"Has Wylend been informed?" Gavin asked Ry.

"He's here now, with Dad," Ry said. "They're watching Karzac work."

"Who's Karzac?" Jes spoke out of turn again.

"A healer's healer," Gavin answered Jes' question. "You aren't worthy to wipe his boots." Gavril, Ry and Gavin walked out of the room, leaving Norian to glare at Jes.

* * *

"When he woke after Renegar healed his stab wound, he almost went crazy until we allowed him into the bed with her," Karzac mumbled, slipping the IV into Reah's hand. Nenzi slept peacefully next to Reah's unconscious body. "He lost some blood, so we did a quick transfusion after the healing. Jeff, Merrill and Kiarra's son, came for that," Karzac added.

"Farzi see this," Farzi nodded. He and six other reptanoids still stood against the wall, watching everything that went on with Reah. Farzi and two of his brothers had donated the blood used in Nenzi's transfusion.

"How are we going to tell her?" Ry asked. "Aurelius said she wanted to give the baby everything she didn't have as a child. How are we going to tell her it's dead now?"

"There isn't an easy way," Wylend stepped out of the shadows on the other side of Reah's bed. "And I think she'll know, the moment we allow her to wake."

"This is my fault," Gavril sighed. "Karzac, can you remove the chip without hurting her?"

"I already have. You were so afraid she'd get away from you. Now, I think it doesn't matter anymore, does it, young one?" Karzac held the tiny chip out to Gavril, who took it and crushed it in his fingers. "If she'd gotten away from you, her child might still live."

"Karzac, don't bludgeon me with facts I already know," Gavril sighed.

"Knowing and understanding may be very different. Did not Master Morwin teach you that? I will return in an hour or so to check on Reah. And as I understand it, Director Keef still does not have Tulgalan's core repaired." Karzac brushed angrily past Gavril on his way out the door.

"It's still leaking power," Astralan walked in with Stellan and Galaxsan.

"When will they wake Tory?" Gavin asked.

"No idea. If he goes Thifilathi again, who's going to stop him? If we call Garde, he'll turn, too. And if Jayd comes along, I don't want to see what will happen with three rampaging Thifilathi." Erland came to stand next to Wylend, placing an arm around Wylend's shoulders.

* * *

"Lissa, do you think I haven't called myself every kind of fool?" Norian's face was haggard. He'd sent mindspeech to Lissa, asking for the Falchani to come and haul the prisoners to Le-Ath Veronis' dungeon. She'd come with them, staying behind after they'd left with Jes and the Hazlan family. Norian had agents looking for Nidris, but they couldn't find any traces of him. More than likely, he'd already abandoned the planet.

"This will kill Garde. And we haven't even taken Denevik into consideration."

"Bloody, fucking hell," Norian muttered. "She asked me to wait until the baby came, right at the last. I yelled and told her to get on with it."

"Norian, tell me you've never had innocent blood on your hands." Lissa watched him closely.

"Not like this," Norian raked a hand through his hair. "Not ever like this."

* * *

"Kifirin, you need to be there when I tell them that Reah's baby died when she tried to repair Tulgalan's core." Lissa hugged herself as she paced in front of the one who'd created the Dark Realm. She'd sent mindspeech and he'd finally answered. Lissa was shocked by the keening that came from Kifirin as he slumped on the sofa inside her study.

* * *

"As near as I can tell, he tapped into the core while Reah was transferring the power from Tulgalan's sun. He must have startled her when she felt him siphoning away the power she was feeding in—she lost the contact and he was siphoning her energy instead. It killed the baby quickly and then took almost everything she had before Tory pulled her away."

"How are we to tell them?" Lissa knew what Glinda was asking. Garde and Jayd had already begun their search through the lists of male High Demons, seeking potential mates for Reah's child. Now, there would be no tiny female for a High Demon to cherish. No promise that the High Demon race might flourish again.

"Karzac says that if all goes well, Reah can become pregnant again in the future." Lissa was offering what solace she could.

"Lissa, I've tried so many times to become pregnant again. And I keep trying. As have my daughters. Nothing is happening. We needed the child now, to give the race hope. Now, that is destroyed. I don't know how Jayd and Garde will react. Denevik—he has already purchased a crib."

"Oh, Lord." Lissa rubbed her forehead with shaking fingers. "And Aurelius is out again—he won't know until he gets back."

