AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But it still feels like too much.
Zephiro grips my hand tightly, while Zkovia urges me through this suffering.
I worry that I’m not going to make it. Not only do I worry that I’m not going to make it, but I worry that I might wake up back in the club to find out that all of this was an illusion.
“Sierra!”
Zephiro can see as my eyes close, and I nearly drift off into sleep. The pain at my core is almost too immense to bear.
I just want to rest.
“I’m here with you! Stay awake and push!”
“Take deep breaths,” Zkovia says. “All of this will be over soon. You’re doing great.”
I can’t be weak through this, no matter how lethargic I feel. This is the biggest moment of my life.
I open my eyes as wide as I can, and I push with all of my might, screaming in spite of myself.
“Breathe in… and out,” Zkovia advises. “That’s it. You’re doing wonderfully.”
I look out at the beautiful sunrise as I hear the calming sounds of the pavos, swooping overhead and crying out. I take deep breaths to try to center myself.
I hear screaming that isn’t my own. It’s shrill, but my heart melts, and it becomes real to me.
I’ve given birth.
My child screams. I hear a snipping noise, and I feel tremendous relief that it’s over.
“By the earth maiden’s grace,” Zephiro says as he looks down at the miniature Zephiro the doctor is cleaning.
I can tell from where I’m lying that Zephiro has fallen in love. I turn my head to the side to see him gushing over the young Zvori, who hasn’t stopped screaming.
Zephiro approaches the baby, but Zkovia sways him away. The testosterone is so high in Zephiro that I think he might just fight Zkovia here for dissuading him from seeing his child.
“You may remember that we still need to perform the fortification ritual,” Zkovia says. “Don’t worry. You’ll be holding your little ones in no time at all.”
I thought, for a brief moment, he said little ones, but I realize he must have just misspoken.
“When do you think we’ll be able to bring him home?” Zephiro asks.
Zkovia laughs as Jennil, our nurse, comes into the hut to take over. She seems very different from the Zvori baby she’s holding. Her body is small and smooth like mine, and it impresses me that she can pick him up at all.
“I’ll let you know when I know,” Zkovia says before returning to me. I grow very confused as he approaches the delivery position, waiting between my legs.
“Okay, Sierra. I just need you to keep pushing.”
“What are you talking about?” Zephiro asks suddenly.
Zkovia looks at Zephiro, his voice rasping in surprise.
“You’re carrying at least one more child,” Zkovia says. “So I need you to keep pushing. This will all be over soon.”
Zephiro rushes over, his every footstep shaking the hut. He grips my hand tightly. “You couldn’t have told us this sooner?”
I look over at my child currently being held by the nurse. The crying has stopped momentarily.
I push, with everything in me.
