“Okay, okay,” Bindi breathed deeply, and she instantly transformed, rolling her neck on her shoulders, and when she looked back up at me, it was the physician staring at me. “You’re going to push when I tell you to, not when you want to.” Her hands glowed golden, and she pushed my knees up around my large belly. “Grab your knees, and keep them up.” One hand went to my stomach, and she stared between my legs as I relaxed while the contraction was gone…fuck…never mind. “Okay, take a deep breath and push.” Both hands went between my legs, and I screamed, grunting, bearing down as I gripped my legs, pushing with all I had.
That was when Antonio suddenly appeared in his battle attire, splatters of blood covering his face and clothes. Again, ice filled my veins, but not as much as usual, my body feeling too much torture. Pain was overriding any other emotion right now. The blood drained from Antonio’s face as he stared wide-eyed, teetering. He looked like he was going to drop in a dead faint.
Bindi growled at him, “You kill how many Coms daily? And you can’t take the sight of birth?”
I sucked in a breath, groaning deeply as I pushed again when Bindi ordered me to.
Again, her eyes flew to Antonio. “Go wash your hands and get rid of that shirt before you come over here.” She growled. “And you will be coming over here, so get your fucking act together.”
Antonio blinked, swallowing hard, but he stopped swaying where he stood. Nodded. Then raced to the small flap at the back of my tent where the magically enchanted bathroom was.
“Good, Queen Ruckler,” Bindi murmured, her focus back on the task at hand. “You’re doing really well.” Her lips tilted when I stopped pushing to haul in huge lungfuls of air. “A couple more pushes like that and the baby will be out.”
“Thank God,” I muttered breathlessly, shaking my head back and forth, trying to clear my pain-filled blurry vision. “I’d rather be shot…and maybe burned…than do this much longer.”
She nodded. “Natural childbirth, which you’re having since you wouldn’t leave headquarters—” I growled, my wolf shining out through my eyes, and she cleared her throat, “Natural childbirth isn’t easy for any mother. Some might say it is, but they’re lying out their ass because this part is not easy, or pain free, for any woman. But you’re young and healthy, and those few pushes were excellent.” She paused, her hands glowing brighter. “And I want you to push again now.”
I felt my stomach constrict, and I shouted, pushing with all I had, not even realizing until I was done that Antonio had come back into the room to hold my back in support. And at this moment, I didn’t care he was touching me, only that he was helping.
“Ahh,” I shouted, grinding my teeth, shaking with the effort of the next push, watching Bindi keep one hand between my legs while she threw open a drawer on the side of the bed, pulling something blue out before that hand went back between my legs.
My head fell back as the contraction stopped, and I panted in great gulps. Antonio softly brushed my sweat-drenched hair off my face, gently kissing my forehead and murmuring soothingly, while I took a mini-nap. Until Bindi shook my leg, and I bared down, pushing again, screaming at the pain.
Bindi nodded quickly. “One more. One more good push.”
“I am pushing good,” I growled, but took a deep breath and heaved, squeezing my stomach muscles, shoving down with everything I had. And suddenly I could breathe, the agony not as horrendous, not at all. My head flopped against Antonio’s shoulder as I breathed heavily, about ready to faint but unable to take my eyes off what I saw in front of me.
My baby.
In Bindi’s arms, who was cleaning out its nose and mouth and cutting the umbilical cord in record time as the shaking squall of a baby filled the air around us, sounding loud and pissed off.
Antonio’s grip on me was just as shaky as I was. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
Bindi grinned, covering the baby in a blanket. “It’s a girl.” My heart stuttered, and I started crying softly. They were warm tears, not cold ones like usual, as Bindi laid her on my chest. I instantly gripped the fretful bundle, keeping her safe.
Antonio shook his head, chuckling softly before bending and placing his face next to mine to get a look at her, but the blanket was covering a portion of her face.
Carefully, holding her with one arm, I lifted the blanket away to show her face.
