Never had he felt such distress. Such helplessness. It consumed him, wrapped around his throat and pulled.I don’t know if both of them will survive. He knew what Evadine would want—save the baby. Save their child.
But he could not lose his Eva. This was not a choice he could make in a thousand lifetimes.
And so, he wouldn’t.
He knew what he had to do.
Striding out the door, he found the nearest servant. “Get Theodore,” he commanded. The young man stood to attention, blinking rapidly at the request. “Theodore Gayl,” Branock repeated angrily. “I don’t care if you have to drag him from his bed—get me Theodore Gayl.Now!”
Back inside the room, the midwife threw him a sharp look. “What are you doing, Your Majesty?”
“What I must to save my wife and child.”
She opened her mouth to argue further, but she must have seen the determination in his eyes, for she turned her attention to the healers and began doling out quick instructions.
Branock strained his ears for the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, clenching and unclenching his fist as he kept his eyes on his wife, whose face was now leached of color.
She was running out of time.
He knew the risks, knew the chance he was taking by calling the Alchemist. But he didn’t have a choice.
Finally, a knock sounded on the door, then was thrown open by the servant boy and a man following close on his heels. His long, greasy black hair hung past his pale neck, a wrinkled robe thrown on in haste over his night clothes. Theodore Gayl’s piercing eyes took in the scene and met Branock’s, sending a shiver down his spine. Those eyes shocked him every time he saw them. One of dark blue, one of pure white. Theodore’s forehead wrinkled as he tilted his head, and Branock knew he understood without words. His wisdom, his intuition, went far beyond his mere thirty years of life.
“Your Majesty, I don’t know what you think I can help with, but?—”
“Save them, Gayl. My wifeandthe baby. I know you can—you’re the most powerful Alchemist this empire has seen in centuries.”
Theodore’s eyes flicked back to Evadine. The midwife had taken her position at the foot of the bed again, a sharp blade in her hand readying to cut into the skin at Evadine’s stomach. Branock could feel his heartbeat in every inch of his body.There wasn’t enough time.
Theodore took a step toward him. “Sir, what you ask is?—”
“I don’tcare, Gayl! Look at her!”
The man swallowed. “The cost will be great.” His voice was low, hesitant.
“Then I will pay it,” Branock said, gripping Theodore’s arm. “Whatever it is, I will pay the price. Just…save my family, Theodore. I beg you.”
Theodore held his gaze for a second. Two. Branock’s chest caved in until finally, the man gave a curt nod and knelt at Evadine’s side.
Branock’s eyes fell shut in relief, a heavy breath leaving his lips.
The midwife’s blade sank into Evadine’s stomach, flaying the skin open on either side. As Branock watched her hands dip inside his wife, soaked in blood, Theodore Gayl’s murmured words reached his ears. His mouth moved faster than Branock could comprehend, whisperings of power flowing from between his lips. The air was heavy with the cloying taste of magic, blood, and the herbs Gayl had pulled from his pocket and now clutched in his fist. Something red leaked from the man’s clenched hand, but Branock was too focused on his Evadine to care.
Branock stumbled to the other side of the bed, eyes on his wife’s pale, lifeless expression, when the midwife exclaimed, “It’s a boy!”
But the babe…the babe would not cry.
The emperor’s heart shattered at the realization, unsure where to draw his attention—on his Eva, his bride, slowly fading from this world, or his son, struggling to draw breath.
His head snapped to Theodore, whose face was screwed in concentration. “Why is it notworking?” he hissed.
The midwife sucked in a breath. “Your Majesty, this is dark magic you’re attempting?—”
“Silence!” he roared, but his anger swiftly turned to despair. “What choice do I have?”
Suddenly, Theodore’s eyes snapped open, the blue and white fixed intently on Branock. “This will be a far greater burden than you are prepared to bear.”
Branock gritted his teeth. “I will decide what I can and cannot bear.Do it, Gayl. I will not ask again.”
