Iron Crowned Page 0,106

another."

Or not so soon.

The office was running behind, and it was like the continuation of some cosmic joke. I'd been counting down the seconds until this moment, and now the wait was indefinite while Dr. Sartori caught up with his schedule. Admittedly, I'd never felt angry at doctors who fell behind. I figured it just meant they were giving needed time and care to their patients. Maybe he was tied up because some other woman had discovered she was having a world-conquering monster.

"Eugenie?" The sound of my name made me flinch. A nurse smiled serenely at me. "We're ready for you."

It was a repeat of before, changing into a gown and getting on the examination table. This is it, this is it. Dr. Sartori was back, but a different tech worked today. Her name was Ruth, and she had a kindly, almost grandmotherly air that felt reassuring. Like she could maybe fix all this.

Dr. Sartori had a file of papers he began flipping through as Ruth lubed up my stomach. Again, I stared, still having a hard time believing there were two living beings in there.

"Well," he said. "I have good news."

Jasmine made a sound that almost sounded like a laugh. A bitter one, that is. Like me, she knew there was little that was going to be good here. In fact, things soon got worse.

A knock sounded at the door, and the nurse I'd seen earlier stuck her head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt you," she said. Her eyes fell on me. "There's a man here who says he's your boyfriend and that he was running late for the exam."

My mouth went dry. "Kiyo?" I managed.

"That's him. I'll go get him."

She'd taken my ID of Kiyo as confirmation and acceptance. I opened my mouth to protest, but she was gone. I started to tell one of the others to go stop her, but by that point, Ruth's paddle had made contact. The screen again showed shadowy forms, and the sound of those rapid heartbeats filled the room.

"There they are," said Dr. Sartori. "We can wait for your boyfriend before getting to the results."

"No, we - "

The nurse returned with Kiyo, who was all charm and smiles as he introduced himself. "Sorry I'm late. I had the time wrong. Lara corrected me." That last part was to me, and despite the pleasant expression on his face, I saw a hard look in his eyes. He didn't like the deception. I had kept this from him, lying about when I'd get the results.

How had he found me? Lara had known the time but not the place. For a moment, I thought Jasmine might be playing a game, but her face showed shock and wariness at his arrival. She was as surprised as me. The referral, I realized. He'd read it before and knew which doctor I was seeing.

"Well, then," continued Dr. Sartori. "Now that we're all here, we can go over everything. You can rest easy about your family history. No trace of anything abnormal in either one. Both of the fetuses' genetic tests came back fine."

It was a sign of Kiyo's self-control that he said nothing because I could have sworn the word both? was on his lips. His only reaction was another sharp look at me, his expression growing darker as he realized what I'd been hiding. The doctor and tech were watching the monitor, so they didn't see what Jasmine and I did.

"And you know ... you know the gender?" I asked.

Dr. Sartori nodded. "You can't actually see it on the ultrasound now, but the one Ruth's got a close-up of now ... that's a girl." I exhaled in relief, and yet ... somehow, I knew what his next words would be as Ruth shifted to the other amorphous blob. "And this one's a boy."

Silence so cold and so heavy fell that I couldn't believe neither of the office's staff noticed the lack of joy this news was receiving.

"A girl," said Kiyo. "And a boy."

Dr. Sartori nodded, flipping through a few more pages. "Based on what you've told us and what we can see, we're putting your due date around the end of October. Although, with twins, you're at a higher risk for early delivery, so we'll be seeing you more often than in a normal pregnancy. And while this test gives us a lot of info, it doesn't tell everything, so you'll have others soon. You haven't had any pain since the CVS, have you? Any reactions?"

"No,"