The hurt settled somewhere far away, behind the pain, behind the effort of staying conscious. My body was splitting open. There was no room for words. Another contraction slammed through me, sharp as a blade. I arched, groaned, and clawed at Benedict’s fingers.
Enya’s voice cut through the haze, almost as if it were far away. “Wren, listen to me. Not yet. You can’t push yet. Breathe. Slow. If you deliver now the wings might be deformed.”
Slow? Deformed?
Mara stroked her palm down my arm. “You’re safe. We have you. We have done this many times before. All is well.”
A delirious, hysterical laugh ripped itself from my throat.
Yazmine’s grip tightened on my shoulders. “Let it pass. Let it pass. Another moment.”
I can survive anything for a moment. And another.
The contraction broke like a wave and then receded just long enough for me to catch a thin, shaking breath.
Kieran pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We’re not leaving.”
I couldn’t respond. Another contraction ripped into me like lightning. I screamed a long, curdling cry that warped with distress, making my mates wince and the birds squawk and flee the treetops.
Kieran cursed under his breath as Benedict stood abruptly, wings flaring with sudden purpose.
I screamed as another contraction tore through me. I couldn’t suppress the distress calls. Not anymore.
I screamed and screamed.
Everything blurred. Mara’s hands were wet with blood. Yazmine hissed something under her breath. Someone snapped at someone else to fetch more water. The edges of the world went sharp, then soft, then sharp again.
“Wren,” Kieran said, cupping my face. “Look at me. Just me.”
“I—I can’t?—”
“Yes, you can.” His voice cracked. “Please, siren. Stay with us.”
I tried.
I really, truly tried.
But the next wave of pain hit deep and wrong, seizing something inside me. I cried out, curling inward. Mara’s expression shifted from concern to fear. She pushed Ronan to the side, needing more access to me.
“Yazmine—now!” she barked.
“It’s not moving right,” Yazmine said through gritted teeth. She was up to her elbows in blood. In me.
Mara pressed her hands against my belly and swore. “The baby is shifting. Stand by.”
No.
No, no, no.
The room spun. My vision doubled. Kieran’s voice sounded far away.
I can do anything for a moment more. I can do anything.
Anything.
Something inside me released.
Relief, or pain, or something deeper.
