Page 133 of A Trial of War
“Oh, gods!” Gunnar jumped to his feet, dark eyes bright, hair loose over one side of his head, with his battle axe strapped to his belt despite the six years of peace in our world. “Is it time already?”
I groaned. “Already? Are you serious right now, Gunnar?”
“What? High Fae females usually carry their babes for twelve months… and it’s only been—”
“I swear to the gods above, if you sayonly ten… I will burn the eyebrows off your face.”
“Easy, Spitfire.” Daxton chuckled, kissing my forehead, sending a wave of his ice magic over my burning spine. “Don’t incinerate our general.”
“Don’t let him tempt me then.”
Bringing our child into this world was one of the most difficult, exhausting, soul-splintering experiences of my life. Pain tore through me in waves so fierce they blurred the edges of reality, turning minutes into eternities.
And still… in a single heartbeat, I would do it all again.
Daxton never released my hand, not once in the grueling hours I was contracting and pushing our child into this world. When a contraction stole my breath, he breathed for me. When my vision dimmed, he anchored me with the warmth of his touch.
“You can do this, Skylar,” he whispered like a prayer each time my strength faltered, pulling me back from the edge.
Six hours. Six hours of active labor, of pushing against the limits of my body and will. Six hours where Daxton looked at me as if I were the most awe-inspiring thing he’d ever held.
Then, in the quiet between one ragged breath and the next, time seemed to pause, and a sound rose into the silence that cracked my heart wide open.
Ourson’sfirst cry.
The proof that every moment of agony, every tear, every terrified gasp of the last years had been worth it.
With our son lying in my arms, Daxton’s hand tightened around mine, and when I looked into his eyes, I saw a raw, unguarded love so fierce it felt almost god-like.
Our room at the Summit in Silver Meadows was still spinning with the wonder of it all as our son’s tiny fingers curled around mine. The healer left us alone, giving us time to sit in peace with our son. After his first feeding, I handed him to Daxton, my heart swelling at seeing his silver eyes ignite with a depth of love I had only read about in books.
“Come here, my son,” he said as he picked him up and rocked him in his arms, humming the song his mother sang for him. That he sang to me… That he now sang to our son.
Knock, knock, knock.
Daxton glanced toward the door, tensing with his magic flaring, a growl rippling through our bond.
“Come in,” I said with a smile, sensing who was on the other side.
Shaw’s broad frame filled the doorway first, followed by Zola and Gunnar, who practically shoved them both aside with a grin so bright it could’ve blinded half the Inner Kingdom.
“Well?” Gunnar asked, eyes already gleaming with mischief as he burst inside. “Who do we have here?”
Shaw rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth tugged upward as he looped an arm around Zola. Their sealed mate marks were proudly displayed along their necks. They’d sealed their bond not long after the final battle, in the quietaftermath when the world was still trying to remember how to breathe.
They were different now, stronger, softer, settled in a way neither of them had been before.
Happiness suited them.
They’d moved into a small house outside Silver Meadows. Shaw needed to be near the pack, helping oversee the transition for all the shifters moving into the Inner Kingdom. He’d taken the responsibility with the seriousness of someone who wanted to rebuild a world better than the one he’d survived.
And Zola… Well, Zola continued doing what she always did best. To be honest, I still didn’t know what she did exactly. All I knew was that she worked in the shadows and on secret missions Daxton sent her on.
Zola approached my bedside with an unexpected gentleness, as if every sharp edge of her had softened in the presence of our child.
Daxton brought our son over and handed him to the shadow jumper.
“Oh,” she breathed, her voice dipping lower, quieter. “He’s… He’s perfect.”
