by Suzanna Lynn
“But surely there is something you can do!” the Queen said, tears forming in her eyes. “Certainly there are some herbs or…” She found herself lost for what to say.
The midwife shook her head. “She needs to fight. She needs to hold on.”
The Queen left the balcony and returned to the bedchamber. She walked to the side of the bed and gently wiped Luana’s forehead with a cool wet cloth. “Dearest, you must fight. Fight for Baylin.”
“Baylin,” Luana murmured.
“Yes,” the Queen answered. “Fight for Baylin. Fight for your son, his son.”
The agony was so intense and she had been struggling against it for so long, but Luana had enough strength to scream out when another powerful surge of spasms poured over her. “Baylin!”
Chapter Seventeen
“Baylin!” Luana’s scream echoed down the dimly lit hall. The Prince and his men were beginning to emerge from Fagin Forrest when his mother’s messenger had intercepted him with word that his son was on the way.
He rode hard through the night, through mud and muck to get here.
He heard Luana’s screams as he approached the bedchamber and threw the door open with a heavy clang. “Luana!”
She was lying in their bed, surrounded by maids. He could see his mother at Luana’s side, holding her hand.
The Queen looked up at him as he rushed across the room to the bed. “Baylin? My son, how is this possible?”
“I am here, my love,” Baylin said, kneeling next to the bed to be by Luana’s side. He was clad in armor, soaked to the bone, covered in dirt and leaves and knew he reeked of sweat and horse.
Luana looked up at Baylin’s battle-worn face, breathlessly she asked, “Baylin? How?”
Baylin looked up to his mother. “We were on our way back from Mirstone. Your messenger met us halfway. I rode all night to get here. Mother, we’ve been betrayed. Cadman, has turned Mirstone against us. At this moment, Mirstone readies for war.”
Queen Valasca’s eyes grew large as a mixture of fury and terror filled her face.
Baylin reached out and took his mother’s hand. “I will sort this out. We have time.”
Baylin turned his gaze to Luana as the midwife spoke out, “My Lord Prince Baylin, she must fight or we will lose both her and the child. She has grown too weak to push now that the time has come.”
Fear flooded Baylin. He cupped Luana’s chin, looking into her eyes. “No, you’re much too strong for that.”
“I’m so tired. So scared,” she said through hot tears. Her eyes fluttered open and shut as she fought to keep her body going.
“I know, my love, but I’m here now,” Baylin said. The Prince turned to address the midwife. “What can I do?”
“She must sit up and push; the baby is ready. She simply lacks the strength to hold herself up,” the midwife said in a concerned tone.
I have to help her. If I could only push for her. Baylin held Luana’s hand as the midwife tried, again, to coax Luana to sit up and push. That is it; I will help her push.
Baylin stood and began the laborious task of removing his heavy, rain-soaked armor. “Mother, help me.”
Baylin and his mother made quick work of the chore so he was merely in a pair of leather trousers when he returned to Luana’s side. “Dearest, I’m going to help you. We will do this together.”
Baylin lifted Luana forward so he could slide behind her, bracing her and holding her in his arms. Luana cried out as another wave of pain pulsed over her body.
“She needs to push now!” yelled the midwife.
“Come on, love, you can do this,” Baylin said, gripping Luana’s hands in his. “Push!”
Baylin felt Luana’s hands grip his as she braced against the pain and began to push. He supported her body and held her as she screamed out at the pain her body was going through.
“Good, good,” voiced the midwife. “A dark head of hair I can see on this one! Now when you feel the pain rush again you will need to push with everything you have, my child. Once his shoulders are past, it will be easy.”
Luana sobbed. “I’m scared, Baylin. I can’t do this. It hurts so much.”
Baylin held her in his arms; her hands in his as he braced her. “I have never seen you fail at anything you set your mind to, Luana. It’s one of the many things I love about you. You can do this.”
Luana laid her head against Baylin’s muscular chest and gasped for breath. He so badly wanted to take this pain from her. The Queen was stroking Luana’s hair tenderly. Baylin searched his mother’s worried expression for some kind of reassurance.
Just then Baylin could feel Luana tense as the pain flowed over her once more.
