The words were quiet, but they cut through her screeching like a knife. Kulu didn't move toward her. His hand stayed firmly in Hana's grip, his gaze fixed on Hana's flat stomach with a look of profound, dazed wonder. The guilt that had been pulling at his heart snapped.
"You tried to push her," Kulu said, his voice growing steady, his amber eyes finally hardening as he looked at the woman who had treated him like a footstool for seasons. "You knew she had no wings to catch her. You knew there were stones behind her. And you did it while she is carrying…" He trailed off, his throat working as he looked back at Hana.
Hana didn't soften. She didn't play the fragile mother. She stepped up beside Caspian's massive, heaving side and looked at the crowd.
"I told you I was a survivor," Hana said, her voice echoing off the bunker's steel hatch. "In my world, we don't wait for the monster to bite. We kill it while it's opening its mouth. Lira opened her mouth, and I shut it."
