Her words gasp into silence as a rush of water splashes down between her skirts, onto the slate. For a long moment, all three of us freeze, as though time itself has stopped. Carys looks down at her feet with a dazed expression. Her pink lips are rounded in a perfect circle of surprise.
“Oh,” is all she manages to say. “Oh.”
I look directly into Farley’s eyes. They are stripped of their usual mirth, wide with shock.
“Forget the sparring pits,” I tell him. “Fetch the midwife instead. Tell her it’s time.”
In all myyears of assisting Eli, I never once aided in a birth like the one of Carys and Uther’s son. Given his hesitancy in making an appearance, when at last he arrives it is with a stunning, breath-stealing speed.
I have scarcely settled Carys back on the garden chaise when the first contractions seize her in their clutches. After that, there is no moving her up the stairs to the apartments. For beneath her skirts, I can see she is already well on her way to delivery.
Healer though I may be, I have not witnessed many births. Pregnancies grow rarer and rarer with each passing year as the blight grips the land in an ever-tightening hold. Most expectant mothers do not carry to term, and if they manage to, their babies are often born…wrong. Limbs twisted, eyes unseeing. Organs on the outside of their frail abdomens. Many come out blue and still, never taking a single breath of air beyond the womb. The few that do survive seldom live long, unable to breathe on their own.
And with the babies go the mothers. Whether their bodies fail during the bloody battle of childbirth or their souls flee inthe heartbreaking aftermath of losing a child, fair few survive the ordeal. Sadly, what had once been common practice, natural as breathing, is now a rarity. Healthy deliveries in which both mother and child survive are a precious gift among mortals. Successful fae births are even more rare, a maegical anomaly in a maegicless era.
I do not allow myself to dwell on these realities as I examine my friend. My voice is level as I speak soothing words meant to keep her calm, meant to convince her there are no problems. Inside, though, I am counting the minutes until Farley’s return with the midwife in tow. Inside, I am screaming that I somehow must move her inside, upstairs, to her bedchamber, where there are clean linens and fresh water and comfortable feather pillows to prop her against.
But how can I, with the babe bearing down so fast? How can I, when already her birthing pains are coming with alarming acceleration, one arriving directly after another, gripping her muscles with spine-bowing constriction and wrenching away all sense of autonomy? If she convulses thus on the stairs, there is no telling what will happen. She could fall. She could be harmed, the babe along with her.
I will not risk their lives. Not when I cannot be confident in how much time remains before the head crowns. Carys already seems far weaker than I’d like, her face white as a sheet, her breaths shallow and strained. Pain hazes her bright green eyes. And where,gods, where is all that blood coming from?
“Something’s wrong.” Carys moans, gripping my hand like a vise. “It hurts…”
“Nothing is wrong. I know it hurts, but you’re doing well.”
I swallow hard, trying to calm my own panic. It thrums fast and hot inside my veins, pricking at my Remnant mark with electrically charged fingers. I use all my self-control to keep myemotions in check, to keep my power locked deep inside. I cannot allow my rising panic to spill out in a wave that will turn a dire situation even more deadly.
I don’t dwell on what it will mean for my friend if her babe becomes lodged. Or worse, descends breech first. For the thought of taking a blade to her is enough to evaporate any facade of self-possession.
“Rhya!” She gasps as another contraction seizes her. My finger bones grind together under her grip.
“This is what you wanted, Carys. What you prayed for. Remember? Your child comes, eager to meet you.” I force a smile as my hands move over her stomach. The babe has already dropped quite low. “For one who resisted so stubbornly, they are now exhibiting remarkable haste.”
“Just like their father. That streak of quiet obstinance…Gods help me, with two of them under my roof…”
“If anyone can handle them, it’s you,” I assure her. “Just keep breathing. That’s it. Slow and steady. The midwife will be here soon.”
But she is not.
An hour ticks by, and still, Farley does not return. Not with the midwife, not with Uther. Not with anyone. I fetch some basic supplies from the apartments upstairs, then do my best to comfort Carys as she writhes in increasing discomfort, distracting her with a low, constant stream of conversation. I speak until my voice goes hoarse, talking of everything and nothing—my childhood, my favorite foods, my dress for the upcoming festival. Keda and Teagan’s latest squabble over the proper steps to the Dyvedi waltz. Farley’s new infatuation with a particularly handsome member of the palace guard.
I sop sweat from her brow with a wet washcloth and hold herhand when the pains have her in their grips. All the while, blood flows from between her legs, a deathly trickle.
Is this amount of bleeding normal?I wonder, heart racing.Oh, Eli, how I wish you were here…
The time to push grows nearer and nearer. Soon, there will be no more waiting. I feel the crown of her baby’s head beginning to protrude and grip my friend’s hand tight in my own.
“Where is he?” she wheezes. “Where is Uther?”
“He’s coming. He’ll be here soon.”
“The midwife—”
“We cannot wait for the midwife,” I tell her in as steady a voice as I can manage, dousing my hands with the strong spirits I found in her kitchen cupboard. “You’re going to have to push.”
“No, I can’t. Not until—”
“You must. Carys, do you hear me? You cannot afford to delay, and neither can your child.” I adjust the towel I’ve placed between her legs. The fissure of worry that’s opened up inside me deepens further when I see more blood seeping into the white fabric. “I know this isn’t how you wanted to do this; I know this wasn’t your plan. But I’m here with you. I’m right here.”