"The other side is a corrupted ocean, Cecilia. Your baby might be a dragon's baby, but it's still a baby. It's inside an egg that absorbs everything through its breaking and continuously mending shell and membranes. Once you absorb the corruption, it will absorb it too."
Lazuardi said calmly, delivering a prognosis he didn't want to deliver but knew he must. There was no lie in his words. No exaggeration. Just the immutable facts of biology and corruption and the tiny, fragile life growing inside her.
"I know you might have a solution to protect yourself and the baby. But the best solution is still not to go." His eyes met hers, steady and serious. "You are no longer just responsible for yourself. You are responsible for your child now."
Cecilia didn't flinch or look away. Her eyes, still sharp, swept across the gathered dragons, Baswara, Jenggala, Serayu, Lazuardi—
