“You can do it, little bird,” he coaxes. His low voice vibrates against my back. “You’re so close.”
I’m so tired. Exhaustion weighs down my limbs as the rippling in my abdomen blossoms into full-blown agony.
Luc squeezes my hand in his grip, his green eyes focused entirely on me. “Breathe, Ava,” he barks. “Eyes on me, okay?”
I stare into his face as the pain increases, until the pressure in my stomach becomes unbearable, and my eyes slide shut on a cry. “I need to push, Max!”
“Push,” he commands. His hands squeeze my thighs gently. “Push, love!”
The dragging down sensation in my lower back intensifies until I have no choice but to push, every tendon in my body strained to its absolute maximum as I struggle, pained grunts accompanying every push.
“I’m done,” I moan. “I can’t. She’s not coming.”
Nik wipes my damp forehead. “She is, little bird. I promise. We just need you to do one more for us. Just one, and then it’s over.”
“Over,” I breathe. “Never again.”
Luc snorts, and I grimace at him. “I mean it, Lucien Grey. Never, ever again.”
Luc catches Nik’s gaze above my head and quickly nods. “Never again.”
I can’t even call him out on his blatant lie because the urge to push is intensifying. Shoving myself back against Nik, I push with every fiber of my being until the pressure in my body suddenly releases with a snap.
“Is she here?” I rasp, sagging back. Max is silent at the end of the bed, only the top of his head visible, and panic tightens my throat. “Max?”
There’s no crying, no triumphant call. The ice in my chest grows stronger.
“Luc,” I ask him desperately. “Where is she?”
Luc glances back at me, his eyes worried. “Max is taking a look at her, baby. Don’t worry, it’s just taking her a little longer to adjust to being outside.”
Oh my god. I bite back a sob, Nikolai’s arms wrapping around me. Bastien watches Max, his face pale as he holds Leo gently against his chest.
“Please,” I beg, although I’m not sure who I’m praying to. “Please, Emery—”
The cry from tiny lungs is a powerful one, and relief softens my bones as I collapse back into Nikolai, my hands tearing from Luc’s to cover my eyes as I shake.
“She’s okay,” I sob. “Max?”
“She is. I promise, sweetheart. She’s just fine. We’ve got a beautiful daughter.”
His voice comes from right next to me, and I blink my eyes open, searching briefly until they come to rest on her.
My daughter is the polar opposite of her brother, downy white hair tickling my cheek as Max passes her into my arms and I breathe her in. “Thank you,” I breathe. “Max—,”
He leans in and kisses me gently. “I’m so proud of you, love. Two beautiful babies.”
Two healthy babies.
“Emery,” I murmur. “She’s beautiful, Max.”
Her scrunched-up face relaxes a little, the cries settling down to tiny whimpers as her eyes crack open, and I suck in a breath. Her eyes are the brightest shade of amethyst as she stares at me.
“Nik,” I whisper. “Look at her.”
He presses a damp kiss into my shoulder, his voice shaking. “A miracle. They both are.”
Bastien steps forward, and they carefully position me until I have both babies resting against my chest. The cries stop as soon as they’re close to each other, each facing the other. I can’t stop staring at them, my eyes moving slowly between them in case they vanish before my eyes.
