winding road.

Hopefully everyone else just got the hell out of my way.

Gravel flew as I pulled into the long driveway of the mansion where Effie was already hurrying down the steps, her green hair flying behind her as she threw the door open before I could even throw the car into park.

“What happened?” she asked as she stepped out of the way so Cash could step out with Daphne in his arms.

I was out next, rounding the hood of the car so that I could follow them inside, listening as Cash bit out the story between clenched teeth.

Inside of the mansion was chaos with staff members running around and Alexander Finch was standing at the base of the stairs, a grim look on his face.

“Bring her upstairs to my work room,” he ordered before turning to practically run up the stairs, disappearing out of sight around the corner as Effie led us up at a slower pace.

Alexander’s workroom was large and decked out like a wizard’s wonderland. Any piece of magical equipment that you could think of lined the wood paneled walls and surrounded what looked like an antique hospital bed that Effie’s father was already pulling the sheets aside on .

“What are her symptoms?” Alexander asked as he rolled up his sleeves.

Cash looked about two seconds away from passing out himself as he stared at his wife’s face like he was trying to memorize every feature in case he lost her.

So I stepped in. “She was fine. There was no inclination that anything was going on until she went pale and dropped.”

“It feels like something is twisting my insides like taffy,” Daphne groaned as her eyes fully opened again and she let out a whimper of pain.

“Dragonfly,” Cash said, pulling her hand to his lips. “They’re going to fix whatever needs to be fixed.”

Alexander began to run his hands along the circumference of Daphne’s belly, his frown deepening at whatever he felt as Daphne’s body began to tighten with pain again.

“Euphemia,” he called Effie’s name and jerked his head to the door.

“We’ll be right back,” Effie told Cash and Daphne before turning to follow her father out of the door and back into the hallway.

I followed close behind just in time to hear Effie ask what Alexander thought was wrong.

“It’s not good,” he said, glancing at me as I joined them and shut the door behind us. “The baby has developed enough to begin shifting into stone sleep. The only problem is that Daphne isn’t a female gargoyle that can handle the baby shifting like that. It’s tearing at her insides the more it does it. ”

“Isn’t this something you should have warned us about months ago when we first started doing this?” I asked accusingly as I glared at the man.

Alexander ignored my gaze, instead looking at Effie who was nibbling on her bottom lip, her green eyes wide. “I told you that Daphne continuing the pregnancy was not without risks. There is never any way to know what sorts of characteristics halflings will inherit from their parents. I was banking on the baby taking more after the mother, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the case here.”

All of this was probably hitting far too close to home for my mate and I could feel the unease wafting off of her as she hugged herself tightly. “So what do we do? How do we stop the baby from shifting into stone?”

“It’s not as simple as stopping the baby. Daphne is about twenty-six weeks along which is technically viable for humans but I’m not comfortable inducing labor so early and I don’t have any information on how long the average gargoyle gestation is as they are some of the most secretive monsters around. From what Cash has told me I assume it’s around the same amount of time, but that’s a huge gamble and I’ve never been able to get a clear image of the baby via ultrasound because I’m pretty sure it also has wings.”

“That’s a whole lot of words to say nothing at all,” Effie looked frustrated, and much to my surprise, she took a little step back and leaned into me, reaching for my hand .

Alexander’s dark blue eyes followed his daughter’s motion and his expression shifted briefly into a look of surprise before his frown was back. “I have an idea but I have no clue if it will work…”

“Anything is better than nothing, Finch,” I growled, wishing he would just get to the point. The sound of Daphne’s soft cries in the next room were heart wrenching and I wanted to help them sooner rather than later.

Alexander turned to Effie. “I’ll need you to do something you’ve never tried before.”

Effie’s spine straightened. “I’d do anything for Daphne.”

The man nodded to himself for a moment, his eyes far away before he finally looked at his daughter again. “I’m going to need you to try and create a barrier.”

“A barrier,” Effie repeated his words, her voice flat.

“Yes. My idea is that if you can create a barrier inside of Daphne’s womb, you might be able to protect the mother’s flesh from being marred by her child’s random transformations.”

“Why don’t you cast a barrier yourself?” I asked, frowning. “You and the rest of your coven do it for Port Haven—how hard could it be to do it for something as small as a baby.”

Neither of the pair paid my words any attention as they seemed to be having a silent conversation with their eyes.

“I’ve never casted a barrier before or even tried. I wouldn’t know where to start,” Effie said with a shake of her head .

“I can help you, but it’s better if you can do it. If I try it would mean that Daphne has to remain practically attached to my hip for the rest of her pregnancy and there’s no telling how effective mine would be, not in the way yours are—if you’re nearby, then you can strengthen the barrier as needed without her having to stay in the mansion.”

“You realize what you’re asking of me, right? I thought you didn’t want me to be a Guardian.”

They were speaking English, but as I listened I found I didn’t understand half of what they were saying like I was some kind of a third wheel. It made me realize just how much Effie and her father had connected over the past few months. Gone was the chilly indifference that they used to treat each other with and in its place was an easy camaraderie.

“You two can discuss whatever secret you’re talking about later,” I cut in, sounding more angry than I meant to. “But will you help Daphne or will I have to find someone else to do it for me?”

“Of course I will,” Effie said, frowning at me as her brows pulled together in confusion. “There’s no way I’d ever let anything happen to her.”

My shoulders sank as guilt set in and I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Of course not. Sorry, Lass, the last hour of my life seems to be getting the best of me.”

Effie gave my hand a comforting squeeze. “I’ll save her, Dall, just trust me. ”

Then she let go and stepped back into the room, Alexander right on her heels as they went in to help Daphne.

I stood in the doorway as they began to explain their plan to the couple, frowning as I realized just how far away my mate felt.

And I still didn’t know what the hell this Guardian business was either.