Chapter 2 Tula
TULA
Tula wrapped her fingers around a cup of herbal tea that had gone lukewarm while she waited for Tony. She stared at the liquid, her mind circling anxiously around the appointment she had in less than an hour.
Her first ultrasound.
She didn't really know what to expect. She'd seen how it was done in movies, but that was fiction. Would she really be able to see the baby growing inside her? Would Doctor Julian be able to determine if it was a boy or a girl? Did she want to know?
Tony was supposed to be here already.
She'd texted him about the appointment last night instead of calling.
Chickened out, really. It had taken her forever to type the words on the small screen, her fingers constantly missing the tiny squares with letters that were arranged all wrong.
But it had still been easier than hearing his voice and having to deal with the emotions coming through the line.
His response had come back within seconds. I'll be there. Though I wish it were Bridget doing it instead of Julian.
Evidently Tony could type much faster than she could. Not that it was surprising. He hadn't been buried under a rock his entire life. He'd been exposed to all the modern devices and knew how to use them, while she was still learning.
Tula wanted to type back that she would have preferred Bridget as well, but it required too much effort.
Julian wasn't as experienced as his mother, but he would have to do because Bridget was at the keep, taking care of Navuh.
Of course she was.
Because even as a prisoner, Navuh commanded the best care, the most attention, so the clan's top physician was dedicating herself to his recovery.
Life just wasn't fair.
Some people always got more of everything. More attention, more power, more respect, more resources. They commanded it without even trying, as if the universe itself bent to their will.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Wonder pulled out a chair and sat across from her. She brought two fresh cups of coffee, setting one in front of Tula and taking a sip from the other. "You look like you've sucked on a lemon. Aren't you excited to see your baby?"
"Of course, I am. But I was thinking."
"About what?"
Tula sighed. "About cosmic injustice. I wish it were Bridget who was doing the ultrasound. Julian is a nice guy, but it's awkward having a man I barely know examining me. I've never been touched so intimately by anyone who wasn't my lover."
Wonder's expression softened. "For what it's worth, Julian is mated to his truelove, so he is guaranteed to be perfectly clinical with you."
"How much experience does he have with pregnancies? I know he's young."
Wonder scrunched her nose. "None, I guess. Bridget is the one who takes care of the few pregnancies we get here. Mostly it's the Kra-ell and the humans. Immortals, as you know, are not as fertile."
Tula picked up the fresh coffee Wonder had brought. "Figures that I would be stuck with the inexperienced doctor while Bridget takes care of Navuh. The lord always comes before the servants, even when he's the enemy."
Wonder smiled. "Your pregnancy is normal and healthy. It doesn't require expert care. Navuh has broken every bone in his body and shredded his internal organs. I think he needs a little more attention than you do."
"I know." Tula felt guilty about her resentment. "I'm just cranky, and antsy, and annoyed, and before you accuse me of always being like that, I will let you know that I'm not."
"Why are you antsy?"
Tula shrugged. "It must be the pregnancy."
It wasn't, but she wasn't ready to share the real reason with Wonder. Not yet. They were sisters, but in many ways, they were still strangers. She didn't feel comfortable telling Wonder that she was needy and that she hadn't seen any action between the sheets in far too long.
The weeks leading up to the rescue had been a whirlwind of guilt, sorrow, and impossible hope, and she hadn't been in the right state of mind to be intimate with Tony or anyone else.
Now that she was free and no longer devastated by guilt and grief, her body remembered that it had needs.
"You could see Merlin," Wonder said. "He has much more experience than Julian. He's the fertility specialist around here." Wonder's lips quirked. "Though he's a little kooky."
"Kooky?"
"You'd have to meet him to understand. He prepares these custom-made potions for couples who are trying to conceive, and he's kind of eccentric, but nice. I like him. He has a nutty professor vibe."
"Do the potions work?" Tula asked.
Wonder shrugged. "Who knows? Syssi and Kian took them and got Allegra. Bridget and Turner took them, and now Bridget's pregnant. But correlation isn't causation, you know? They might have conceived anyway."
"Or the potions actually work, and he's really good at what he does."
"Maybe." Wonder leaned back in her chair. "Either way, he's entertaining, but I don't know if he also takes care of the results of his potions."
