Page 380 of Alchemised
CHAPTER 69
Junius 1789
A GIRL.
Helena had not even considered seeking out the gender. She remembered Lila trying to figure it out, but there were so many other things to worry over, it hadn’t occurred to her.
The pregnancy was suddenly so real, it was jarring. Before, the baby was a concept, little more than an ephemeral possibility. Now it was a girl.
Stroud pushed more firmly against Helena’s lower pelvis, the lines in her face darkening.
“Well, this is disappointing. We wanted a male,” she said, glaring down at Helena as if she’d purposely conceived the wrong gender. Helena kept her face blank, staring dully up at the canopy, as if she were too weak to have an opinion.
Stroud turned to Kaine. “The High Necromancer will not be pleased. A female is—out of the question. Practically unthinkable.”
“It was always a fifty percent chance,” Kaine said, appearing unconcerned. “I was under the impression that any animancer child would do at this point.”
“Yes, but a female.” Stroud sounded as if she were referring to some kind of rodent. “He will not be pleased.”
She pressed a hand against her forehead, exhaling loudly. “Too late now, though. There’s no time to start over. And with the state of her, she might not survive a second attempt. We’ll have to proceed. Once we have the process perfected, I’m sure we can manage a boy. This will be temporary. You are keeping a close eye on her? Keeping her calm?”
“Yes,” Kaine said through gritted teeth, gesturing towards the door. “So let’s talk elsewhere, why don’t we?”
“Yes, yes,” Stroud said impatiently, packing her bag and heading out, followed closely by Kaine. Helena sat up as the door closed.
She looked down at her stomach, pressing her hand against the bump between her hips. Without resonance she could only feel stillness; it was too early for movement.
A girl.
Kaine still barely acknowledged the pregnancy beyond how it related to Helena’s health. It was her pregnancy. Her baby. He refused to treat it as having anything to do with him.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder: Would he mind that it was a girl? It was sons who carried the name and inherited within the guilds. A girl child with talent for alchemy was often considered a waste, only good for a marriage alliance. Not that it mattered either way with an illegitimate child.
Her stomach twisted into a tight knot.
When Kaine returned, his expression was wary. He came over, his hand resting on her shoulder. She could feel his resonance through her nerves and knew that he was looking for something.
“I’m fine,” she said. “The baby’s not doing anything to me, if that’s what you’re worrying about.”
He studied her face carefully. “It could get worse later. And you—”
He touched the side of her head with his fingertips. She could see him estimating her years in the hospital, the number of patients, how it added up, how much time she might have left.
She shook her head, catching his hand in hers. “You said vitality doesn’t get taken like that. With your mother, the vivimancer said it was because she didn’t realise she was doing it. Lila’s a vivimancer and Rhea never had any trouble.”
Kaine still looked as if he were watching her slip away before his eyes.
“Besides, you did something to me, didn’t you?” She studied him. “I thought it was a dream, but you used the Stone somehow.”
“I don’t know how much it did, though,” he said, “you were so far gone, and then you slipped into that coma. I won’t be there at the end if—”
“I’ll be careful,” she said. “I’ll be able to feel it. The Toll has signs. It’s not like it happens suddenly.”
He nodded slowly, but she knew any risk was too much to him.
“It’s a girl,” she finally said, trying to draw his focus elsewhere.
He just nodded absently.
