“Coming, darling,” I heard myself say. And I meant it.
The whisper came again, closer this time, warm breath against my ear even though no one stood behind me.
I pressed a palm to my lower belly. The silk was taut there. When had that happened? I was lean. Athletic. I’d done a full ab workout the morning of the party. But now there was a firm, round swell beneath my hand, as undeniable as a moon rising. Masquerade Hypnosis -Before I knew it- I-m Preg...
The masquerade had a theme this year: Hypnos’s Gala . Every invitation bore the image of a poppy-wreathed figure with fingers pressed to smiling lips. Everyone joked about it. “Don’t drink the punch unless you want to wake up married.” “Careful, the DJ is actually a neurologist.” Just party chatter. Rich people’s Halloween with better tailoring.
I tore off the mask. My pupils were blown wide, and in the irises—just for a flicker—I saw the shape of a spiral, turning slowly. “Coming, darling,” I heard myself say
I had no memory of any book.
Then, a whisper.
A knock at the door. Three slow, rhythmic taps. Then a voice, low and amused, with an accent I couldn’t place. “Love? The midwife is here. She says the heartbeat is strong. Both of them.”
Not words, exactly. More like the shape of words pressed against the inside of my skull. Let go. Step into the dance. You are exactly where you need to be. I pressed a palm to my lower belly
Or when.
