Book Five: Chapter 227

Zel made a sound like a balloon deflating as her shoulders drooped. “It’s not that. I enjoy your touch, but I don’t deserve it, not when you hear what I have to say.” Her face scrunched up as she took a calming breath. “Mike. There is no centaur in my life. I made him up. There’s only ever been you.”

“But I don’t get it. What about...” He gestured toward her equine belly, his lips suddenly numb.

The look on her face spoke volumes. She turned away from him, her arms crossed her stomach. “I lied. That was the choice I made, and I regret it.”

So many questions raced through his head, he couldn’t figure out which to ask first. “How?” was the best he could manage.

“Humans and centaurs can’t interbreed. But I was using a potion to make myself human, remember?” She shook her head, the feathers in her hair fluttering wildly in the breeze. “My best guess is that we crossed whatever line that separated us biologically. The child won’t be human or centaur, but something