*Rhys*
The air was thick with tension. It was the kind that made your skin crawl and heart beat a little faster. I could sense the storm brewing outside, but the tempest in Saoirse's eyes spoke of a different urgency.
She had been fidgeting and acting strangely, but she had kept me talking and distracted. She gripped her belly, her face etched with discomfort. I knew without words what was happening.
"Rhys," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the howling winds. "It's time. The twins… I think they're coming."
I was at her side before she finished speaking, my hand finding hers in an instinctual search for connection. Our eyes locked. In that brief exchange, we understood each other perfectly. We had the children to think about, the young ones huddled together in the corner of the school's basement, their faces masked by fear and confusion. But we also had our own to protect now, our own family.
