Page 66 of The Final Battle

Faster than I would have thought, Dayson had me in my room and sitting on the edge of the bed. “How are we doing?“

“It feels like my children are trying to claw their way out of me, but other than that I am great,“ I snapped.

“Hang in there, we don’t call you the dragon queen for nothing,“ Day offered, trying to be encouraging.

I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him down to my level. “Go find someone else who is going to be more helpful.“

His eyes went wide and he nodded, backing away slowly. Then another wave of pain hit and I was screaming, which had him moving into high gear.

“Please tell me Alto is coming!“ I heard him yell at someone.

“Goodness, you certainly aren’t taking this well. Go on, find the others, I’ll sit with her while you do that,“ Helena soothed, then appeared in my room moments later. “What did you do to that poor man? He looked like he was going to cry.“

Groaning, I rocked forward, grabbing my stomach as my whole body seemed to contract on itself. “He wasn’t being helpful, blathering on about stupid things.“

“Ah, I see,“ Helena commented as she knelt before me, brushing a cool rag over my face. “Let’s see if we can’t get you out of these clothes, it will be much easier to deal with this whole thing without so many layers.“

It was a struggle, but we managed to get me down to my shift. The damn thing was wet and sticking to my legs, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to survive this birthing.

“Do you feel like you can get up and walk around a bit?“ Helena asked.

I shook my head. “No, the pain is too bad and coming faster.“

“Believe it or not that is a very good sign, it means your little ones are eager to get out and meet you.“

“The feeling isn’t so mutual at the moment,“ I said glaring at her.

Helena laughed and patted my arm. “Trust me, when those little ones are in your arms you won’t care a lick about what you just went through. They will be worth it.“

When this wave of pain hit, I felt the urge to push but there was no way I was going to be doing that without Alto here. Then, I heard the crash of a door and male voices growing nearer.

“Hold up,“ a female voice called. “Absolutely not, there is no way I am going to let all of you in there while this is happening. You’re going to drive her mad.“

May the fates bless you for the rest of your life, Alto. She was right, if they thought they were going to be in here talking to me, I might stab one of them. There was a heated discussion but it was cut off as my guttural cry cut through the air.

“There is no discussing this, I’ve told you what’s happening and your wife needs me. Are you going to listen or do I have to stand out here, leaving her alone to make sure you do as you’re told?“ Alto challenged, there was some sort of answer and then Alto was striding in, arms full of things. “Oh Helena, good I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to have someone who knows what’s going on with a level head.“

Alto moved about the room gathering things, placing them where they were needed and finally came to stand in front of me.

“Have you reached the point where you want to push?“ Alto asked.

I nodded, unable to talk as I tried to control my breathing through the pain. When the next contraction hit, I could feel a shift and something was coming whether we were ready or not.

“Something happened,“ I gasped standing. “It’s coming, it’s coming fast.“

Both women moved into action, grabbing my arms and walking me to the foot of the bed where two ropes had been tied. We’d gone over what to expect so I leaned my back against the wood, grabbed onto the ropes, and squatted. Helena came to the side, clothes in hand while Alto was right in front of me, lifting up my dress over my knees so she could catch the baby as I pushed.

“You are doing amazing, Cassarah, this is the worst part but we are nearly there,“ Alto coached, gripping my knees looking me right in the eye. “When the next contraction comes I want you to push like you’ve never pushed before and don’t stop until I tell you, understood?“

Biting my lip, I nodded, feeling the tightening in my low back signaling the start of a contraction. I screamed, my hands turning white with how tightly I held the ropes and I pushed.

“That’s it!“ Alto praised. “I see the head, you can do it, keep pushing!“

Then the air was filled with cries of a new life entering the world and mad as hell about it. Alto handed the baby off to Helena who wrapped her and handed Alto a knife. The cord was cut and Helena bustled off to clean the baby up, while I did this all over again.

“You did great, Cassarah,“ Alto murmured as she moved her hands over my belly. “I’m just checking to make sure this second baby is just as ready to leave as its sibling.“

Quickly, another contraction happened but it was shorter and seemed to shove the next baby in position.