"No." Rivka rasped out. “He’s part of the reason we’ve made it safely this far and heisthe father of this baby.”
Alex stared in dismay. The rejection and betrayal speared through her like a blade to the heart. But even with the pain, she could not force herself to leave Rivka’s side. Lowering her dagger, she looked down at Rivka, her face twisted in agony.
“So it’s true? He is the father, then?”
She knew it was her own stubbornness that had made her latch onto the hope that Tristan had been lying and that there was no baby, or that if there was, that it would somehow, miraculously be Ellis’.
“Yes,” Rivka started quietly, “There is so much that I need to…” She let out a wail, everything in her body going taut.
Alex frantically looked between Althea and Tristan.
“Alex, we’ll sort this out later. I promise you that he means no harm to Riv or the baby.” Ellis soothed, trying to get her to calm down. “Now is not the time.”
Alex turned back to Rivka, as another contraction wracked her body.
“Today is your lucky day, prince, but all the same, I wouldn't come any closer if you value your life.”
Tristan started to speak, but Alex saw Ellis shake his head, and he stopped. At least he had the decency to listen to one of them.
Rivka’s contraction eased, her body relaxing against the table yet again, her panting harsh in the sudden silence.
Davin pushed off the wall. "I'm going to scout the tunnel to see if there are any other, nefarious, surprises lurking."
Alex looked up at him for the first time sincethey entered the room. She had completely forgotten that he was there. Davin’s already pale face had turned a sickening color and if Alex didn’t know better, she would say he was going to be ill. Their eyes locked and she watched as he struggled to maintain his emotions. His look of confusion bled into something else, grief, maybe, but she couldn’t be sure.
Alex stared for a moment before nodding her head in approval. Davin lifted his chin in acknowledgement, spinning on his heels and slipping into the depths of the tunnel once more.
Rivka let out another scream, wrenching Alex’s attention back to the matter at hand. Althea had finished turning the baby, and it suddenly slid free.
"It's a girl,” Althea breathed, holding the baby up for them to see. Rivka struggled to lift her hand towards the babe in Althea’s arms, a weak smile on her lips.
“Kaela,” Rivka spoke so quietly that Ellis had to lean in to hear her better.
“A crown of broken beauty,” Alex finished for her. A knowing smile softly lighting her face.
“She’s beautiful,” Ellis sighed as he brushed Rivka’s hair back from her face, watching as Althea cut the cord and began to clean the babe up.
A tiny cry echoed around the room as Kaela took her first full breath. Alex held Rivka’s hand tightly, completely in awe of her strength. She had made that perfect baby girl. Anyone could tell, even still covered in blood, that she would be just as stunning as her mother, and from the sound of it, just as feisty too.
Everyone’s attention was on Althea and Kaela when Ellis suddenly cried out. “Riv! Rivka, you need to stay awake! Stay with me!”
Althea looked up from wrapping Kaela, her smile draining from her face. She thrust the baby into Alex's arms.
“El, I need you to keep her awake!” she ordered, jumping into action. “She’s lost too much blood. I need to control the hemorrhaging.”
He began tapping Riv’s cheek. “Look at me, my Queen, I know that you are tired, but you can’t sleep just yet.” His eyes met Alex’s. “Help me. Talk to her. Show her, her daughter.”
Alex leaned closer, moving Kaela to Rivka’s line of sight. Rivka’s eyes cracked open.
“Hey, baby girl,” she rasped out, “Aren’t you gorgeous?”
Her eyes moved to Alex’s. “Now you have two of us to protect”, her voice barely more than a whisper, “Say you’ll stay, that you can forgive me?”
Rivka’s breathing was becoming more challenging with each inhale, her skin pale and clammy against the sweat-soaked sheets. Her eyes were no longer vibrant but dull and shadowed with her pain.
“I am here, Riv. I’m sorry for not believing you. I forgive you, even if I am still angry. You are my whole world, and I can’t lose you. So, you have to fight, damn it. She needs you, her mother.Ineed you. Please don't leave us.”
The last part came out barely audible as tears began to flow in rivulets of pain and terror down her face. Rivka struggled to stay conscious, a desperate ache building in Alex’s chest as she watched.
