"I know you want to," Maren said.

"It doesn't matter what I want. You need sleep," Donovan said.

"I need you."

They had returned to Maren's rooms (Donovan's things had already been moved there) after hearing about Margot. She was trying to convince him to engage in some recreation before going to sleep, but he was uncharacteristically reluctant. He seemed to want to protect her or that she might be too fragile, but she knew what she wanted.

"I'll hold you all night. Is that good enough?"

"Would it be good enough for you?" she asked with a sly smile.

He opened his mouth to insist it would be and then closed it. They both knew that would have been a lie.

"Minx," he said with a grin.

"Does that mean I win?"

He sighed and kissed her.  She knew she'd won, and he wanted to avoid admitting it. That was fine.

"How about this: if you can lay in bed for five minutes without falling asleep, you win."

She pursed her lips. She was not entirely sure if she could.

"That's what I thought," he said, looking smug.

"Fine, fine," she said. "You're right. I am tired. I just want to make up for lost time."

Even though they had only been apart for a week, it felt like much longer, having spent most of it thinking they would never see each other again.

He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "We have all the time in the world now. No rushing, no counting down, just us."

She smiled at the idea. It was still hard to imagine she would really get to spend her life with someone she loved so much.

Maren got to bed first, but it was only a few minutes before Donovan climbed joined her. He tucked himself behind her like a spoon, and they both sighed contentedly.

He put his hand over her stomach. "I can't believe we're having a baby."

She chucked. "I maintain no one was more surprised than me."

He kissed the back of her neck.

"It's just astonishing to think that right now, right here, our baby is already growing."

"You know that isn't where, right?" she asked. "At least not yet."

"Oh...well... I didn't really think about it."

She laughed and moved his hand lower over the place their baby was actually growing.

He left his hand there and they both closed their eyes, enjoying one another's company. Then suddenly, he pressed his hand more firmly into her.

"What-"

"Shhh."

She waited for him to finish whatever he was doing, but hoped he had some explanation. He kept his hand pressed close to her for at least a full minute. Then he took her hand and placed it where his had been.

"Just feel right there for a moment. Shut everything else out," he said.

She had no idea what he was doing, but decided to do as he asked.

She closed her eyes and focused on what her hand felt. The first thing she noticed was the warmth of her skin under the soft fabric of her night gown. She set that feeling aside and kept focusing.

For a time, she felt nothing. But then, there was something. It was faint. It was a magical sensation, not a physical one, but it was definitely there.

It was a buzz.

It reminded her of what it felt like the first time she had touched Kieran, but much, much quieter and without any sinister overtones.

She knew it wasn't a part of her. She wasn't sure it was anything at all; it felt more like potential than anything else.

Whatever it was, it was the nascent spark of power, power that didn't belong to her.

"Am I mad or is that -"

"I think that's someone else's power," Donovan whispered.

Maren made a breathy sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

"Amazing," Donovan said.

She smiled. She thought so, too.

———

Waking up with Maren in his arms was the best possible way for the day to begin, as far as Donovan was concerned. Making love to her shortly thereafter made things even better.

When they arrived at breakfast, Alec and the Duke were already there. Donovan was alarmed when Maren declined coffee, although she quietly told him the smell bothered her. She also gave him a look that suggested he was being overly protective, which he thought was probably accurate.

He couldn't help it. Between Kieran's assault and the baby, he was worried about her. He felt a strong need to keep her safe, even if she didn't need his protection at the moment.

"So, if I may ask, what are your plans?" the Duke asked.

"And by that he means, how many more babies will you have because I think you should have at least four," Alec said with a wink.

Maren rolled her eyes at him.

"That is not quite what I meant," the Duke said, chuckling. "You are both welcome to stay as long as you like, and so are Maren's parents, of course. But I wondered what the rest of your plans entailed."

Donovan nodded. He and Maren had discussed at least some of the details the afternoon before.

"We're thinking we'll have the ceremony a day or two after Maren's parents arrive. I will most likely leave the next morning for Court. I want to get the Kieran situation resolved as quickly as possible," Donovan said.

"And you'll stay here, of course," the Duke said to Maren.

Donovan appreciated that he phrased it as a fact and not as a question. He and Maren both hated the idea of separating, but there really was no choice. Maren simply could not leave Worthingham until Kieran was dealt with.

"Thank you, Jonathan," Maren said.

Donovan squeezed her leg under the table. He knew she was no happier than he was about being apart.

"Hopefully, it will only take a few days," Donovan said.

"I can send you with an escort if you like," the Duke said. "You'd get there a bit faster."

"I thank you," Donovan said.

He did not want to try to make the return drive as quickly as he did the trip to Worthingham.

"My clerk can help you with the contract, and I'll get the magistrate squared away," the Duke said.

Donovan was truly grateful. "Your help is greatly appreciated."

The Duke waved him off. "It's nothing. And I'm happy to do it."

They ate quietly for a few minutes before the Duke spoke again. "I just thought, Your Highness, you should bring sworn statements with you when you tell the King about your brother. I'll give you one regarding my intervention in the checkpoint, but Maren and Alec should write their own."

Donovan had already thought of it, but was glad to hear that the Duke agreed it was necessary. He hated to ask Maren to do it. He knew she did not want to revisit what Kieran had done to her at the palace, but it was the only way.

He glanced at her and could tell she was uncomfortable with the idea. So, he put his hand on her knee, hoping that touching her would provide her some support.

"I agree," Donovan said. "Alec, you should do two. One as the Court Physician regarding the incident at the palace and one as a witness to the checkpoint."

