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There’s no time. I have to get to Eden now.
In his next breath, he gets a whiff of smoke from the birthing ritual. If Eden is too far along in her contractions, even he might not be able to save their daughter. What if her lungs are underdeveloped, and she’s unable to breathe unaided? The rainforest might be known as the lungs of the world, but it’s no oxygen tent.
Another minute passes. The stench of smoke is stronger. He’s close. He falls into the clearing, stumbling to gain his balance.
Eden is naked and on all fours. His breath catches. Panic builds in his chest. His thoughts race as he battles to calm himself, calm his heart and mind.
Kaikare crouches beside her and lifts Eden’s head to meet Samuel’s gaze, a look telling him he doesn’t belong here.
“Airö,” the eldest woman shouts.Goodbye.She tells him to wait until he’s summoned.
“Make no mistake, I’m now in control,” he tells them in Ularan.
“Hey,” he pants, crouching down beside Eden.
Her eyes meet his. “You’re here,” she sniffles. Tears stream down her cheeks, and it rips at his heart.
Samuel gently places a hand on her shoulder. “Yes, and no matter what, I’m not leaving you. How is your pain?”
“My bloody vagina is on fire. I don’t know if there’s smoke coming out of it or if it’s from the friggin’ fire.”
“It’s not on fire,” he assures her. Even without assessing her, he can tell she’s closer to dilation than he assumed. The eucalyptus and citrus aromas alert him to the balm already covering her body. “What the women have prepared for you is safe and quickens the birth, so you’re not in pain for long.”
Blue eyes brimming with tears peer back at him. It crushes him to see her in pain and trying to brave. “You don’t have to do any of thistheirway. I have medication back in my hut. Only some I can’t give you. Depending on how far you have dilated will influence what drugs I can administer. Do you mind if I examine your cervix? It will be uncomfortable.”
“Do what you have to-oo—” she screams out the last word and pants through the next contraction. “Just hurry.”
“You’re doing great, Eden,” he tells her. “Let’s focus on you, okay?”
“What do you mean on me? Jesus mother of all hell,” she curses at him when his fingers slide inside of her. She bucks a little. And he quickly whips an arm beneath her to support her weight. His thoughts tick over.
He can feel the baby’s head.
There isn’t much time.
“Kaikare.” He tells her to go to his hut to retrieve his emergency pack.
Kaikare shoots a hand down in a swift axe-like action. She says the other women will fetch it for him as she’s not leaving Tamu'ne Akare. He doesn’t have time to worry about the women rummaging through his belongings or his private work.
Kaikare asks Týkire to run to his hut, and Samuel explains the special case for her to bring to him.
Týkire’s name means yellow—they gave her the name after she was jaundiced at birth. It’s a trigger for his brain, and he races over the possible implications of having a premature birth, including the complications Eden could suffer.
Bile rises to the back of his throat. He struggles to think clearly.
Eden is his priority.
His focus has to be on stabilizing her. What if she hemorrhages?
Eden screams out, and it breaks his control.
“I’m sorry,” he tells her. “I didn’t wish for you to have your baby here like this.”
“Too late now,” she growls. “Just get our daughter out of me.”
“Do you need to push?”
“No. Oh God, did I just pee myself?”
