Zander’s head snapped up. “Used to be able to? Are you saying you can’t anymore?”
Eowyn remained silent, her shoulders tense. I wondered if this inability had something to do with why she had become a recluse.
I glanced at Zander, worry and fear etched into the lines of his face. Reaching for his hand, I gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Darling, can you give us some time alone to speak?”
He frowned, reluctant, but finally nodded and left the room. I watched him go with a heavy heart, knowing that if anything happened to me or the babies, he might never recover.
The moment the cramping pains had started, Zander had sent a letter to Adrien and Isolde, asking them, along with her sister Seraphina, to join us and Stryker and Aribella here in Zane’s castle in the Western Kingdom. We, along with our subjects, had fled here to escape the curse. It was the only remaining kingdom yet untouched by the curse. Zander believed we’d be stronger together, and I agreed.
“Eowyn, you are the only chance my babies have to survive. If they’re coming earlier than they should, and you have the magic to keep them alive once they are delivered, I need you to try. No matter what.”
She turned back to me, unshed tears glistening in her light teal eyes, her wise, wrinkled face etched with emotion. “Even if they die at my hand?”
Her words were shocking, but I could feel the weight of what I was asking her—to bear the responsibility of four fragile lives.
I nodded, my throat tight. “Even if they die.”
Her chest heaved as she glanced from my face to my stomach. “You should know something before you agree to this,” she said, her voice trembling.
Here it was. Whatever had caused her anguish and driven her into hiding. I braced myself for the revelation.
“I was in this same situation over ten years ago,” she began, her voice shaking. “I was confident I could help the mother deliver her twins early. Confident I could help keep them alive until they were big enough to suckle and survive outside the bubble I created. I’d done it dozens of times before. It was second nature to me—like breathing. I barely had to think about how to conjure such magic.”
A tear slid down her cheek, and she batted it away quickly.
My heart pinched for her. Something had gone terribly wrong.
I reached out a hand to her, but she refused to take it. “They all died, Lady Dawn,” she whispered. “Both babies … and the mother.” Her face contorted in agony, and my stomach dropped.
This was why she had gone into hiding. This was why she had stopped healing.
Still, she was my only chance. “Do you know what happened?” I asked gently.
She nodded. “I think so. When I create the bubbles babies need to survive, I tie them to the mother’s energy. It’s the only way to sustain them. Even though it’s my magic, the mother powers it. But I didn’t know the mother was sick. She was too weak. I was so focused on the babies that I neglected her, and they all perished.”
Relief washed over me at her explanation. I was heartbroken for that mother and her children, but that wasn’t going to be my fate.
“Eowyn, look at me.”
She lifted her gaze, and the agony in her eyes was nearly unbearable.
“That won’t happen with us,” I said firmly. “I’m a royal princessof Faerie, and I have self-healing magic. I’m not sick. If I do become sick, my body heals much faster than the average fae. I’m strong, and if you tie these babies to my energy, I promise you I can support them.”
“But it’s four babies,” she said cautiously. “It could weaken you tremendously, and if you were stressed or injured—”
“I’m strong,” I interrupted, my voice resolute. “And I’m not going to let anything happen to my children.”
I laid a hand on my enormous belly and held her gaze. Now that I knew their existence was tied to my ability to stay strong, that’s exactly what I would do. Stay strong.
“Will you help me?” I asked.
She hesitated but finally nodded, reluctantly. “What choice do I have? This is our only option.”
Just as she spoke, another contraction hit, and I buckled to the side, clutching my stomach in pain.
She hurried up behind me and placed a hand on my lower back. “Shhh, breathe through it.”
Soothing energy flooded my midsection, and I felt some of the tension ease. I relaxed a little, focusing on breathing through the contraction.
