The Dark Blade: Return Of The General.

Chapter 20: Impossible Choices

"What? Since when?" Jacob caught Anna as her knees buckled, sweeping her into his arms before she could collapse onto the ash-covered lawn. "How is this possible? We have only been married for two weeks!"

Anna clutched her stomach, her face twisted in pain and confusion. "I do not know. I thought the nausea was from stress. The exhaustion, the emotional turmoil—everything has been so chaotic that I did not even consider..." Her words cut off as another contraction made her gasp.

"Get her to a hospital!" Roseline shouted, already pulling out her phone to call for emergency services. "Now, Jacob!"

Jacob did not wait for an ambulance. He carried Anna to his car, ignoring his own injuries and exhaustion. Roseline jumped into the driver's seat while Jacob cradled Anna in the back, murmuring reassurances he did not fully believe himself.

The drive to Seron General Hospital took eight minutes that felt like eight hours. Anna's contractions came in irregular waves, each one making Jacob's heart clench with fear. If she lost this baby—a child he had not even known existed until five minutes ago—he would never forgive himself.

The emergency room staff rushed them inside the moment they arrived. Nurses took Anna from Jacob's arms and placed her on a gurney, wheeling her toward examination rooms while firing questions about her medical history. Jacob followed like a ghost, his mind still struggling to process the impossible reality.

Doctor Sarah Chen met them in the examination room, her professional calm a stark contrast to the chaos Jacob felt inside. She was in her fifties with kind eyes and steady hands that had probably delivered hundreds of babies.

"Mr. Krigg, I need you to wait outside while I examine your wife," Doctor Chen said gently but firmly.

"I am not leaving her," Jacob replied, his voice leaving no room for argument.

The doctor studied his face for a moment, then nodded. "Then stand over there and let me work."

Twenty minutes of examination followed. Jacob watched the doctor check Anna's vitals, perform an ultrasound, and ask detailed questions about symptoms and timeline. Through it all, Anna held Jacob's hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Finally, Doctor Chen set down her instruments and turned to face them both. "Anna, you are approximately six weeks pregnant. The fetus appears healthy, but you are experiencing early contractions brought on by extreme physical and emotional stress."

Six weeks. Jacob's mind raced backward through the timeline. Six weeks ago was before the auction, before he had even returned to Seron. Which meant...

"The night I healed her," Jacob said quietly, the pieces falling into place. "When I used my mystical abilities to repair her body at a cellular level. I must have accelerated her biological processes in ways I did not intend."

Doctor Chen looked confused by the mystical reference but focused on the medical facts. "Regardless of how it happened, the pregnancy is real and viable. However, Anna needs complete bed rest for at least forty-eight hours. Any additional physical stress could trigger a miscarriage."

The words hit Jacob like a physical blow. Forty-eight hours. But the ritual was tomorrow at dawn, less than twelve hours away. He had to face Elijah and stop whatever nightmare his brother had planned, but that meant leaving Anna alone and vulnerable.

"I will stay in bed," Anna said immediately, reading Jacob's thoughts. "You have to go, Jacob. You have to stop Elijah. If he succeeds with this ritual, if the Crimson Dawn rises, there will not be a world for our child to grow up in."

Jacob knelt beside her hospital bed, taking both her hands in his. "I cannot lose you. Either of you. You are asking me to choose between stopping my brother and protecting my family."

"You are not choosing," Anna insisted, tears streaming down her face. "You are doing what you were always meant to do. Stop the evil that destroyed your family so it cannot destroy ours." She reached up to touch his face. "But you have to promise me something."

"Anything," Jacob whispered.

"Promise me you will not die. Our baby needs a father. I need you to come back to me, Jacob. Not as the Dark Blade, not as the legendary warrior. Just as Jacob, my husband, the father of my child."

Jacob pressed his forehead against hers, fighting back his own tears. "I promise. I will come back to you. Both of you."

Roseline appeared in the doorway, tactfully giving them a moment before speaking. "Jacob, I will stay here with Anna. I will guard her with my life. Leo and Carl are gathering equipment and preparing the team."

