I’ve never used my powers spontaneously. Evidently my soulmate is too scared of what I am able to do — they must know.

The woman writhes around, shrieking in pain, and I want to feel bad. She’s not… she doesn’t deserve this, not really.

And the creature ripping her apart from the inside out laughs into my mind, snarling its delight at the ‘extra life’ within her. I try not to let my heart sink too far, because that’s not making this better, but I can’t really block it out.

That child doesn’t have anything to do with this. They have caused no offence to my… handler. They deserve to live. To be born.

Whatever their mother did.

And then someone else is here, and they’re already glowing.

As the creature pulls itself out of the woman, ripping her apart more visibly than before, the mystery person crouches beside her body and brushes their fingertips over her stomach.

𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, my curse tells me. 𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.

I don’t know how I’d have missed a target being eight months pregnant, but there’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

And yeah, okay, eight months… they’ll probably survive, hopefully, a hospital is barely minutes away. I was born seven weeks early, after all.

The stranger straightens up, the little I can see of his face even paler than mine. He turns to stare at me in total shock, but I don’t show a reaction.

Though I have to admit.

Something in me breaks at the fear that flickers through his eyes.