“Push, milady! You must push!” the midwife coached.
“Come, dearest, push,” the Queen joined in.
Luana’s strength was all but spent. She hardly had the strength to stay conscious.
“My love, you can do this,” Baylin said softly into her ear. “We can do this together.”
Luana took a deep breath, beared down and pushed with a scream that echoed through the room. She gripped his hands until her nails began to cut his flesh. He leaned with her, helping her as she leaned forward to give the final push that would bring their child into the world.
Luana fell back onto Baylin, with no strength left in her. She was nearly unconscious. He reached up, stroking her hair, trying whatever he could to help comfort her. Fear began to grow in him; the room was far too quiet and something felt wrong.
“What is it?” Baylin asked the midwife, who was busy at the foot of the bed. “Is she all right? What is wrong?”
The silence was broken by the sound of a loud, healthy cry of a baby.
Baylin looked up and saw the midwife holding a dark-haired wiggly baby wrapped in a blanket.
“It’s a boy, Your Grace,” the midwife said with a smile spread across her face.
Baylin’s heart felt as though it would come right out of his chest as the old woman held the baby up for him to see. I’m a father. I have a son.
The Queen began to cry. She leaned over, wrapped her arm around Baylin’s shoulder and kissed Luana on the top of the head. “You did it, dearest. You have a son!”
Tears began to flow from Luana’s eyes. “A son? Please, let me see him.” She reached out her weak arms.
The midwife’s expression changed to sadness. “I’m sorry, miss, but you know the law. You cannot possibly…”
Anger flowed over Baylin as his voice cut through the room like a sword. “You will do as you are told! Bring her our son.”
The midwife, shaken, walked to Luana and Baylin’s side and laid the baby against Luana’s chest. Baylin hugged both Luana and his son tightly.
He held his entire existence in his arms and could not fight back a few tears of joy that managed to fall down his cheek.
Baylin leaned his head forward, bringing his mouth to Luana’s ear and whispered, “I love you. You are the only woman I have ever loved or ever will love.”
And you will be my Queen.
Love brought them together. Would tradition tear them apart?
Enjoy this sneak peek of
The Queen
Book three in The Bed Wife Chronicles
Luana held the harden steel in her hands. The sword felt awkward, foreign, to her. Even on her goat farm, she never used large weapons to defend her herd. She only ever carried a small knife and relied mainly on her cunning and the element of surprise to scare off the beasts that would hunt her flock. She always avoided bring death to any living creature. Yet, now, she was being told her only option to defend her child was to kill.
Baylin faced Luana, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I know you are apprehensive, but it is vital you learn how to defend yourself. Women of the Keld are raised carrying a sword, even if they never use it, they know how. She may appear prim and proper, but you can rest assured that Isla was taught by the sword.”
A cool breeze blew through the air, li
fting Luana’s silvery blonde hair around her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it slowly through her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked down at the sword in her hands. It had a beauty to it. It’s long, silver blade gleamed in the moonlight. Just like the Princess, this sword is beautiful on the outside, yet its purpose is one of destruction. I will not allow her to harm my child.
Luana tightened her grip on the sword. “If there is no other way.”
“There isn’t, my love,” Baylin said, his brow furrowed in an apologetic expression.
“Isn’t there?” asked a voice from the dark.
Baylin spun, pulling his sword and tucking Luana in tight behind him. “Who goes there?”
Luana held her sword securely in her hands, turning the knuckles a pearly shade of white in the moonlight. “Baylin… what do… what do we do?” Her voice wavered as she trembled, waiting for an attack to occur.
“You need not fear me,” the voice stated, coming from the darkness of the forest. “I am here to aid Grasmere, son of Ashmur and daughter of the moon.”
“Daughter of the moon?” Baylin repeated softly. “What do you speak of? Show yourself!”
The Elven King Rydel emerged from the trees like an apparition in the moonlight. Luana sucked in a deep breath and gripped the hilt of the sword firmly.
In the moonlight his hair seemed to glow, sweeping around his handsome, angular face like sheets of snow. His deep set eyes glowed a pale shade of blue, like twin orbs floating in the night. He wore a pale green long tunic coat that appeared to shimmer in the night, billowing behind him in the wind as he walked gracefully toward them.