Jacob looked up at her with gratitude. "Thank you, Roseline. If anything happens to me—"

"Nothing will happen to you," Roseline interrupted firmly. "You are the Dark Blade. You have survived impossible odds before. You will survive this too."

A commotion outside the room drew their attention. The Tate family had arrived at the hospital—what remained of them, at least. Elizabeth entered first, her expensive clothes ruined and covered in soot. For the first time since Jacob had met her, she looked at him without contempt or mockery.

"We want to help," Elizabeth said simply. "You saved our lives tonight when you could have left us to die. You risked everything for people who treated you and Anna terribly. We owe you a debt we can never repay."

Marcus limped in behind his mother, his beaten face showing new respect. "The Tate family has resources—money, connections, information networks. Whatever you need to stop that monster who destroyed our home, you have it."

Jacob was too shocked to respond immediately. These same people had sold Anna to him like unwanted property just weeks ago. Now they were offering their support?

"Why?" Jacob asked bluntly. "Why help me now?"

Elizabeth looked at Anna lying in the hospital bed, then back at Jacob. "Because we were wrong about you. Wrong about Anna. Wrong about everything." Her voice cracked with emotion. "We let pride and shame blind us to what really mattered. You showed us tonight what family actually means—sacrifice, protection, love. Let us help you save the world our grandchild will inherit."

Jacob nodded slowly, accepting their offer. He would need every advantage he could get against Elijah and the Crimson Dawn.

Leo appeared with a tablet, his expression grim. "Sir, we have the location confirmed. The original Krigg family estate on the northern edge of the city. It burned down fifteen years ago and has been abandoned ever since. Perfect location for a ritual that needs to stay hidden."

Jacob studied the satellite images Leo pulled up. The ruins were isolated, surrounded by overgrown forest and accessible only by a single dirt road. Elijah could not have chosen a better location for an ambush.

"He has been planning this for years," Jacob said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "Every move calculated, every piece positioned. What if I cannot beat him? What if I am not strong enough?"

Anna grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to look directly into her eyes. "Listen to me, Jacob Krigg. You can beat him because you are not alone anymore. You have me, our child, and people who will fight beside you. Elijah has been alone for fifteen years, consumed by bitterness and rage. That isolation is his weakness, not his strength."

Jacob leaned down and kissed her deeply, pouring all his fear and love and determination into that single moment. When he pulled away, he saw tears streaming down her face but also fierce pride.

"I will come back," he promised again. "For you. For our baby. For the future we are going to build together."

He stood and turned toward the door, his entire body shifting into combat mode. The husband and father receded, and the Dark Blade emerged.

As he left the hospital room, Leo fell into step beside him, pulling up additional information on his tablet. "Sir, there is something else you need to see. We analyzed the security footage from the mansion explosion."

Leo played a video clip on his tablet. The footage showed the Tate mansion from across the street, recorded by some nearby building's security camera. The timestamp showed it was taken moments before the explosion.

"Watch the left side of the frame," Leo instructed.

Jacob watched. Most of the video showed the mansion itself, but in the lower left corner, a figure stood on the opposite sidewalk. As the explosion erupted, the figure did not flinch or run. Instead, he simply stood there watching the destruction with obvious satisfaction.

"Zoom in," Jacob commanded.

Leo enhanced the image. The figure's face became clear.

Marcus Nico stood across from the burning mansion, and he was smiling. Not the surprised smile of someone witnessing unexpected destruction, but the knowing smile of someone watching a plan unfold exactly as intended.

"He knew about the explosion before it happened," Leo said quietly. "Marcus Nico was not just watching from a safe distance. He was there to confirm the detonation worked as planned."

Jacob felt rage building in his chest like molten steel. Marcus Nico was not just allied with Elijah. He had helped plan the mansion bombing, helped orchestrate the hostage situation, probably helped with everything that had happened since Jacob returned to Seron.

"How deep does this conspiracy go?" Jacob asked through clenched teeth.

"Very deep, sir," Leo replied grimly. "And it all leads to tomorrow at dawn."