Page 86 of Wicked Thirst
“I bloody well see they’re blue!” Titus growled.
“DO SOMETHING,” Graymont bellowed back at him.
I sucked in another breath. “Dying.”
“You’re not dying.” Titus slashed his hand through the air. “I refuse to believe this. You are the strongest female I know.”
But he was wrong. I did feel like I was dying and taking the child in my belly with me. I crooked my fingers at the midwives, summoning them to my bedside. When they glided over to us, they couldn’t look Titus in the eye. My throat was dry from my screams, and I found my strength waning. “Tell him.”
My voice sounded weak even to myself. Sarah cleared her throat. “She is dying, my lord.”
“What?” He ran his hands through his hair and tugged at the strands. “NO! How do we fix this?”
Sarah glanced toward Anna, and she motioned toward me, encouraging Sarah to speak. “You’ve got to lessen some of the baby’s blood in her body, my lord.”
“Graymont, you must bite her,” Titus ordered.
Graymont pressed his lips together and gave him a tight-lipped nod. “Very well. I’ll so it.”
His fingers were soft and gentle as he took my arm in his hand and turned it over, exposing my wrist to him. “I’ll try to be gentle, Moira.”
“Please just do it.” My words were light and breathy.
I fought to stay conscious as black dots swarmed my vision. Graymont drew his lips back from his fangs and struck quickly. I barely felt the pain. It was nothing compared to having my insides torn out. Yet when he pulled away, I still felt just as weak.
Fighting was futile. I would die on this night. I was sure of it.
Titus turned toward the midwives, his eyes wide with panic. “IT’S NOT WORKING.”
“It’s got to be you, my lord,” Sarah implored. “You must do it yourself. The baby comes soon, and only your blood magic can match the baby’s in strength.”
He shook his head. “I cannot.”
I reached out toward him, and he dropped to his knees beside the bed and took my hand. He pressed a feather-light kiss on my knuckles. I would ask him for the things I swore I would not. I would ask him to bite me. I would ask him to love me. I would ask him to loveus. “My lord, please, do it now or your son will die.”
Another wave of contractions started, this one worse than the last. My muscles tightened and I held on to his hand, squeezing it as hard as I could. Titus let out a roar and turned my wrist over. His teeth sank into my skin, and with that first deep draw came relief. Power surged through my body and the pain lessened to a manageable point. His blood magic flowed through my body taking some of the power from the child so I could manage this delivery.
“Well done, Your Highness,” Sarah encouraged him as she bent down between my legs. “Baby’s coming.”
He pulled his teeth from my skin, and I shot up to a sitting position, feeling the need to bear down.
Titus never let go of my hand. “I’m with Moira and him, for always. You can do it, love.”
Graymont took my other hand. “You’re doing great!”
I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could, forcing him down. When I felt the baby free of my body, I sagged back on the bed and sucked in deep breaths. I’d done it. “Why isn’t he crying?”
A moment later, there was a light smack and the first cry of my son, my beautiful son. Anna stayed with me, helping me to finish the last steps of delivery and clean up. Graymont shoved more pillows behind my head, helping me sit up. Titus rose to his feet as he stared at the little wailing bundle in Sarah’s arms.
“Go check on him, my lord.”
When he got to Sarah, she handed him over to Titus, and I’d never seen the King smile so much as I did the moment he saw his son. His hands looked too big as he awkwardly held him to his chest. He swayed back and forth, rocking him. Unshed tears gathered in his eyes. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything so perfect as our son.”
“Nor I.” Tears poured over my cheeks and I would forever remember the sight of him holding that tiny bundle.
Graymont leaned over me and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Well done, sister.”
Titus bounced gently and lowered his voice. He ran the tip of his finger over the baby’s cheek gently stroking him. “And what are we to name you, little one?”