"And what about Reah—has she wakened?"

"Karzac is keeping her in a healing sleep—he doesn't think she's ready, yet."

"What's going on—I tried to get to our son and I'm told he's in a healing sleep?" Garde appeared and was already breathing smoke.

"Garde, something terrible has happened," Lissa stood to give him the news.

* * *

"Half the palace in Veshtul is in ruins, now." Cheedas handed a cup of tea to Drake. Drew was busily sipping his tea already.

"I heard Garde went crazy." Drake nodded his thanks to the vampire who'd once been chief cook in Lissa's kitchen.

"Jayd, too. Glinda couldn't get him calmed down. Lissa called for Kifirin, but he went into mourning and disappeared after hearing the news. Denevik—I hear he was seen walking the edge of Baetrah."

"Oh, no. Reah doesn't need to hear that her grandfather killed himself on top of everything else." Drew set his cup on the island.

"He didn't. He's back at the palace, looking at the ruin that Jayd and Garde made of the place."

"Cheedas, have they wakened Tory yet?"

"That I can't tell you. I only know what I do because Lissa came and talked to me. I babied her a little. She needed it."

"What is Reah going to need? She didn't want to do this until after the baby came. That's what I heard. And I think Norian is going into hiding. If he wants to live, that is." Drew shook his head over the whole mess.

* * *

Gardevik Rath stood in what was left of his suite inside the High Demon palace as a cold rain beat against his skin. He was naked—hadn't bothered to dress after his Thifilathi had spent its anger. Veshtul seemed dull and gray in the early spring rain upon Kifirin. Garde sat on the chilled marble floor and watched while the rain pounded the city below. Jayd, also naked, walked up and sat beside his brother.

* * *

"Gavril, we're just as guilty. We did this, just as much as Norian did. We pushed her. Belittled her when she wouldn't do what we thought she ought to." Tory didn't say it, but the unspoken matter of the implanted chip was between them. Tory had wakened to find his father sitting on the side of his bed. Tory had wept in his father's arms. His Thifilathi had known, even when Tory hadn't—just what the baby meant. Now, Garde listened while the brothers talked. Ry had also come, but he listened with Garde. Erland had asked him to bring information to Wylend, who worried about Reah and how the others might treat her as a result of the tragedy.

"What do we do now? She'll push both of us away." Gavril stood, rubbing his forehead. He had the worst headache.

"Young one, I gave you what you wanted. And now, all may be lost." Kifirin appeared in a brief flash of light.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Gavril cursed under his breath. "She was supposed to be mine—I was supposed to help her."

Kifirin turned his dark eyes upon Gavril. "Everything you requested was granted. However, there was something in the granting that I did not consider. I will ponder this." Kifirin disappeared swiftly.

"Speaking in riddles," Garde muttered.

"Have Farzi and the others had anything to eat? They won't leave Reah's suite. Thank the stars the Larentii put it together again before they left." Ry said.

"Let's get them something for dinner," Gavril stood. "Maybe it'll take my mind off the guilt."

* * *

"Little girl, as much as I'd like to keep you sleeping peacefully for a while longer, you must wake and talk with us." Karzac's words were the first I heard upon waking after. After the world had fallen upon me, that is. My daughter was dead—I'd known exactly when the cruel viper tapping into the core had drained her life away and then attempted to take mine as well. I had no recollection of how the link had been broken but it must have been—I was still here and my child wasn't. I felt empty, cold and abandoned as I opened my eyes, trying to bring Karzac's face into focus.

"You know already." Karzac's statement was flat.

"I know." I nodded, my voice and my throat as dry as dust.

"Here—only a little," Karzac held a cup to my lips. "We still have the IV in your hand and the feeding tube is still there," he added as I slurped ice water. It may have been the best water I'd ever had, mostly because it was the most welcome.

"There are several who wish to come and grovel," Karzac said gently, taking the cup away.

"I don't want to see them," I muttered, picking at the blanket that covered my narrow bed. I'd been transferred to one built for medical patients, I discovered.

"Who would you like to see?"

"Farzi and Nenzi. And their brothers. Wylend maybe. Aurelius, if he's in." I wanted to weep in Aurelius' arms, if I were honest. He would soothe me with foreign words I didn't understand and that was perfectly fine right then. I wiped a tear off my face. Karzac burst that bubble immediately.