“When Alice heard two heartbeats, I begged her not to say anything.” She looked gratefully at her friend.
Alice had studied midwifery before her father informed her she would be the Queen’s Companion, whether she wanted to or not. Bianca didn’t want Alice to completely give up her dream, and had promised her she could be the Queen’s Midwife too. Thank the gods. Anyone else would have run straight to the king in hopes of gaining his favor.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Charlotte’s mouth turned down. “I could have had a plan in place long ago.”
“I haven’t had time to travel,” Bianca explained, “and I couldn’t chance someone intercepting a letter.”
“We already have a plan,” Alice added, “but we need your help.”
Charlotte straightened, looking every bit the queen she was. “Anything.”
TWO WEEKS LATER
Bianca stood in the middle of her bedchamber at the Human Palace, staring at the puddle of water between her feet. Her heart beat in a frantic rhythm in her chest as her panic climbed.
It’s time. I’m going to meet my babies after pushing them out of my vagina. How will they fit? What was it Alice said? It stretches? Gods, I should have listened better instead of blocking out the unpleasant images.
“Alice,” she called out. “I think the babies are coming!”
Something clattered to the ground seconds before Alice appeared in the doorway between the bedchamber and sitting room. “Are you sure?” She hurried across the room and glanced at the wet rug. “Right. Into the bed. I’ll call for Charlotte and supplies.”
She disappeared through the doorway, leaving Bianca alone with her spiraling thoughts. She no longer feared for her daughter’s life—their plan was solid—but she feared for her own. Too many women died each year in childbirth because men didn’t care enough to put resources toward preventing their deaths. They had more than enough fuck holes to breed, why would they care if some of them died?
Bianca took a step toward the bed and cringed when her wet underwear rubbed against her skin. She crossed to the wardrobe on the far wall, threw open the doors, and stared at her dresses.
“Am I supposed to wear clothes?” She looked down at herself and back at the bed. “Of course not.” Alice had been over this with her a thousand times. Her nerves were making her scatterbrained.
She tried to wiggle her dress over her shoulders, but the fitted arms mixed with her panic made it difficult.
“Oh my,” Charlotte’s amused voice carried across the room.
Bianca stopped and turned toward her friend’s voice. “Don’t laugh or I might cry.”
“Good gods,” Alice muttered, her footsteps growing closer. “How did you get stuck?” She grabbed the fabric of Bianca’s dress and tugged it free.
Before she could defend herself, a wave of pain tightened across her back and she cried out. “I think that was a contraction.” Her panic intensified. “Do you have the tonic?”
Alice guided her toward the bed. “I’ll grab it from the trunk. Charlotte, layer the bed to prevent the fluids from seeping through to the mattress.”
“Fluids?” Bianca watched as Charlotte layered coverings over the bed. “Gods, I hope the tonic works.”
“It will work,” Charlotte tried to soothe her. “Phillip will never know.”
Being fated mates, Phillip and Bianca could feel each other’s strongest emotions through their bond. Pain didn’t come through as strong since it wasn’t technically an emotion, but it still filtered through enough to understand what went on. The only way to keep him from realizing she was in labor, was to be unconscious. It made the delivery riskier, but for their plan to work, he couldn’t know the real delivery date.
Alice shooed Bianca toward the bed. “Climb in.”
Now or never.Bianca situated herself in the bed and took a pre-measured bottle from Alice, tossing back the contents in one gulp.Eck. She shuddered. Handing the bottle back, she gave her friends a watery smile. “I love you both. If something happens to me, protect my babies from their father.”
And then everything faded away.
FOUR WEEKS LATER
A sob ripped from Bianca’s chest as she gazed at the baby girl in her arms.I can’t leave her,she selfishly thought with desperation. If not for the bond, she would fake hers and the twins’ deaths.
Baby Amelia batted her wide eyes at Bianca and squirmed. It’d only been a month, but Bianca knew her daughter’s tells like the back of her hand. Any moment now, she’d need to feed.
It would be the last time Bianca would feed her, and the realization made her cry harder.