Tula wanted to ask what she'd meant by results, pregnancies or babies, when she saw Tony walking into the café.
She tensed up.
This was the first time she'd seen him since he'd moved out, leaving a note on the kitchen counter and not saying goodbye. He'd just moved into William and Kaia's spare bedroom.
He looked good. Rested. Like living apart from her was actually working out well for him.
That thought shouldn't hurt, but it did.
"Hey," Tony said as he reached their table. He nodded to Wonder, then looked at Tula. "How are you doing?"
"Good." Tula forced a smile. "Thanks for coming."
"Of course. I said I would." He pulled out a chair and sat. "Wouldn't miss it. So, everything all right in there?" He motioned at her belly.
"I'm nervous about the appointment," she admitted. "But supposedly, it's not a big deal."
"I wouldn't know," Tony said, and that was the end of the small talk.
An awkward silence settled over the table.
Wonder glanced between them, looking like she was debating whether to help fill the conversational void or let them work through it themselves.
"So," Tula said, needing to break the tension, "How have you been? Settling in at William and Kaia's okay?"
"Great, actually." Tony's face brightened. "Kaia and I are working on a project together. It's good to be doing what I've actually been trained to do."
He'd been in the village for three days and was already working? How had he managed that?
"What kind of project?" she asked.
"I can't tell you. It's classified."
Tula's anger flared. "Classified? You've just gotten here, and you're human. How can you possibly be working on a classified project for the clan?"
Tony squared his shoulders. "I'm a bioinformatician, Tula.
So is Kaia. She needed my help and asked Kian to give me clearance so I could work with her.
Kian arranged for me to meet a guy named Toven who compelled me to keep my mouth shut, so I literally can't tell anyone about it even if I wanted to. "
Wonder snorted into her coffee.
Tula turned to her. "What's so funny?"
"Tony calling Toven a guy." Wonder grinned. "Toven is not just some guy. He's a god. Mortdh's brother."
Tula's eyes widened. "That Toven? He's here? Does Areana know?"
"I don't think so." Wonder's amusement faded. "It was another one of those strategic secrets that Annani couldn't share with Areana while she was still on the island."
"I always liked Toven," Tula admitted, memories of the handsome, aloof god surfacing. "He was so smart, so knowledgeable, and he wasn't interested in the political intrigue the other gods were immersed in."
Wonder arched a brow. "You were a kid. What did you know about politics?"
Tula shrugged. "I listened to your conversations with Annani. She understood the machinations of politics even as a young girl."
Wonder nodded. "Annani was groomed by her father to become the next leader of the gods. She's also smart."
"I'm smart," Tony grumbled. "And yet you left me for an uneducated redhead who works with his hands."
Heat flooded Tula's face, creeping up her neck and burning her ears. "I didn't leave you for Esag."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because I've heard differently."
How had he even found out?
She'd been to Esag's house once, they'd kissed, but that had been all.
Still, there was a kernel of truth in his accusation.
She hadn't left Tony for Esag, but Esag had been a catalyst to end things sooner rather than later because she was curious and wanted to explore this strange connection between them that had blossomed despite her animosity toward him.
The problem was that Esag was walking on eggshells around her, and it was driving her mad. She was impatient and wanted more. She didn't want to be careful. She knew Esag, and with all his faults, he was a decent guy.
There was no nasty fiancée this time, no family obligations, and he didn't owe anyone anything. If he wanted, he could give himself to her without reservation, and she would take him because she knew he would never hurt her.
But apparently, she was going to have to be the one to make it happen because she had no patience and didn't want to wait. The pregnancy hormones were making her feel needy, restless, and desperate for physical affection.
Tony was right there, familiar and available and perfectly willing to scratch that itch if she gave him any indication that she wanted him. But sleeping with Tony again would ruin all the progress they'd made.
She couldn't do that.
Tula looked at her phone, hoping for a message from Esag, but there was none. It was, however, time to go.
She pushed to her feet. "My appointment is in ten minutes. I'd rather be early than late."
The three of them walked together toward the clinic, all of them grateful that it was only a few feet away from the café, so they didn't have to carry on a conversation for long.
Tony opened the door for her, and as she entered, she was greeted by a nurse.