“Wow, Lil,” Antonio said in wonder. “She’s beautiful.” I felt his cheek crease against mine as he grinned and stated with pride, “My granddaughter is absolutely beautiful.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Good job, kiddo.”
“I’m not sure how much I had to do with this face,” I murmured, staring in wonder.
He grunted. “Are you joking? She looks just like you!”
She was a beauty, even if flushed from screaming her head off. Her eyes were slightly tilted, almond-shaped, but so were mine, having inherited that from my biological dad, King Venclaire. Her cheeks were rosy and full, healthy. I ran the tip of my finger over her straight, tiny nose, which I guess did resemble mine, infuriating her further. Her chin trembled, and my heart melted with the action. Her face was heart-shaped, and precious like a china doll’s.
She was perfect.
“If she looks just like me, I’m damn gorgeous,” I mumbled, my eyes scanning her features again as I ran my finger over her red eyebrows, which had a delicate arched shape.
Antonio glanced at me, his eyebrows furrowed. “Of course you are.”
I huffed, but he had stated the truth. I ignored the compliment and tugged the blanket back further, revealing her hair. My breath caught. “That’s a lot of hair already.” Antonio grunted in agreement, both of us lifting a hand and fingering the inch-long hair. “And it’s not just red; she’s got black streaks.” Not many, but there were a few. I blinked, glancing at Antonio. “I’ll have to say I adopted her.” She had more visible Vampire traits than Shifter ones. “Wait…can you tell me if she should claim being a Shifter or a Vampire?” Just because her hair was this color, it didn’t mean her power would not be stronger as a Shifter.
Antonio’s head tilted as he stared at her, lightly running his thumb over the side of her precious cheek. His eyes glowed softly, and he lifted his other hand, murmuring silently, and touched her chest, right over her Core, his finger glowing.
She stilled, her lips thinning and her eyebrows puckered.
Instantly my wolf growled — savagely. “You’re not hurting her, are you?”
“No,” he whispered with a slight shake of his head. “It only feels warm to her.” He blinked, and his eyes and finger stopped glowing. He smiled softly, leaning to kiss her forehead. “A little Vampire you will be.”
I nodded once then jiggled her a little, worried that she wasn’t screaming at me…then her lips trembled and she went back to squalling. There. A good pair of lungs.
Antonio explained, “You won’t be able to just say you adopted her. You’ll have to legally do it, so no one ever scents the lie.”
I cooed to her, rocking her softly. “Let’s get that done as soon as possible.”
He nodded, smiling at me.
I instantly backed off from the love shining in his eyes, and I watched him flinch, his smile dimming. Just because I was having a conversation with him outside of the battlefield, it didn’t make things all right between us. In fact, even though I was brimming with love that couldn’t be diminished while holding my baby girl, a bit of the usual coldness seeped back into me as I stared at him.
His nostrils flared, and he inhaled heavily. Lips pinched, he swiftly turned his devotion back to my daughter. Lifting a hand, he rubbed her back softly, and she quieted some. “What are you going to call my granddaughter?”
My jaw clenched at his reference, but I didn’t renounce his claim. I turned my attention to her. “Her name will be Isadora Marie Ruckler.” I ran my hand over her soft head. “For a nickname, I’ll call her Isa.”
“That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” Antonio stated,
an affectionate, full smile curving his lips. “It’s perfect.”
“All right,” Bindi murmured, moving around me. “I need to check Isa out.” She glanced at Antonio. “And you need to do your spell.”
Antonio hesitated then asked, “May I?” His hands hovered over her.
I kissed her forehead, my eyes welling again with warm tears as I didn’t want to let her go, but after a few more caresses, I eventually nodded.
Antonio lifted Isa with the greatest care and began the protection spell, doing the only thing right by me he had done in a long time…keeping my daughter safe.
Chapter Two
“Ba-ba-blah-bu-blah-ba.” Isa grinned, gifting me her sneaky smile. “Ta!”
