Babes, my children were far from babies, and yet it was hard to admit that only a few weeks ago, they’d been crawling. My attention moved back to Icelyn, and I positioned myself next to the bed, studying the strain on her face as I took her hand in mine.
“You said hours, but I don’t think we have hours.” She swallowed a cry, raising an icy-blue stare to lock with mine. “It’s too early for them to survive.”
“It is early, but sometimes babes are born before their time, especially when they are twins,” I replied lamely, smiling even though it probably made me look clinically insane. “We got this.” I patted her hand, hoping to reassure her as my stomach flipped with the lie. The reality of what was coming hit me. “If you feel the need to push, we need to know. Eliran said it might take a few hours, but if you feel the need to push, you push.” She nodded while the others sat around, offering helpful advice when needed. Before an hour had passed, they had Icelyn laughing and telling lame jokes to fill the silence of the room.
An hour later, the contractions were closer, and Icelyn cried as pain racked her delicate frame. Olivia held one hand while Ciara held the other. The sheet had been removed, and the first babe’s head was trying to push free from his mother’s body.
Over an hour of labor occurred, and Icelyn weakened more and more with each contraction. Tears slipped down her cheeks, forming drops of ice that fell to the bed.
The room was freezing, so Darynda brought baby Fury in and handed him to Keely. His presence brought the temperature up to where we could withstand the chilling cold Icelyn’s pain was sending through the room. Every contraction she had lowered the temperature. Then, Fury would giggle, and it would rise again. Thank the goddess for the little dragon babe, because everyone was already covered in blankets to bear the cold.
I paced aimlessly, fighting against the rising panic that held the room in its clutches. I cursed the men for being slow against the monsters that had set off the alarms and then cursed myself for doing so.
Icelyn screamed again, and Darynda looked over her shoulder to where I paced, shaking her head in worry. I could sense the men fighting, knew they were doing everything they could to get back to us, and yet I knew they wouldn’t make it in time.
I moved closer, peering down between Icelyn’s legs at the dark hair that finally crowned, but refused to come out any further. I worried my lip with my teeth, noting the others who looked at me with anxiety while Icelyn sobbed in pain. Every moment the babe remained stuck in the birthing canal, the chances of survival decreased.
Icelyn bore down, her body covered in sweat from the effort to bring her babe into the world. Exhaustion marred her face, and her scream filled the room as she continued to push while blood covered the mattress beneath her bottom.
I ground my teeth together in frustration, redialing Eliran, the call going straight to voicemail. Tossing the phone aside, I crawled onto the bed, straddling my legs beside Icelyn’s frame as I sat behind her. The women moved into place, switching from chairs to the bed.
My skin touched hers, and I tried to take away her pain. Thankfully, I’d learned that was part of my gift, and the skill had come in handy a lot lately. It did little, though, to help the woman sobbing while her body contorted. Something was wrong, and no one knew what to do. I didn’t know how to save her or the babies.
“Icelyn, you need to listen to me. The baby is not coming fast enough.” I wrapped my arms around her. “We’re here to help you and your babies, do you understand?” She nodded, and I continued speaking low and clearly. “When you feel the urge to push, push, and we will do our part. On the next contraction, give it everything you have.”
Olivia grabbed one leg, and Ciara grabbed the other while I held Icelyn’s belly. I sent a silent prayer to the gods. Not that those fuckers cared, but we needed any help we could get. Icelyn shook her head, begging us to get help for the babe. The problem was, no one was coming to help us. We were alone.
The moment we felt the contraction, we all helped Icelyn. She screamed while we helped push her knees against her chest. My hand pushed down gently on her swollen belly while Darynda watched the babe trying to be born. Her gaze lifted to mine in apprehension while the contraction abated. I exhaled slowly, uncertain what else we could try.
Another contraction occurred, and still, no babe. I closed my emotions down to prepare for the worst to happen, praying we wouldn’t lose this child before it even had a chance to fight. Icelyn screamed when the next contraction hit harder than the last, and I massaged her stomach while she cursed the fates that were punishing her. Water exploded from her body as the first babe finally pushed through.
“Oh no,” Darynda muttered, holding up the lifeless, blue body. Silence filled the room with her words, and my heart stopped beating.
Icelyn wailed while Olivia and Ciara both held her, pushing her face into their chest while I stared at the lifeless form we’d just fought to bring into this world. I slipped from behind Icelyn, rushing to the babe.
“No, no, no. Don’t do this to us,” I cried, rubbing my hand over the child’s chest before I took him from Darynda. My mouth touched his, feeling for breath before I blew over his mouth and nose, and checked it for anything blocking his airway.
“My baby,” Icelyn sobbed, the anguish in it hitting me hard as tears burned my eyes.
“I forbid you from dying,” I snapped. “Do you hear me? I forbid it!” My hands glowed amber as silence filled the room. The glow spread throughout my body, and my skin looked as if someone had sprinkled glitter all over me.
The door burst open, and men flooded through the doorway, yet I didn’t stop. My hair floated around me as my hands held on to the tiny being, refusing to allow him to leave his parents. “You will not die, do you hear me? I said I forbid it! You are loved, and you are our family. Stay,” I pleaded with tears running down my face.
“Holy Goddess,” Icelyn whispered as a tiny scream filled the room. Relief washed through me violently as small ice-blue eyes opened and held mine, little lips parted, and the baby wailed his displeasure. “You blessed him, Synthia.”
My eyes slid from the child to his mother and back. My hands trembled with emotion as I moved, handing Icelyn the wailing babe. I stepped back, taking in the worried gazes watching me and my every move as I glowed like Danu had often done. I spun around, rushing from the room and the anxious glances, not bothering to stop until I was in the hallway.
“Destiny!” I shouted, hugging my stomach.
“Synthia?” Ryder demanded, Zahruk and Ristan beside him.
Ryder’s armor was covered in blood, proof of why they’d been delayed. Eliran rushed past us, not stopping to see what had transpired as he made his way to the room with the incubator. Power erupted around us, and I turned, staring at Destiny.