Chapter Eleven – Lily

They stood outside of the courtroom. Eyrl had called it something else, but Lily hadn't been paying attention. Her mind was too wrapped up in what was happening. He was being officially tried for illegal experiments. Apparently, they had found one thing he had done wrong in his preparations to submit his proposal to the boards. One tiny, insignificant thing and they were claiming that he had done it on purpose.

At the agreement that the case would go to trial, one of the Science Board members, Shay, had offered his mate's services to the prince. Apparently, she was a human woman who had proven quite adept in the courts of Bronæl. Eyrl, against Lily's urging, had decided to do his own justification.

"You have to leave now," he told her as the doors to the courtroom opened. "I'll see you again soon, one way or another."

"This isn't fair. It's not justice," Lily whispered. She hated that her eyes filled with tears. Ever since coming back, she had been even more emotional than normal. It was frustrating, and definitely was not helped by the kangaroo court. Efira was in the room, sitting next to Xæm, and Lily glared at her. There was no doubt that she had set everything up herself. Manipulative wench.

Lily made to kiss Eyrl, but he stepped back. He gave her a brief smile before he strode into the room. The door shut behind him and Zaner stepped in closer to Lily. The dragoness put an arm around her shoulders and started to tug her away.

"Come now. He is a smart dragon. He'll be fine. You have been looking unwell for some time, though, and I heard you vomiting this morning. I want you checked out."

"It's just the stress," Lily said. "Sometimes before a big competition, I'd be throwing up all the time. It's one of the reasons I stopped doing competitions and instead just did recitals and performances. I couldn’t enjoy dancing when I was trying to prove I was better than everybody else."

"I'm sure," Zaner said. "Nevertheless, I want to have you checked out."

Well, there wasn't anything else she could do while she waited. She had submitted her proposal already and couldn’t move ahead with it until she knew if it was going to be accepted. Her mind couldn’t focus when she felt so ill all the time, so studying was out of the question. Maybe they could prescribe her something to help with her nerves.

In the healing rooms, a healer had her lie down while she was scanned. The gentle buzz of the machine was soothing, but Lily didn't want to lie still waiting for the results.

When the healer gasped, Lily bolted upright. Her heart jumped to her throat. "What is it?"

"My apologies." The healer glanced at her, then back at the screen. "I wasn't expecting it . . . so soon . . . "

"What?" Lily jumped to her feet. "What is it?"

"My lady, please calm down." The healer gripped her shoulders. "You're with child, and stress is not good for the baby."

With child? Baby? Lily stared at her for a long time before she finally understood what the healer was saying. She released the dragoness with a gasp and jumped away. Pregnant. Was she pregnant? She and Eyrl had agreed that they'd let things take their natural progression, but she really hadn't expected that it would happen this quickly . . . 

"I have to tell the queen," Zaner said and hurried from the room.

Lily stared at her in a daze, but a sudden fear hit her. What if, since Eyrl was on trial, they didn't want his baby to be born? What if they told her to quietly terminate the pregnancy?

She tore her arm free of the healer and ran after Zaner. The healer called after her, but she ignored her. Her maidservant was nowhere to be seen. The path back to the courtroom seemed to be programmed into her feet, because the next thing she knew, she was bursting through the doors.

All eyes turned towards her. There were several bright lights coming from small devices that she could only assume were cameras. Efira stood in the middle of the room facing Eyrl. Both of them stared at her, Eyrl looking perplexed, Efira with narrowed eyes.

"Um . . . " She twisted her hands as she looked around. A couple of guards came towards her and she quickly ran to Eyrl. She threw her arms around him and held on tightly. He made a surprised noise in his throat and put his hands on her waist, although he didn't pull her close. What if she was wrong about what they would do about her pregnancy?

What if she wasn't? She didn't know everything about Bronæl, but they certainly couldn't force her to end her pregnancy if everybody knew about it.

"I'm pregnant!" she shouted.

A moment of silence, then Xæm surged to her feet. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm pregnant. I just found out. The healer . . . " She glanced over her shoulder to see the healer and Zaner both standing in the doorway, jaws slack. "They can tell you. I found out and I came right here because I wanted to tell you. I mean, I wanted to tell you ." She focused on Eyrl, tightening her grip. "I don't know what happens after this and I needed to be able to tell you."

"She has to leave," Efira said, her voice pitched higher. "She can't be here, it's a closed trial."

Lily turned, standing in front of Eyrl as though she could protect him. She glared at the dragoness. "I'm his mate. I have a right to be by his side during this. I carry his child. A child that is going to grow up strong, compassionate, and intelligent, just like their father. Don't you tell me that I can't be here!"

"Lily." Eyrl's hands tightened on her hips and he moved her aside. Warmth shone from his face as he caressed her face. "I am very pleased that you are with child. And I am pleased that you wanted to tell me. But Efira is right in this case. This is a closed trial and I did not ask for you to be here."

"But—"

"I understand. Now you must as well."

His voice was gentle and tender. If it wasn't for that and for the small smile on his face, Lily might have thought he was brushing her off. But she had never seen his eyes so bright, and she knew if they weren't where they were, he'd be dancing around the room with her. Because she was pregnant.

She was pregnant.

The knowledge dropped on her like a ten-pound brick. She swayed on the spot, gripping his sleeve. She was pregnant. There was a baby growing inside of her. Her baby. Eyrl's baby. Her mind whirled. Warmth filled her and she smiled back at him. A surprised, happy life bubbled out of her and she threw her arms around him.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. "We are going to have a baby."

"Yes." He squeezed her before releasing her. "And it makes me very happy. But you have to go. My trial is not over."

Lily nodded. Almost in a daze, she let herself be escorted out. She looked back to see Eyrl continuing to smile at her. Zaner and the healer were called in, probably to confirm her pregnancy. Lily didn't realize that her escort was Efira until the dragoness hissed into her ear.

"Do you think that this changes anything, human?"

Lily jumped. She tried to pull away from Efira, but claws dug into her arm. "Let go of me."

"You don't belong here. This isn't your world." Efira's grip tightened and she shook her slightly, teeth bared. A slight scent of smoke burned acrid in the air. "You are a weak, emotional human. You don't understand Bronæl and you don't understand the Stlozyn."

"I told you to let me go."

Efira glanced over her shoulder, then shook her again. "So you're pregnant. That means nothing. You are nothing. I am not going to let you or that dragon in there ruin my planet. He thinks he's just as good as a queen. But no king can rule. Nobody will accept him."

"Let me go right now or I start screaming," Lily hissed at her. "Do you think you're being smart right now? Intimidating? No. I've dealt with people like you all my life. Granted, on Earth, it's usually gross men being sexist towards women, but the sentiment is the same. Are you acting logically? Or are you letting your emotions get the best of you?"

Efira released her. She stepped back and straightened her robes, the anger on her face smoothing away. "I don't know what you are talking about. But mark my words, human. If you don't return to Earth, you will regret it. This world . . . it's so different from your own. Who knows what could happen that might hurt you."

The dragoness turned on her heel and walked away. Lily stared after her, ice running through her veins. That was a threat if she had ever heard one. The only thing was . . . what would Efira do to act on that threat?