Page 168 of Ironling
Epilogue II
Two Years Later
Hakon lay still in their bed, his little baby daughter cooing softly on his chest. Roslinn had deigned to doze once she’d been placed there, lulled by his steady breathing and heartbeat. He held her little rump in his hand, ensuring she wouldn’t kick herself off and tumble into the blankets. Again.
His other hand rested on Aislinn’s thigh, where he rubbed softly with his thumb. She lay beside him, head resting on his shoulder, carding her fingers through their daughter’s wispy blonde hair.
The moment was perfect.
Some went through life without a single perfect moment, but Hakon had been blessed with many. He had his mate to thank for that. She took his breath away with her brilliance and kindness. She’d made a place for him in her life beside her, bent the demesne and kingdom itself to her will to keep him. Over their years together, she’d taught him, consoled him, loved him.
And now, she’d given him the most precious of gifts.
Roslinn had arrived almost three weeks ago now. She came screaming into the world, her lungs working just fine. The sound had been the most beautiful he’d ever heard after a long day of labor for Aislinn.
They hadn’t always thought they would have a child. Hakon was content to have just Aislinn, no matter the noises her father and the vassals made about an heir. But a year ago, his mate had felt herself ready.
“Maybe just the once,”she told him, and he agreed wholeheartedly.
The first months of pregnancy hadn’t affected Aislinn much, and those symptoms she did develop didn’t slow her down. At least, she tried not to let them. When she grew too round to manage stairs, she had him carry her up and down, for“This is all your fault,”as she liked to remind him. He just chuckled and kissed her hair and took her where she needed to go.
When she was too heavy with Rosie to walk much at all, she’d had work sent to their rooms. It distracted her from the discomfort, but the latter half of the pregnancy had worn on her. Confined to their new apartments, she’d stayed abed more than she wished.
They’d moved into the larger suite meant for the liege and their family soon after deciding to try conceiving. The larger bedchamber and solar suited them, as did the small nursery off the solar. Aislinn set up a sedan beside her desk to work from, and she probably would have kept her books while in labor if he hadn’t earmarked her page and carried her to the bed.
What ensued then had been the longest day of Hakon’s life. Aislinn paced the room for hours, hair matted with sweat, her skin pale. For a long while, the baby just wouldn’t come.
Her fear grew with every hour, and more than one midwife had to reassure her that this wouldn’t be like her mother’spregnancy. She was doing just fine. The baby was in the correct position, just taking their time.
No one spoke it, but the fear grew that the baby, a quarter orcish, may be too big to bear for Aislinn.
Hakon had stayed with her despite the sour looks from the midwives, helping lift her in and out of bed. He held her up when she tried to bear down standing up, and with each unsuccessful attempt, his panic swelled and his beast whined, more scared than he’d ever been.
Finally, deep into the night, little Rosie had decided to greet them. As he held his exhausted mate, their daughter had been placed in Aislinn’s arms. Hakon held everything in the world then, everything that mattered. It was his first perfect moment with Rosie.
Fates, three weeks with a newborn had changed Hakon in ways he’d never imagined. For the first week, he’d been absolutely terrified to touch Rosie, fearing his big hands would crush her. How could they not—she was so small, so delicate, so perfect.
Her skin was the palest green, like new shoots and springtime. She had her mother’s flaxen hair but Hakon’s dark eyes and pointed ears. Her limbs were chubby with health, and every time she squeezed his finger with her little hand, Hakon rumbled with a love so pure and deep, it took his breath away.
She was so far not much like either of them, instead sassy and loud.“Siggy will love her,”Aislinn joked. She certainly seemed to know she was an important child with title and position, for if a newborn could be imperious, Rosie was. But Hakon could tell already she’d be as smart as her mother. His little daughter wouldn’t be one to cross.
Snuggling closer, Aislinn asked him, not for the first time, “Are you sure one is enough?”
Hakon was content to wait a long while for a second child,if they ever even tried for another at all, not wanting to see his mate go through such an ordeal again. Although Rosie hadn’t been as large as everyone feared, she was still larger than a human baby, and Aislinn’s body would take a long while to recover.
“I have more than I ever could have dreamed,vinya. You, Rosie, our life—my heart aches with how full you’ve made it.”
She pressed a kiss into his cheek. “You always know just what to say.”
Turning his face to hers, he received another kiss this time to his lips. “It’s the truth.”
Aislinn hummed happily, lingering for more kisses. He was happy to give them, and they passed long moments just like that, slow kisses as their daughter slept peacefully.
When she pulled away, she touched her forehead to his. “Do we have to go?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said, “we promised your father.”
Aislinn heaved a sigh, resigned. Hakon bit back his smile at the noise, and carefully, he sat up. “Come on,vittarah,” he told his daughter when she began to squirm, “it’s time to meet your people.”
