Decimation, p.23
Decimation, page 23
Maeve chuckled. “What does Artura think of you? Or Urd?”
“We’re not fans of each other. We’re learning, though.”
“It’s been a long time since some of us have learned anything, it seems fate has given us good teachers. Come in the kitchen. Enjoy the meal with me.”
I was being invited to dine with Maeve? Did I have to follow fae rules? She was an elf now, and it was food I brought. Did that apply?
Fuck.
The phone on her wall rang, and she excused herself to answer.
It was impossible to not eavesdrop, since I was only a few meters away.
“Now?” She said. “We’ll be there shortly.” She disconnected and turned to me again. “Magnus is going into labor.” She grabbed a bag from a nearby closet, and a small satchel.
Magnus was having her babies? Now?
That was way more exciting than this.
***
Magnus
Whichever creator decided that giving birth to immortal children should be the same or worse than human childbirth—at least as painful and exhausting—must have been almost as big a dick as Vidar.
His name still made me ill, but I was working on getting over it.
Most of the time. Right now, I was exhausted and didn’t have a choice but to not do anything else. I was lying in bed, trying to shrug off having pushed two lives out of my body.
Maeve had taken Bragi and Nico to give the babies their first bath, and to let me rest.
The silence in here was incredible. Almost unbelievable. The tattoo from Tatiana had quickly bled off the excess magic of hosting two other lives, and it was quiet in my head for the first time in months. Not quiet except for a whisper. Not me having to focus to keep the external feelings out.
It was. Just. Quiet.
The silence was disconcerting and amazing.
I was only pregnant for six months Maeve warned me this might happen, and told me it was hard to gauge how long magical pregnancies would last. Sometimes they were a day long, and other times they went on for years.
If anyone could hear my prayer, I wanted to thank them that I fell on the shorter end of the spectrum, not the longer one.
There was a quiet knock, and I called, “come in.”
Maeve stepped into the room, with Nico and Bragi following, each of the men carrying a baby.
The one Bragi held had a shock of bright red hair. So much hair for a newborn.
I’d asked both Maeve and Nico if I needed to worry about accidental fires from the baby with phoenix powers. They both assured me it was possible, but not likely.
Maeve helped me sit up and propped me up with pillows.
Bragi handed me the first child.
This was such a tiny, precious life. It didn’t matter that I’d been thinking about this moment for months, it didn’t feel real now that it was here. How was I supposed to care for these little souls?
Nico handed me the other one, and a sense of calm settled over me. We’d figure it out together.
This boy was pale, with bright green eyes.
“Don’t babies usually have blue eyes?” I asked.
“Human babies, yes.” Maeve pulled a satchel from her pocket. “This is my gift to you. To your children. To your family.” She set it on the nightstand.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The salve you need for the stream. The food. And the cord that ties the bag will serve as the clothing. You can make any wish you want.”
“Thank you.” It was an incredible gift, and I wouldn’t refuse it. But I wouldn’t use it, either. I was done wishing for things or relying on magic’s interpretation of what I needed o get done. “Thank you for everything.”
Maeve kissed me on the cheek. “Blessings to you.” She kissed each of the children on the forehead. “And to them. I’ll check back tomorrow, and you know how to reach me if you need me. When you’re ready, your friends can come in.”
Maeve vanished from the room.
My emotions were all over the place. I wanted to laugh and cry and collapse. And the greatest thing about it was that they were my emotions.
I gave Nico a nod, and he opened the bedroom door.
Dahlia rushed into the room. Frey and Fen followed at a more sedate pace.
Dahlia pushed Bragi out of the way to get to me. She was cautious with the hug, and spend several minutes oohing and ahhing over how adorable the new arrivals were.
“Welcome to the world, Birdie and Bard,” She said.
I laughed at the names. “You know that’s not what we’re calling them. The redhead is Enna and the green-eyed baby is Osheen.”
Dahlia wrinkled her nose. “Birdie and Bard.”
Even if I argued it, the nicknames would probably stick.
And I was fine with that. In fact, at this moment I loved the entire world. I was filled with warm fuzzies and love for everyone in my life. For life itself.
This was incredible, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Thank you for reading the stories of these wonderful characters. Magnus, Bragi, and Nico. Dahlia, Frey, and Fen.
If you’d like more stories in this Legacy world, fate has more in store for other new Valkyries and dragons, in the multi-author Valkyries Rising series, starting with VALKYRIE DESTINED. Her entire life, Azzie’s been told she’s destined for greatness. The price is to take the life of the man she’s falling for. She refuses, but destiny doesn’t like being denied.
Grab VALKYRIE DESTINED today.
If you haven’t read Kirby, Brit, Starkad, Gwydion, and Min’s story yet, check out VALKYRIE REBORN. Betrayal stole Kirby’s past, across a dozen lives. Someone will pay the price. The only questions are how and where?
Click here to start reading VALKYRIE REBORN
Allyson Lindt, Decimation
