Gilded Bay deserted, my organs can go on without me

He embraced Cortland once more, still shaking his head. "No, no, you don't have to be sorry," he insisted softly, closing his eyes. Images of orphaned puppies--much like himself--quickly flooded his brain, and his eyes snapped open, a small shudder running through his body, lifting the hairs on his spine. No, that wouldn't do. Not at all.

If there was even the slightest chance Ava was pregnant, they must seek her out right away. Phocion would not let a single child go fatherless; he was absolutely adamant that both parents be there for their children. No matter what it took. Even if it meant Cortland could not be his--not his entirely, anyway.

"I lost track of Ava, when I went to find you," he murmured, almost as if to himself, though addressing Cortland in an off-hand fashion. Where could she have gone? "Should we track her down? Did she have a home, before she found us?"

There was also Poet--he hadn't seen the woman since their meeting in Neverwinter Forest. He'd meant to keep her close, but the situation with Cortland had thrown things into chaos, and he'd lost track of her, too. Poet was more dear to him than Ava, it was true--but it was not her belly that could swell in the coming weeks.