“As with any being that carries the heavenly fire in their blood, procreation is extremely difficult, volatile and unpredictable,” he went on while I felt like I might collapse into a puddle of anxiety. “While some may find it unfair or odd how easily two mortals can reproduce, it’s actually not all that easy for them. It’s about timing and luck—good or bad, depending on how you look at it—but it would frankly be shocking for a child to have resulted from one heated moment of unplanned passion between a Trueborn and a Fallen.”

I repeated those words and I was still unsure if he was saying I was or wasn’t pregnant.

Apparently Zayne was just as uncertain. “So, she’s not pregnant?”

“You two would have to put a whole lot more effort into it if that was what you were attempting to achieve,” Grim answered, his gaze returning to me. “No, you are not pregnant.”

“What?” Roth exclaimed from the doorway, startling me. My gaze swung to him and I saw both him and Layla standing there.

Both of their mouths appeared to be hanging open.

Zayne shifted his stance so that he partially blocked me from their view. “Can we get a little privacy here?”

I saw what I thought was Roth’s arm rise as he said, “You know, I actually don’t want to be a part of this conversation, anyway.”

“But why would that even be a conversation?” Layla protested.

“Come with me, shortie, and I’ll explain to you what can happen when two people have sex—better yet, I can show you—”

“I know what happens,” Layla snapped, and whatever else she said was lost as Roth dragged her from the room.

I waited until they were gone. “How would you even know if I’m pregnant or not? Can you see inside my uterus?”

Zayne looked over at me. “I can’t believe those words just came out of your mouth.”

“I can’t believe those words came out of my mouth, but they did.”

“That has to be one of the most disturbing things I’ve heard, and I’ve heard a lot.” Grim’s lip curled behind his beard. “Death and life are two sides of the same coin. I can sense when the youngest life has taken root and know when the process of death has begun long before the body begins to rot.”

“I bet you’re amazing at dinner parties,” I whispered as I exhaled slowly.

I wasn’t pregnant.

Thank you baby gargoyles everywhere.

Relief swept through me, leaving me a little dizzy and guilty. Like should I be this relieved to learn I wasn’t expecting?

I thought about how I’d just mouthed off at the Angel of Death.

Yeah, I should be this relieved.