The ultrasound room was cold, sterile. Constance gripped Ray's hand tighter than she meant to, her other hand resting over the curve of her still-small belly.
The nurse smiled kindly.
"First time?"
Constance nodded, barely breathing.
The gel was cold. The probe pressed down. The monitor flickered to life. And then, thump-thump. thump-thump.
The sound was rhythmic, soft and rapid. A heartbeat.
And then… another.
The nurse frowned slightly, adjusted the probe.
"Ah. There we go."
She turned the screen so they could see.
"Congratulations. You're having twins."
Ray's jaw dropped.
"Twins?"
Constance froze.
Two tiny forms shimmered on the black-and-white screen. Two fluttering heartbeats. Two beginnings.
The nurse chattered on about due dates and genetic similarities, but her voice faded into a buzz.
Constance stared at the screen, heart pounding.
"You will carry two of them into life…"
Her breath caught.
Ray was still processing, smiling nervously.
"Guess we're getting double the diapers, huh?"
Constance forced a smile, but her insides twisted. She had hoped, desperately, that the old woman's words had been metaphorical. A warning. A dream.
But now…
It was real.
Later That Night
She lay in bed, hand on her belly, the moonlight slanting through the window.
Two souls, she thought.
Two destinies.
Two threads pulled from the underworld.
And still, she couldn't tell Ray. He believed they were just young parents-to-be. He didn't know the weight of what she carried.
She didn't know how to say:
"These children were chosen by death before they were born."
One kicked, lightly. Then the other.
Her breath hitched. She whispered softly to her belly,
"I'll protect you. No matter what. Both of you."
But even as she said it, she wasn't sure she could.
Because deep in the back of her mind, the old woman's voice echoed again:
"All gifts have a price."