rp, brutal, and completely wrong. It wasn't the rhythmic tigh

th

ne walls. I pounded on the heavy oak do

SE! SOMETHIN

ied medical emergencies for my storm-chasing team. Uterine rupture. T

d, damp floor, the stone chilling my sweat-soaked skin. I was b

this velvet-lined prison. Assess the si

call. Just me, the darkness, and the two

body was trying to expel a baby that wa

he words a faint whisp

h awe. He called me his survivor. His goddess of the storm. He' d promised to prote

han the last. I screamed, a ra

horrible, fi

. A boy. He was small, perfect, and utterly still. His

nd forth on the bloody floor. I tried to clear his airway, to breathe life into his t

was seeping into my bones. I was so tired. The pai

de me. I could feel a fain

around my finger. I laid my other hand on my belly,

charm on the floor, the one Ethan gave me, engraved with

ow, m

r Chloe, or the life I was leaving.

strength