Deidre“Come on, come on!” I said, muttering under my breath, praying she’d pick up.“Who are you calling?”“Jennivah. I need her to help me.”“You promised to call Perrin!” Jesamine shouted at me, full of alarm.“You need to lay down!” I had finally hoisted her into a nearby gearney and was wheeling her off to another lab. I needed scans to know just how bad this was. And Jennivah picking up wasn’t helping. I contemplated calling Irene.“Call Perrin!”“QUIET!” I shouted, phone cocked between my shoulder and my ear as I used two hands to steer her. Jennivah still

JesamineThe top of the biohazard container clanked shut. He handed me a glass of water to dispel the taste of vomit from my mouth. “Thank you,” I muttered. “You look pale.”“Makes sense. I feel like shit.”He grunted. “What’s your plan?” He moved, intentionally blocking Deidre’s sight of me through the window pane. She wasn’t necessarily smooth about keeping an eye on us.“My plan?” I stared at my stomach, unseeing. “Well. I guess I’m competing tomorrow. Or is it today? What time is it anyway?” My voice sounded detached, even to my own ears.  Gowan glared at me. “With the baby?”

JesamineThey wasted no time, barking orders at Gowan to wheel me off to another lab.Jennivah took my vitals as Deidre got another machine ready. “This is going to be cold.” She ran gel over my belly. Despite her repeated request, Gowan hadn’t left my side. He refused.She took a small plastic dial connected by a cord to a TV, and began scanning down from my ribs towards my navel. I could see the outline of my organs appearing on the screen, outlined in white. “Definitely a few broken ribs. Left side.” Deidre made notes, eyeing the screen and nodding in agreement with Jennivah’s assessment. Jennivah moved the detector again. “No apparent damage to the kidneys but we can’t pick up bruising on this. Potentially a ruptured appendix. That cou

Perrin “Where are we going?” “The infirmary.” “Why?” “Please don’t ask questions.” “I would really prefer not to do some last minute press conference with your wife—” To my surprise, my father sighed. He wasn’t showing his usual sense of control. He had practically collapsed into the back of the car when Charlie drove off. “What’s going on?” I asked, a little more gently. I’d prefer to be getting in the zone, showering, taking some time for myself today. I had waited so long for this day. I wanted to be ready. Mentally prepared. Physically unbreakable. And

Lo“He’s probably already there. It’s not like he would miss it.”“I know. But I could at least get a text back?”I nodded, opening the door to my father’s Audi for Ethan as he slid into the front seat, pulling his leg in behind him with a small wince. I walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in.“Do you want to swing by the hotel just in case? To see if he needs a ride?”I tried not to roll my eyes. “It will be fine. And I’m sure Kira is there, too.”**The Lodge had been transformed be