The next week passed quickly, and I was counting down the days until the small party so I could find out whether I was having a boy or a girl. The morning of the party, I woke up early. I laid in bed for a bit, trying to waste time, knowing that it was unlikely that anyone aside from Olena and Yeva was up. After an hour of tossing and turning, I finally climbed out of bed and went downstairs. Olena was in the kitchen, but no one else was in sight. She didn't look surprised to see me up early.

"Good morning, Roza," she said. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded. "Surprisingly, yes. I've been up for the last hour, though."

Olena smiled. "Are you excited for today?"

"I can't wait," I admitted.

"Do you have any suspicions?"

"It could go either way," I said. "I've looked up old wives' tales, but they seem to be split. I had a lot of morning sickness in the beginning and really bad heartburn, which could indicate a girl, but I've also been craving mostly salty food and have tended to sleep on my left side, which could indicate a boy."

Olena smiled around the rim of her coffee cup. "Has Yeva put in her predictions?"

I rolled my eyes. "She kept trying to convince me that I was having twins and would end up with both genders. I made the doctor double-check that there was just one baby in there."

Olena chuckled. "Yeva tends to do that." She glanced at the clock. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Sure," I said.

Olena turned and grabbed a bag from underneath the counter. "Would you mind running this to Mark and Oksana's?"

"Sure," I said. "Just let me go change."

I knew there was a good chance that Oksana would realize that I was pregnant based on my aura when I saw her, but I still went through the measure of wearing a loose shirt. I layered a thermal long sleeve underneath it to fight against the chill in the air and changed from a pair of shorts into a pair of sweats. Dhampirs tended to be a bit more resistant to cold temperatures, and the weather had been mostly pleasant lately, with the daily high being around fifty-five degrees. Dimitri had told me once that the climate in Baia was similar to Montana's, and I had been surprised to realize he was right. I kept expecting it to be freezing cold soon, though and had stocked my closet, thanks to Lissa bankrolling me.

"The keys are by the counter," Olena told me when I grabbed the bag. I had returned my rental car a week into being at the Belikova's, opting to use one of their cars if I needed it.

"It's nice out; I'll walk," I said. "Plus, it'll probably be a bit before Vika and the others are up anyway, so walking will help kill some of that time."

Olena laughed at that. "You're probably right.

Oksana and Mark lived about three miles from the Belikovas, and I estimated that it would take me around ninety minutes to walk there and back. I didn't normally mind the walk, and I was getting the feeling that Olena wanted me out of the house so she could spruce it up for the party. I figured I'd give her the extra time that driving to Oksana's wouldn't provide.

There was a slight nip in the air when I stepped outside, and I enjoyed the fresh air. By the time I made it to Mark and Oksana's, I was sweating a bit in my thermal, but it wasn't anything compared to the last time I walked to their house. At least this time, I wasn't carrying a bunch of bricks.

Oksana looked surprised to see me when I knocked. "Rose! What are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled me into a hug. "Oh!"

As soon as she wrapped her arms around me, I knew she would feel my belly when I hugged her.

I smiled. "I was expecting your aura vision to tell you, actually."

She narrowed her eyes, and I knew she was pulling up my aura. "Why is it gold?"

"Is it completely gold?" I asked, confused.

She shook her head. "No, but a dhampir shouldn't have gold at all."

Mark chose that moment to enter the room. He looked as surprised to see me as Oksana had.

"What are you doing here, Rose?" he asked. "On another vigilante mission?"

I shook my head. "No, no more of those. I've had enough for one lifetime."

None of us said anything for a moment. They had seen me in the immediate aftermath of Dimitri holding me hostage as a Strigoi, and I knew they were both remembering that.

"Remember how you told me about the Moroi you knew that restored a Strigoi to its natural state?" I asked. Oksana nodded. "Well, it's true."

Mark choked on his water. "What?"

"We restored a Strigoi," I said. "Lissa, my bond mate, charmed a stake and staked Dimitri while he was a Strigoi. He's a dhampir again."

