193 Dream the Dream

ELIA

He took a deep breath and a hair of the tension left him at her words. But Elia's mind was spinning.

She could go back.

But she didn't want to. Not without Reth.

Actually, she didn't want to even with Reth, but without him… Life loomed before her, empty, hollow, cavernous and her breath caught. She swallowed the pinch in her throat and tried to make her voice light. "I'm saying the word, Reth. I need you to touch me. Right now."

Reth gave her a look, but reached for her hand and she gave it. They both stared at their linked fingers.

"I think knowing I can return to Anima would help. Maybe?" she said, her voice too high.

They were both quiet.

He sighed heavily.

Then her brows pinched. "I… How do you know the baby is a her?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know. I can just… feel it."

"Does it bother you that it's not a boy?"