by Regine Abel
My pregnancy was completely uneventful. I still feared for my son, but his health and heart were strong. The only thing notable was my ravenous hunger for ryspak. Boiled, fried, grilled, raw, I didn’t care. As long as I had my fix. Lhor stared in awe as I gorged on the fruit. I woke my mates so often at night to fetch me some that they started stockpiling it in our bedroom.
I was relaxing on a chaise lounge by the pond when another craving called. I got on my feet with much effort and waddled to the kitchen where Maheva and Jhola were, once again, cooking a gargantuan meal. I would never know how we weren’t all fat considering the amount of food they shoved our way. And what food! My mouth watered. I was reaching for a ripe ryspak when the most excruciating pain tore my insides. I realized I’d screamed when Jhola and Maheva helped me straighten up from my doubled over position.
My water broke. I was about to be a mother. Panic settled in and I babbled about needing my mates. Seconds later, Lhor carried me in his arms to one of the guestrooms which Jhola had recently transformed into a medical bay. With me so close to delivering, Lhor and Khel had made it a point to work from home. It was only a couple of minutes before Khel burst into the room from the compound, summoned by Lhor’s emotions.
Minh stuck around the estate as much for me as for Maheva. Naturally, my water broke while he was away. It would be at least thirty minutes before he arrived and the babies weren’t in the mood to wait. Lhor barely put me down on the bed when I felt the need to push. Khel and Lhor stood on either side of me, each holding one of my hands. My Nana took charge, having handled this before. Another vicious cramp tore my insides and Maheva told me to push. I did. Once, twice, three times and out baby number one came. I expected long, agonizing hours of labor, but I wouldn’t complain about my babies’ eagerness to meet their sires.
I wanted to ask what it was, why it wasn’t crying, but another excruciating pang ripped through me. My scream of pain was echoed seconds later by the cries of my firstborn. My sobbing-laughter was cut short by grunts of pain. Maheva gestured Khel over, who hesitated a moment, reluctant to abandon me. She snapped at him to ‘get his ass over here’ and he obeyed, a little overwhelmed by the situation. Maheva shoved a laser scalpel in his hands and had him cut the umbilical cord. She then passed the baby to Jhola to clean and wrap in a warm blanket.
Another sharp pain shot through me. Maheva ordered me to push. I obeyed, all the while trying to get a glimpse of the baby in Jhola’s arms. Khel came back to support me, his eyes filled with wonder. This one took a bit longer, but some more pushes later, baby number two made its grand entrance. I collapsed on the bed exhausted. Maheva had Lhor cut the second umbilical cord. She then proceeded to clean me up as the first lusty cries of my second born filled the room. Jhola passed off my firstborn to Khel so she could clean my second child.
Khel brought me the oldest with tears in his eyes.
“Amalia, Lhor, meet our son,” he said, placing him in my arms.
Tears of joy choked me as I stared at the little miracle in my arms. He was a beautiful little boy. His Veredian heritage was unmistakable and dominant. His skin was bronze, a perfect mix of my copper skin and his sire’s light grey. He had no pupils and his irises, while large, didn’t quite fill the white as Xelixians’s did. They were the same dark purple as Khel’s. His Veredian markings along his arms, legs, and spine had spots of a different shape to mine or Maheva’s. Besides his eyes, his only Xelixian trait was the subtle chevron ridges on his forehead.
“He’s perfect,” I whispered in awe.
“Beyond perfect,” Lhor echoed, running his hand carefully over the baby’s head, covered with soft dark curls.
Jhola approached and placed the second baby in Lhor’s arms for him to present to me.
“Does this mean what I think it does?” I asked, craning my neck to see the baby.
“It’s Xelixian custom for the sire to cut the cord,” Jhola confirmed with a smile.
Khel took our son from my arms so that Lhor could give me our daughter.
“Amalia, Khel, meet our daughter,” Lhor said, placing her into my arms.
