Jasmine's POV
Two months can change a life.
Two months on the road can change a person.
Two months while pregnant…
can change everything.
The forest no longer felt endless to me. I knew its smells, its sounds, the way it breathed.
The earth had become familiar under our horses' hooves, and the wind carried less fear than before. We had crossed rivers, towns, borders I'd never heard of, and somehow we were still moving, still running, still trying to reach the distant lands where all the answers waited.
But today I felt tired.
A different tired.
Not the exhaustion of running or fear or grief.
A deeper tiredness. A bone-deep heaviness that came with the weight inside me.
My hand drifted to my stomach again, resting on the curve pressing forward.
The baby kicked light, like a flutter but it still startled me every time.
Otto slowed his horse beside mine.
"You okay?" he asked, voice soft with concern.
I nodded automatically. "Fine."