"Impossible," Oksana said.

"He's apparently coming here for Christmas, so you'll get to see it for yourself," I said lightly.

Mark and Oksana shared a look, and I had the feeling that they were having a conversation through their bond.

"That doesn't explain why you're here," Mark said.

"Or the fact that you're pregnant," Oksana added.

I twisted my hands. "Yeah, well, that's another miracle that we're still processing. Dimitri's the father. Lissa's still looking into it. Another spirit user I know had the theory that it was because we were both healed by spirit. I'm shadow-kissed, and he's restored. But we're not certain."

"Why are you here without him if you're pregnant? I'm not sure I'd let that miracle out of my sight," Mark said.

I looked down. "He doesn't exactly know." I continued speaking before either of them could say anything. "I tried to tell him, and he pushed me away. He's struggling with being a dhampir again and coming to terms with the things he did here. The things he did to me."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, and I knew that they were picturing my bruised neck littered with bites. I hadn't shared much about my time with Dimitri in Russia, and they had never pressed for details, but they had seen enough evidence to make some educated guesses about what had happened. I held up the bag Olena had given me, desperate to change the subject.

"Olena sent me with these," I said, handing it to Oksana. "I better get back, though. I walked here, and the Belikovas are planning a gender reveal for me." I paused, looking at both of them. "Actually, would you guys like to come? It was meant to be just family, but I wouldn't mind if you guys crashed it."

Oksana smiled. "Thank you for the invitation, Rose. We would love to come. We actually had plans to go into town today anyway, so we can make a small pitstop first."

"Mentioning town, let me actually call Olena and see if they need me to pick up anything while we're out really quick."

I stepped outside, pulling out my phone to call Olena. I saw that I had a text message from Lissa, but I ignored it for the time being.

"Hi," I said when Olena answered. "I'm getting ready to leave Mark and Oksana's and wanted to check to see if you need anything from the grocery store before I come back. Mark and Oksana are going to join, so they're going to give me a ride back."

"Would you mind stopping to get the cake? Karolina was going to pick it up, but Zoya is being a handful this morning."

I laughed, not looking forward to those days. "Sure, I don't mind. Text me if there's anything else you can think of."

She promised she would and quickly hung up. I frowned at the phone. She wasn't usually in that much of a hurry. I shrugged and went back inside to where Mark and Oksana were waiting. I relayed that Olena wanted us to stop and pick up the cake, and they agreed.

We didn't spend long at the grocery store, but there was a slight delay with the cake. When the baker handed it to me, I was tempted to cut into it right there, but I held off. I could see Mark eyeing me, and he quickly took the cake from me, removing the temptation. He held it on his lap on the way back to the Belikova house.

They didn't live more than a few minutes from downtown, and soon, we were pulling into the driveway. There were two new cars in the driveway that I didn't recognize, and I frowned. Both cars were large SUVs, and I couldn't think of anyone who would need those. Larger cars often weren't seen around Baia, especially not new ones like these seemed to me. As I passed the one parked the furthest up the driveway, I noticed the sticker that marked it as a rental, and my frown deepened.

I walked into the house, Mark and Oksana behind me and with the cake still in Mark's hands. "I'm back! And I brought friends," I called. I rounded the corner and found the rest of the Belikovas in the living room. The living room was decorated, and there was a banner that read "It's a baby!" over the fireplace. I also noticed a stack of presents underneath the banner. Karolina jumped up and took the cake from Mark.

Olena stood, hugging both of them. "It's great to see you both."

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and I patiently waited for an opening. When one came, I asked, "Who do the other cars belong to? I thought this was just for the family."

"It is," Olena said with a small smile. "But family can mean a lot of things."

Olena's smile got wider, and I could see her looking over my shoulder. I had started to turn when I heard Oksana's gasp. Then I felt her. I whipped around, shocked to see Lissa standing behind me. I stared at her, frozen, before I threw myself into her arms, sobbing.

"Surprise," she said, hugging me tightly to her.

We're getting close to the gender reveal! Any guesses?