"Three," Maren corrected. "One verifying the pregnancy."

Everyone nodded their agreement.

Donovan was proud of Maren for coming up with the idea, even as distressed as he knew she was. He had not considered asking Alec to make that particular statement, and was glad Maren had. It would go a long way toward ensuring her protection.

"I'm so sorry you have to do this, love," he said when they returned to Maren's rooms after breakfast.

"It's all right. It needs to be done. And, if it gets him punished, it will be worth it," she said. "I want to do it now, though, I don't want it hanging over me."

Donovan nodded. "I have a bit of reading and such I need to see to. I'll sit with you."

He could tell she knew he was trying to make an excuse to stay with her from her small smile. She didn't object, though, and he was glad. He couldn't protect her from painful memories, but he could at least be with her.

She sat at the writing desk in her sitting room, while Donovan sat in an armchair nearby with some of the reports he was supposed to read.

He didn't actually get through much reading, though. He was too distracted. He was concerned for Maren, but also still so excited about marrying her and the baby that he couldn't focus.

He couldn't stop thinking about that buzz. He wanted to feel it again. He wondered what it meant. Did it mean their baby would have powers? If the baby was born with powers, would it be a boy, since the Darkness was hereditary? But then, what were the rules for their baby? Perhaps the Light was also hereditary, but no one knew.

He had no answers at all, but was excited to find out.

Maren spent more than an hour writing her statement. Donovan wanted to ask if she was all right roughly every two minutes, but resisted the urge. He knew her well enough to know that she needed to write in peace and would ask for him if she needed him.

She looked exhausted when she handed it to him.

"Do you want to go lie down?" he asked, concerned.

"Come with me? Bring it if you want to read it now, I just want to be with you."

"Of course, love."

He stood, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over a chair, before taking Maren's statement and some of his other reading and going with her into her bedroom.

They both discarded their shoes. Maren asked him to help with the buttons on her dress, she didn't want it to wrinkle. When she was mostly undressed, she crawled into bed, and he sat beside her. She put her head on his lap and he stroked her hair.

"Relax, love," he said. "Everything's alright now."

She nodded and sighed. He kept stroking her hair and her arm until she seemed to be asleep.

Then he picked up her statement.

He had no doubt that writing it was more difficult, but he was not looking forward to reading it. She had told him nothing of what happened in the temple while Kieran held her, and he had to admit that he really didn't want to know. He didn't want to think about how his brother had hurt her or what had happened while Donovan was trying to find her.

But he needed to know before he spoke to his parents about the situation. So, he took a deep breath and read.

Maren did an outstanding job with the statement. She wrote in a detached and purely factual style, but included enough detail. She wrote how the palace guard had taken her to the defunct Temple of Malen in the palace and detained her until Kieran arrived. Then Kieran beat her until he was interrupted by one of the guards. It turned Donovan's stomach to read how Kieran had casually killed one of his own men and then seemed to plan for the death of more.

He was disturbed by the statement but not particularly surprised by anything, until he got to the part about Maren's escape attempt. He was amazed she had dared to try. (He wasn't terribly proud of himself, but he was delighted to discover she'd kneed Kieran in the groin.) She fought so hard to get away, and he felt both proud of her for it and heartbroken that she had needed to. And he was horrified that Kieran had resorted to suffocating her to keep her from escaping.

His parents had given both him and his brother something like a thousand lectures on not abusing their powers. He had known Kieran was abusing his, but seeing it written down in black and white was still disturbing.

Maren sniffed and Donovan knew instantly it was the sort of sniff someone makes when they're crying and trying not to let anyone know. He put the statement down and put his hand on her shoulder. He remained quiet though. He wanted her to know that he was there and that he knew she was upset, but without pressuring her to talk.

In a strange way, he was relieved that her quiet tears gave way to sobs that wracked her body. He didn't want her to feel she had to hide her anguish from him.

After a few minutes, Donovan realized Maren was saying something but he couldn't make it out through her tears. He had to listen for what felt like a very long time before he understood.

"Won't be his pet...won't...won't."

The word "pet" sparked something in Donovan's mind. Something Maren had asked him months and months before.

"Does Kieran have a pet?"

Donovan felt liked he'd been punched in the stomach. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant to be Kieran's pet, but he had no doubt it was horrifying.

"No, love, never. I promise," he said quietly to her over and over until she finally stopped crying. She kept sniffing and hiccuping for a few more minutes before she was ready to speak.

"I know what happened to Marjorie," she said in a hoarse voice.

Donovan clenched his jaw. He knew whatever Maren was about to say would be terrible. Donovan had been close to Marjorie when they were teenagers but she'd run afoul of Kieran and had to leave Court.

"He had her arrested and the kept her as his pet. He said she was the first and he accidentally killed her after six months of trying to make her hands glow. They never did. But he still keeps pets.

"The mistake at headquarters while he was away? Someone gave her a glass. She killed herself. Callista said being his pet was much worse than being his mistress."

Donovan pulled her closer, too horror-stricken to say anything. He didn't know the extent of the damage Kieran had inflicted on his last mistress, but it had been very bad. If being his pet was worse...

"I won't let that happen. He'll never have you, Maren. You won't ever be his pet. I'll kill you myself if that's the only way," Donovan said. "I promise."

She made a shuddering exhale of relief.

"Thank you," she breathed, leaning into him.

Donovan did not doubt his promise. If it came to it, he would try and rescue her, but he knew that killing Maren would be helping her more than leaving her alive in Kieran's hands, as much as it would destroy him to do it.