AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why?” he asks, clearly expecting only one answer that would draw his attention. “What is it?”
“The Princess is giving birth! She needs you!”
Sitting up immediately from his chair, he stands to attention, the chair clattering onto the floor behind him. Without any protest, he follows me.
Turning into the spare room, I’m immediately met with Selliss, who attempts to stop me.
“Sir,” Selliss says. The guards are waiting behind him, watching in anticipation. “We’re ready to begin the rounds.”
His eagerness is understandable. We follow a strict code, getting reprimanded severely if we run off schedule.
“Did you not hear the screaming coming from this room?”
He looks at me, puzzled.
“My commitment is to the Prince,” I tell him. “The Princess is going into labor! You will all hold your posts until she safely delivers her children. The health of the royal line dictates it!”
He nods. “May Vatia bless this day,” he says. Though it looks like something else weighs heavily on his mind.
I shake my head, throwing open the door.
“You need to push,” Zalith says, holding Aurora’s hand tightly. “You can do this. You’re stronger than you could ever know.”
The healer arrived while I was fetching Zalith. He guides the process, though right now, Aurora only needs moral support.
I hate to intrude, but one thought does run heavy in my mind. “Prince Zalith,” I say. “Would you like me to retrieve the King?”
Zalith shakes his head, trying desperately to keep from worrying Aurora. “He’s away on diplomatic business,” Zalith says, gripping Aurora’s hand still more tightly.
Aurora pushes and screams, trying to expel her young.
“The Queen then?”
“She’s not here either,” he says abruptly.
I look upon the scene in confusion. The birth of their grandchildren should be of the utmost priority to the King and Queen. What else could be important right now?
I can tell how frightened Zalith is as he watches her intensely. Many naga women do not survive the birthing process. The risk of complications is even greater in human women.
It’s one of the many reasons I’ve always questioned Slyth and Zalith on their mate selection.
Aurora’s belly shrinks suddenly in small increments as the first child falls out of her, the healer standing by to retrieve it.
Her breathing eases slightly, but I can see how intense her pain is as one of the nurses moves the child to a safe vessel, its small tail barely formed.
Watching intensely, I observe as child after child falls out of her, the eggs dissolving somewhere inside of her. Every birth is a miracle, given the associated risks.
Why wouldn’t I want this?
She gives birth to two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight live young. Each birth is scarier than the last, but as I watch, I realize that each is another life, like my own, given freedom by the grace of Mynir.
She lies back, and for hours, she sleeps.
Zalith looks over at the young, his young, and approaches me.
“Thank you,” he says before moving in to hug me.
I am confused. “For what?”
