“No more floof for you,” I yell, telling my brain to bring my legs together and make good on that promise. It doesn’t obey.
Hart’s lips twitch.Oh no, not you too.
“Take your lips out of the room.”
“Oh my, yes, I do believe she’s crowning,” Eron declares.
Gwyneth tilts her head. I yank on her hand and glare. “Do not leave me.”
Why haven’t the lips left? And why is no one listening to me?
“Almost there, Daphne,” Theo murmurs. He can stay, along with his lips. “I know it’s scary, but you have totally got this. We can face anything together, remember?”
I nod and then stop trying to work against my body and do what it demands. I push hard and sweet, sweet relief rushes through me. My head flops back, and the sound of beautiful crying erupts in the room. I did it. I made and birthed a beautiful baby.
“Everything okay?” I check.
Genie nods as Hart moves between my legs, and a moment later, I have a baby on my chest.
“We have a daughter,” he whispers before placing a kiss on my damp temple.
She’s so freaking tiny that I’m both in awe and utterly terrified at the same time. She flicks her tongue out like she’s trying to blow a raspberry, making me smile.
“She’s beautiful,” Gwyneth murmurs.
My stomach feels weird. Of course it does—the tiny life that existed in there for the better part of an annus is now in the world. No, wait, definitely weird.
“Have we decided on a name for her?” Nash wonders.
I shake my head. I mean, we have names, but I can’t process what’s happening right now.
“Take her,” I say to my sister.
She blinks and scoops up the tiny, precious bundle from my arms.
“I’m still having contractions,” I mutter, my head sinking onto the pillow.
Genie nods. “Yes, all normal. It’s called the afterbirth.”
“You mean there’s more?” Malachi asks, looking a little pale.
“Hey, smiley, don’t you dare faint. If I have to feel the pain, the least you can do is witness it.”
He nods once but edges toward the side of the bed. Mellow.
I screw up my face and groan low.
“Are you sure that’s normal?” Hart asks.
Theo hasn’t left my side, keeping me grounded with his hand wrapped around mine. Gwyneth wanders to the bottom of the bed before her eyes lift to mine, filled with wonder. My floof is not that wonderful, and I’m sure it ain’t looking particularly pretty right now.
She glances at the babe in her arms and then at Genie, who’s still hovering and tilting. He tilts his head. “They shouldn’t be as painful though,” he says.
The worst contraction yet hits, taking me by surprise, and in the absence of my sister, I do the only logical thing I can think of. I bite Theo’s arm. He growls but doesn’t move away.
“That is a tad dramatic,” Genie mutters.
“It’s not the first time, and it’s unlikely to be the last,” Theo drawls. Weirdo.
