Page 109 of The Knucker King

Guilt twisted in Trewoofe at his venomous thoughts towards the man. He had assumed he was abandoning his daughter because of the way she looked. He extended his tongue and brushed it over the infant’s skull, face, and chest. Immediately, her pants and wheezing eased.

What is happening? Bramble yawned, head popping up from by the hearth.

“Another one,” Avice said, scooting off the pallet.

Another what? He rose, stretched, and ambled over to them. He blinked down at the child. Poor pup. This is cruelty. It is like a Faerie tried to change her but not all the way.

“I think so too,” he agreed.

“Which mother? Did the man say?” Avice asked, she had already begun getting changed.

She had not warned Trewoofe what she was doing – as though she was too focused on getting to her patient – and she had not even asked him for privacy. He blushed and turned away when she dropped her shift.

She had not been wearing a breast band under the gauzy material, and he was sure he caught a glimpse of the pink pebbles that had peaked tantalisingly through her dresses in the past. He cleared his throat and cooed down at the settled baby in his arms, swaying his body to sooth her further.

It felt right.

Trewoofe had sung and rocked his daughters to sleep when they were newly hatched. Those were the memories he often grasped for in the middle of the night when the loneliness and grief was at its worst.

“Alright, pass me the baby and take your tunic off,” Avice ordered from behind him.

He spun on his heel to face her. She was back to her practical self. Layered dress and chemise, stockings, and boots on her feet. She left her hair up in its crown braid, and the sheen of shimmering magic still clung to her raven waves. Her chin stuck out, and she had that fierce determination on her face that he adored.

Trewoofe arched an eyebrow at her. “Why?”

She extended her arms. “You need to remove your tunic so I can take out your remaining stitches. I have not put so much effort into your care to neglect you at the last moment.”

He burnt with embarrassment. “Oh, of course.”

He handed her the baby, who had settled into sleep from his cooing and swaying. Avice took her seamlessly with a tender look upon her face.

“Hello, Mary,” she whispered. “The Well King is going to find some Good Neighbours to look after you.” She pressed a kiss to her skull. “Somewhere where you will be able to breathe easily, and it will not hurt anymore.”

The scene made Trewoofe weak at the knees. Just when he thought Avice could not get lovelier, here she was, compassionate and nurturing to a baby that would have repulsed other humans. Though the infant slept, she curled her hand around Avice’s finger and pulled it close to her.

She narrowed her gaze up at him. “Lord?”

Trewoofe looked dreamily back at her. “Yes?”

“You are supposed to be taking your tunic off.”

He blushed. “Oh, yes!”

He yanked it over his head. The neck of the garment snagged on the tips of his horns. With a final tug he pulled it off and dropped it on the pallet. Avice nodded and shuffled the baby back into his arms. She swept over to her medical satchel on the table and pulled out her copper knife.

Will you be going to the mother? Bramble asked. If so, I am coming with you.

“Yes, of course. The Lord can take the child to the Underneath, and I will attend…” She turned to Trewoofe. “I assume it was Emma?”

Trewoofe pouted. He had a flicker of hope that she may come to the Underneath with him to deliver the child. That they could visit Hope and Boarden together, and he could show her his cavern and nest. The thought of Avice in his nest made his clawed toes dig into the rammed earth floor.

The Tall Ones. He shook his head. I must deal with them first, make my Kingdom safe for her. And what of the poison? What if they do it again?

Despite his anxieties, he could not tear his thoughts away from last night: the glint of the Moon on her raven hair, the hot place between her legs pressed up against him, her tongue dancing in his mouth, and her little whimpers.

“Lord?” Avice prodded. “Your mind is somewhere else this morning. I would ask you to focus, the life of the child and mother is at stake, and I must get moving.”

Trewoofe blushed from the gentle admonishment. His mind was somewhere else, and it involved bringing Avice into his nest, and rutting her into the soft, mossy bottom.