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“We—we’re going to have baby boys?” I stammered.
Talia threw her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the surprise.”
Tears fell down Nadine’s cheeks. “You didn’t ruin anything. Did you see anything else?”
Talia shook her head. “That was it. Just know, this wasn’t a prophecy; Seer visions aren’t written in stone. It’s up to you guys to use this information wisely. One of the first rules in my Seer classes is that if we have the ability to look into the future, we use it sparingly. Don’t ask me to keep looking, or things will change. I do know one thing. Whatever you decide, you need to stick with it, no matter what else comes up.”
“Perhaps we should leave Nadine and Lucas to make that decision in private,” Verla suggested, before turning to us. “Please consider what I said. We can’t lose you, Nadine.”
Nadine gaped at her and couldn’t respond. I quickly said, “We’ll talk about it.”
Nobody else really knew what to say, and it made me really uncomfortable. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I took Nadine’s hand and led her upstairs. We sat on the bed, and neither of us said anything for a long time as we tried to process what we’d learned.
Finally, I spoke, though my throat closed up around my words. “We need to talk about what Verla said. If the babies live, that means you won’t.”
Nadine stared into the distance and shook her head, like she wasn’t convinced. “We don’t know that for sure. A horrible fate could mean anything, not necessarily death.”
“But we know death is a part of the Reaper’s Shadow curse,” I pointed out. “I know you want to give life to these babies, but in doing so, you’re asking me to raise these children on my own. I would do it in a heartbeat if I had to, but I don’t want to make that choice willingly. It isn’t right to raise the twins without their mother.”
“There’s a third option,” Nadine insisted. “If we find the Reaper’s Shadow we missed, I can break the curse for good. Then this tragedy Talia is seeing won’t come to pass at all.”
“Where are we going to find this information?” I asked hopelessly. “I dug through all the coven records to find the Reaper’s Shadow women the first time. I’ve been through every document the coven has on Reaper’s Apprentices. I searched marriage documents and birth certificates. If we missed someone, the information isn’t there. We don’t have much time to make this decision. We could run out of time.”
“Talia has the Seer Wand,” Nadine pointed out. “It might help us track down what we missed.”
“And if the information is warded or magically guarded in some way, then what?” I asked. “The Wands are powerful, but if we don’t know where we’re looking, they could prove useless. The Reaper’s Shadow women died because they loved men like me.”
I’d come to terms with my gift, but being the Reaper’s Apprentice really fucking sucked right now if it meant choosing between my wife and my children.
“It was their choice out of love, and my choice, too,” Nadine said. “We have to at least try to break the curse, because I’m giving birth to these babies one way or another. I don’t know the outcome, but I know intuitively that we have to go through with this. I already decided this morning at the clinic that I’m not giving up like they wanted me to.”
“Excuse me?” I balked.
Nadine frowned. “The doctor I talked to was a jerk. He said I couldn’t have a baby because I’m sick. He wanted me to schedule an abortion.”
The word made my stomach clench. “You’re not even willing to consider it?”
Truth be told, I didn’t want to think about it either, but I feared we had no choice.
“Aborting our babies isn’t going to break this curse,” Nadine said. “The doctor I talked to was fired, and then I spoke with Luana. She said because my lupus is under control, my odds of delivering a healthy baby are good. I just need to be monitored closely.”
“That doesn’t change what Talia said. Whatever you do, you’re not going to be able to avoid at least one horrible fate,” I repeated. “That sure sounds like we have to choose between you or the babies.”
“Or we can break the curse, and the babies and I both survive,” Nadine suggested. “We still face a horrible fate, even if we don’t know what that is, but at least it gives us a chance.”
“Is that a path we’re willing to take, if we have to gamble on the outcome?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“Lucas…” she started.
“I know,” I said quickly. “I could lose you. I’d survive. But I don’t want to live a life without you. If we don’t break this curse before the babies are born, there’s no telling when the final stage completes. Ultimately, I know it’s your choice.”
“I don’t want it to be just my choice,” Nadine said softly. “I want to keep the babies, but I also want us to make this decision together.”
I placed my hand on her belly, and the conflict warring inside of me grew. “I want these babies, too. But if we move forward with this pregnancy, there has to be conditions. We can give ourselves a few more weeks, but we have to make a decision before you’re ten weeks along. The doctors won’t agree to the procedure after that.”
