Fatal Desire by Valerie Twombly Page B

given name and they had always been too drugged out to tell her. Even now, the ladies were being kept under the influence of the guardians. Enthralled so, they could be controlled and their fear kept to a minimum.
    Diego stepped through a portal and tipped his head at Caleb. “Glad to see you in one piece, brother.”
    “Good, we’re all here. Let’s go,” Marcus ordered.
    Everyone followed the guardian down a marble corridor. Lileta couldn’t help but notice how stark the place was and wondered if the rest of their surroundings were the same. She had somehow imagined the gods in a more opulent setting.
    Marcus turned into a room on the right. It was much like the one they had just left, except smaller and had only one bed. A small table stood to one side and was covered with surgical equipment. Cassie helped situate the young female in bed.
    “Here’s what’s going to happen. Marcus and I will sedate her and keep the babe safe. Then we will cut her open.” Cassie fixed her gaze on Caleb. “Caleb, you will remove the child. It’s better if his own kind touches him first.”
    Caleb nodded and positioned himself next to the woman. Lileta handed him a pair of gloves. Marcus placed his hands on her stomach, and Cassie touched her head. They both inhaled and closed their eyes; the female became encased in a soft white light.
    Marcus opened his eyes. “Lileta, the scalpel please.”
    She grabbed the instrument from the tray next to them and deposited it in his palm. He placed the tip above the pelvic bone and made a six inch incision, horizontal across her abdomen. Next, he incised connective tissue until he was able to reach the uterus. He handed the scalpel back to Lileta. Then spread the incision apart.
    He looked at Caleb. “Reach for him.”
    Caleb inserted his hands into the womb and pulled the baby free. Lileta came around and began to wipe him off with a towel. Her heart fluttered. Caleb brushed his hand over the boy’s black hair and smiled when the baby let out a cry. He bit his wrist and offered it to the hungry child.
    “Everything will be all right, little one,” Caleb cooed.
    In that instant, Lileta ached for her own children. Anger toward the gods boiled like a cauldron in her stomach. She wiped away a stray tear before anyone noticed. It’s just not fair. She looked from the baby up to the dragon that held him. I could love you, Caleb, if given a chance. However, I would never see you look upon our own children like that. They couldn’t mate, and even if they could, he was Draki and she Kothar; the child would shred itself from her womb.
    She stepped away and went back to help Marcus and Cassie, unable to look at Caleb for another second. Marcus was already healing the incision, and soon they could take the patient back to her room and repeat the procedure twice more.
    * * * *
    Diego and Caleb sat in a makeshift nursery feeding the three newborns. Two boys and one girl.
    “So what happens now?” Lileta asked, still fighting to contain the emotions that warred inside her.
    Caleb looked up from the pink bundle in his arms. “We have families who will be taking the children into their homes. As far as the women, I haven’t heard anything yet.”
    “I have an answer to that.”
    The three looked up to see Argathos had entered. He stopped in front of Diego and touched the baby’s cheek. “It has been decided the women will have their memories altered and be returned to their families.”
    Lileta stiffened. “Is that fair? I mean to have birthed a child and then have it erased from your memory? Seems cruel.”
    “Lileta, isn’t it crueler to have them remember the awful things Odage did to them? Not to mention they’re not equipped to care for a dragon child,” Diego replied.
    She exhaled. “You’re right, of course.” It still didn’t sit well with her.
    “Look.” Caleb touched her arm. “This entire thing is fucked up, but these women have families who are looking for them. I’m