She wiggled merrily, giggling, her red and black hair swaying with her rocking motion as she started again, staring down at me where she lay on my chest. “Ba-blah-blah-bu-ba-ba.” She laughed, hiccupping with her merriment, which she then thought was equally hilarious and just about rolled off me with her hilarity.
“That’s right,” I nodded grandly, smiling at my daughter and holding her safely. One of my true joys in life. I brushed my hand tenderly through her soft hair, amazed every day at how fast she was growing. She may be tiny for a Mystical her age — just a little over three months old now — but it seemed like she was huge. “You tell me all about it.”
This was part of my cherished free time. I had taken only a week to recover after giving birth to her and having my tubes magically tied — again — before going back to work, my duty unbreakable. Plus, I couldn’t do anything to rouse suspicions. The fact that so many had seen me ill when I was in labor had actually worked in my favor, giving me an excuse for being gone for the entire week. I had told everyone that I had simply been overworked, and it had made me ill. The excuse was true, and no one batted an eye, most already having taken a few days here and there for relaxation from our stressful duties. But, on the plus side, going back to work meant I got to alleviate my anger by fighting again, the one other true joy in my life.
I opened my eyes wide when Isa changed up her babbling to make a ‘ma’ sound. Coaxingly, I urged, “Ma…ma.” I was determined that was going to be her first word. I nodded, smiling blindingly. “Come on, Isa. Say mama.”
She blew a raspberry instead, then to add insult to injury she babbled, “Pa.” And stared. “Pa.”
My eyes narrowed.
Antonio had been spending a lot of time with her when I wasn’t around. He had better not have been trying to get her to say ‘papa’ or ‘grandpa’ yet. I had gotten over the fact that he was dead set on calling her ‘granddaughter’ every time he was around because he pretty much was her grandfather, but still, he was not going to own her first word. That was mine. Staring into her eyes that had once been blue, but were now the most stunning spring green, I pointed the tip of my finger against her bitty bronze nose, her coloring darker than my peaches-and-cream complexion. “Mama. Not pa.”
She grunted, shaking her head swiftly and puckering her Cupid’s bow mouth. “Pa.”
My lips pinched, and I held her close, lifting us off the bed and marching straight out of my tent. Everyone had seen her here, so it was no longer a shock when they saw me carrying a Vampire baby, the legal adoption process having been completed. I had gotten some grief from the Shifter Elders —I had to kick the living shit out of one for his comment, greatly enjoying it — but adopting a child wasn’t anything they could really argue about, plus most here knew and respected/feared me. Now, they practically called me a saint because I had adopted one of our own ‘needy’ children, so many kids having lost their parents already in this war. I only kept my distance, like normal, letting them believe what they wished since it worked in my and Isa’s favor.
Isa bounced in my arms, clapping her hands because we were outside, staring up at the Mage-spelled protection dome over our encampment.
Not bothering to ask for entrance, I barged inside Antonio’s tent, which was almost identical to mine if you disregarded all of the golden spells lingering throughout. He was lying on the couch, relaxing while reading a book. Again, as normal, the very sight of him made my blood run cold. When his startled gaze met mine, I demanded, “You’ve taken my first word! You’re not supposed to do that!” I pointed at my chest, riotous anger flooding my veins, melting a bit of the ice. “It was supposed to be mine!”
Isa quieted in my arms, her gaze watchful with her eyes darting back and forth between the two of us. She was extremely intelligent for a child, and that wasn’t just my hopeful wish as her mother. She watched everything with a keen eye, cautious like me, but extremely intuitive when the situation called for it. I was pretty sure that was caused by her strong Vampire genes; it was almost as if she was already scenting emotions, which she couldn’t yet do, though it sometimes seemed like it. And yes, I was a proud mommy.
Antonio sat up, carefully placing his book on the coffee table. “Lil, I don’t understand what you’re accusing me of.”
I huffed, glancing down at Isa. Smiling gently, I kissed her forehead to loosen her from her quietness, bouncing her a little, then I asked in a soothing voice, pointing at Antonio, “Isa, who is that?” I bounced her again, laughing lightly, almost completely faking it, but not wholly because she grinned at me. “Can you tell me who he is?”
