Drakkon

Chapter Forty-one

I lifted the brush and stared at the piece of paper resting in front of me. The edges of my letters were rough and the strokes were a bit too broad, but it was legible and I was improving. Glancing up at Thera, I saw her examining my work with a level expression. Her green eyes were flicking from word to word before she nodded. "That's good."

I beamed. "Thank you."

Thera had been helping me with my writing ever since Meilin had left to fight and kill Keung. The Peccata was taking turns guarding me and I had gotten to know them more in the past two months. They all were helping with my writing, but Nikator joked around too much and got sidetracked, Remus was too impatient to sit around and got distracted easily, Minos looked bored half the time, and Atreus didn't have much time since he wanted to practice his swordsmanship. Thera was the only one who was the most helpful and didn't get sidetracked or bored—at least if she did, she hid her expressions well.

"Are you going to tell Master any time soon?" Thera asked casually as she leaned back against the couch. Her green eyes darted from me to my stomach, which still looked relatively flat. Since Thera had started sleeping in my room to protect me—just like Vita had done those few months ago—she had noticed my quickly changing body.

I had thrown up on more than one occasion and although at first I had thought it was due to stress, I soon realized that I was with child. My menstruation cycle didn't come and when I started to swell the tiniest bit, I realized it was true. The only ones who knew was Jia, Lanfen, and Thera. The rest of everyone—the Peccata, Yat-sen, Bohai—was oblivious.

I set the brush down and folded my hands neatly on my lap. "I want to tell him in person," I said quietly. I rested a light hand on my stomach. "I don't want him to find out through a letter. Besides, he should be home any time now."

"Hmmm." The corner of her mouth lifted. "That's true. Master should be here in a week, perhaps. It would be better to surprise him."

"I want him to focus on fighting Keung. He doesn't need distractions."

"That's cruel to call your child a distraction." Thera's brow raised.

I shook my head. "Meilin doesn't know what it means to be a father. He's confused at the thought of a father, since his wasn't a great role model. Anyhow, these thoughts would be distracting to him. The child itself is no distraction."

"Ah, I see." Thera tapped her fingers on the armrest of the chair. "Master thinks too much sometimes. Reads too much into the situation. Never goes with the flow."

Before we could further divulge into the topic, there was a heavy slamming on the door before Minos shoved the door open and strode in. His inky colored hair was messy and his deep blue eyes were blazing with emotion. Thera rose to her feet at the look of his stricken expression. My stomach churned.

"Minos?" Thera slowly said as she took a step near him. "Has Master come, or—?"

"Something's wrong," Minos choked out. He cleared his throat and raked a hand through his hair, tugging at it for a moment before pursing his lips together. My stomach plummeted and I shakily got to my feet.

My heart was slamming against my ribcage violently and for a split second, shadows danced on the corner of my eyes before I blinked away. I breathed in heavily and reached forward, grasping Minos's forearm. "Something happened to Meilin?" I inhaled sharply. "Did something—"

"Minos." Thera slapped his shoulder. "Nothing happened, right?"

"Something's not right," he repeated. He turned to Thera. "Atreus and Nikator feel that something is off as well."