“Lord Rydel,” Baylin said, bowing his head. “To what do we owe this honor?”
“King Rydel?” Luana whispered through a wavered breath. “He… but he is…”
The elf glided up to the couple, placed his hand over his heart and dipped his head elegantly. “I have come to assist you, Luana, daughter of the moon.”
Her heart began to race in her chest. “Daughter of the moon? I… I don’t understand all this.”
The Elf-King looked up into her green eyes. “Has no one told you of your heritage my child?”
Baylin stiffened, putting an arm in front of Luana. “What do you speak of? She is of Open Shaw, daughter of Hal-john and Fersa. That is her heritage.”
“Is it now?” Rydel raised an eyebrow and showed the slightest upturn to the corner of his mouth. “I suppose that is what you would remember, child. But has no one told you of how you came to be in Open Shaw?”
Luana pushed past Baylin to approach the elf. “I was born of my mother Fersa; that is how I came to be in Open Shaw. She married my father Hal-John and they had me.”
“Yes, child, they are who raised you,” King Rydel’s eyes softened. “However, they are not who gave you life.”
Luana’s forehead wrinkled up as she furrowed her brow, turning to look at Baylin in confusion.
The Prince reached out and pulled Luana into his arms. “What is it that you speaking of? Do you not see you are upsetting her?”
“My apologies,” the Elf-King said, bowing his head slightly. “I do not mean to upset the girl. I merely desire to enlighten her. She has been kept in the dark for far too long. It is my wish to show her the light.”
“Then please, my Lord, explain,” Baylin pleaded.
“Luana, dear child. Do you ever see things that have not yet come to pass?” the King asked. “Touch someone and see what could be their future?”
Luana’s pulse raced in her chest. She thought of the scene she saw when she had touched Isla in her bed chamber. “I did… I have…” She looked up into Baylin’s eyes. “When Isla was preparing to return to Grasmere. She came to the chamber. She mocked me and went to slap me but I caught her arm. When I did, I saw something. Like being in a dream. I saw Isla with flames behind her as a forest burned. Then I saw a hooded figure chanting over a tattered old book. I saw a quick glimpse of your mother in mourning clothes. Lastly, I saw Lord Cadman holding a crying baby… our baby.”
Baylin sucked in a breath, hugging Luana in his arms. He turned his gaze to the elf. “What is this?”
“It is her birth right,” Rydel explained. “She has the ability of foresight. These gifts can, at times, feel as though they are more of a curse than a blessing. Especially when you do not have the knowledge to interpret them. However, I will help you with this my dear Luana.”
“I still don’t understand,” Baylin said, wrinkling his forehead. “How can something like this be? You speak of powers and gifts. She was raised in Open Shaw. Her family has lived in Grasmere for generations.”
Still clinging to Baylin, Luana looked up at Rydel wearily. “You called me ‘daughter of the moon’ earlier.”
The Elf-King took in a deep breath, as though he were anxious. “Yes, my child.”
“Why?” she questioned.
“Because that is what you are, Luana,” the Elven King said, his expression soft and thoughtful. “You are a daughter of the moon. You are my niece.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author Suzanna Lynn is a full-time mom of three beautiful, energetic children and lives with her husband and children in a small town nestled in the deep rolling hills of Missouri.
Growing up in the Ozarks, as a child Suzanna spent her days wandered the fields and woods surrounding her home. She would imagine them to be filled with fairies, dragons, and all number of creatures.
Having not lost her childhood imagination, Suzanna has written numerous poems, songs and short stories that have won various awards. However, in 2014 she decided to stop wishing she could write a book, and made the dream a reality.
She is the author of 'The Bed Wife Chronicles' series. She also has three other books in the works.
ALSO BY SUZANNA LYNN
The Bed Wife: A Novella (The Bed Wife Chronicles #1)
The Heir: A Novel (The Bed Wife Chronicles #2)
The Queen: A Novel (The Bed Wife Chronicles #2) Coming Winter 2015
AUTHOR LINKS
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Blog: http://catonthelap.blogspot.com