She giggled and opened her arms wide in Antonio’s direction. “Pa.”
My wolf growled, my attention slamming to Antonio.
He tried to hide it, I could tell he really did, but a huge, flashing grin still graced his handsome features, and he was instantly on his feet, lifting her from my arms. Hell, he even twirled her while she giggled and squealed in excitement.
My wolf huffed, irritated…but, at the same time, I loved seeing her so happy.
Still, I grumbled, “She was so close to saying mama.”
Antonio chuckled, but he quickly coughed to cover it and held Isa close. “I’m sure she’ll say it next.”
I pointed at myself. “I was supposed to be first.” My eyes went to Isa, and I nodded, whispering, “Can you say mama?”
She giggled, tucking her head under Antonio’s chin. “Pa.”
I groaned, throwing my hands up in the air because there was absolutely no fighting that face. “Fine.” I tilted my head back and forth in time to the sounds. “Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa.” She giggled, so I did it again. I sighed in motherly resignation, taking her back from Antonio, but complained to him, “It doesn’t mean she loves you more. It’s just easier to say.”
His lips twitched. “I know.”
I bared my teeth, but I stalled and blinked when an official, spelled letter with my name on it appeared directly in front of my face. It continued to hover there, not moving. I growled softly but handed Isa back to Antonio, then I plucked the letter from the air. I cracked the seal and pulled the sheet of thick paper out of the envelope.
Unfolding it, I read its contents.
Reread it. “What the fuck?”
“What does it say?” Antonio asked, maneuvering to read over my shoulder.
I turned toward the light, hearing Antonio exhale heavily when he didn’t get a chance to snoop. Peering at it closer, I made sure I was reading it correctly. I shook my head, seriously confused because we were doing so well here in Australia. In the three months since I had gone back onto the battlefield, we had almost reached the northern area where the Royal Australian Army bases were. Not that it was because of just me, but still, only three months.
I waved the letter. “It’s from Elder Harcourt. He’s relocating us to the US. Says he’s moving some of the Elders, Kings, and Queens around, trying different Mysticals in power together, attempting to find a better fit. He hopes it will benefit our efforts in the war.”
Antonio grabbed the letter from my hands, scanning the contents. It looked like he read it twice, like I had, then he shrugged a shoulder. “There’s nothing else to do except for what he says. He’s the senior Elder and runs the show.” He actually smiled.
“I can’t wait to get back to the States.”
My jaw clenched, the familiar iciness overtaking my limbs. “But we’re almost to the north. Our goal here is almost accomplished. I don’t want to leave this behind.”
Again, his shoulder shrugged. “We’re needed elsewhere.” He handed Isa back to me. “And we don’t have a choice.” He rustled the letter in his hand. “This is war, Lil. We don’t always get to pick what we’re doing. We just go wherever we’re needed.”
Breathing heavily through my nose, I eventually nodded. “These Coms were beginning to bore me, as of late. They’ve been breaking too easily in interrogations.” I smiled, and it was feral as I thought of the new Com blood that could be spilt in North America. Even with Isa, my mind was still in chaos. Only her joyful attention and the fighting in battle kept me from going completely insane, my heart only melting in unconditional love when around her and my veins only melting in anger from their frozen state when slicing Coms’ heads off with my short swords — my Cizano. Any other time, I was still that block of ice. I nodded once curtly, turning to the door. “A distraction, a new challenge, sounds interesting.”
Antonio called after me, “Be packed by morning. The orders are for us to leave within twelve hours of receipt.”
I ignored him because I had read the letter, too, and already knew this. I wouldn’t have to pack but two duffles: one for me and one for Isa. The rest had been spelled to set up at whatever camp we went to. Which meant Isa, Bonnie — my Vizoac — and I had the evening to ourselves, which was just what I preferred.
King Tomb (Forever Evermore) Page 2