She was stunning. Her face, a perfect mix of Lhor and me, with his adorable dimples. Her skin was the exact same light grey as his. Unlike her brother, she had pupils. Her irises were enlarged and the same color as mine; yellowish brown with specks of green. She too bore my Veredian markings. The chevrons on her forehead were as discreet as her brother’s, but her ears were Xelixian. Her hair was golden brown like my mother’s had been.
“And I thought Alleria was adorable,” Khel chuckled.
* * *
I couldn’t believe it had already been two days since our children’s birth. Our son thrived, showing no signs of weakness or sickness, though he was very calm and sedate compared to his more active sister. I couldn’t explain this miracle. Why my son, after nearly a hundred and fifty years? Minh had no answers but suspected it was thanks to the mutation caused by my mates’ saliva and venom. Sadly, my oxytocin didn’t give Minh the miracle he had hoped for. It wasn’t healing other Tainted males like it had my mates. Worse, all its healing properties died within minutes of being extracted from me. Something eluded Minh and he was determined to figure out what.
We named our son Vahleryon Praghan. Vahl after both Khel’s brother and the Xelixian who tried to save me on my first escape attempt, and Eryon my father’s name. We named our daughter Zharina Kirnhan, combining Lhor and my mother’s names, Zhara and Sevina.
Even though we had the perfect nursery, we placed another set of cribs in our bedroom. I wanted to be close for at least the first few weeks. Being far from them for too long felt too uncomfortable. I certainly couldn’t sleep knowing they were in a different room, alone. After breastfeeding them and putting them down for a nap, I took a relaxing bubble bath.
I nearly had a stroke when I walked back into the bedroom to find a dark figure holding my son.
“Get away from him!” I reached for my sword.
“It’s okay, Falihna.”
Startled, I noticed Khel standing by Zharina’s cradle. The dark figure turned to face me. It was the Admiral, wearing a Tainted cloak over his armor.
“Admiral?” I asked confused, my heart still hammering. “What are you doing in my room?” I asked him, though my eyes were back on Khel.
Lee tilted his head. “I apologize for the intrusion, but I couldn’t wait to see your little miracle. Your mate was kind enough to grant his permission.”
Khel approached me and kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you.”
The Admiral gently caressed Vahleryon’s head and the markings of his left arm before carefully placing him back in his crib. He took a few steps away. I immediately picked up my son, resting his head in the crook of my neck. While I didn’t think the Admiral would harm my son, I was still shaken by his unexpected presence.
“The Admiral has a message for us,” Khel said as Lhor walked into our room.
“Word of your son’s birth is spreading,” Lee said. “Someone from the Hall of Records leaked that information shortly after you registered him. Bounty hunter channels overflow with outrageous offers from collectors. Your daughter too is drawing a lot of interest as the first known hybrid Xelixian-Veredian female,” he said looking at Lhor. “I would ask you to let me take your offspring to safety, but I already know your answer.”
“No one is taking my children. They won’t be anyone’s pets,” I spat in anger. “How dare they think to appropriate my children?”
Lhor rubbed my back gently. I inhaled deeply, reining myself in.
The Admiral nodded his agreement. “No, Amalia. They won’t. Your son is more than just a miracle. He’s the hope, the future of an entire species. He must be protected at all costs. When we approached you about an alliance, General, we thought you’d help us save the scattered survivors of a dying species. We never expected it would be to this extent. Whatever you need to keep these children safe, whenever and wherever, jus
t ask and it’s yours.”
“We appreciate the generosity of your offer,” Khel said.
With a respectful salute, Lee turned and left.
I looked into my beautiful son’s innocent, trusting eyes. Lee was right. In my hands, I held the future of an entire race. There would always be vultures seeking to appropriate what wasn’t theirs. But they wouldn’t get this miracle of a boy nor our precious little princess. They both had powerful protectors who, like me, had overcome the horrible hand dealt to us. We had beaten the odds. We had love. We had freedom. We had the future.
BONUS SCENE
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THE VEREDIAN CHRONICLES SERIES
Escaping Fate
Blind Fate
DARK TALES
Bluebeard’s Curse
Anton’s Grace
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