Page 34 of Rook of Ruin
I nod and sigh. There ends the quest for more books and information.
By the time the children, Alec included, roll into the house, we’ve finished the dough, and water is placed on the hot stove to boil. Dannie is being held carefully in one of Alec’s arms, and the two twins are hanging off his other arm. They are all grinning, and Vera stumbles forward to give Alec a hug. It’s heartwarming, and I smile brightly. He beams.
Two men bumble in, hot and sweaty from working in the fields. I run into their arms.
“O!” Flour goes all over their sweaty bodies. “Who’s this?” they say at the same time, both give a stern, brotherly look.
“This is Alec.” I didn’t introduce him as a Rook, Ossian, or as the Spider. They shake his hand, and then they—along with Dannie, who won’t let Alec go—wash up at the sink. Tess’s brothers, Jon and Dellon, are built broadly. Both were warriors and now work in the fields with the rest of their family. Tess was hoping I would take to one of her brothers, specifically Jon, and make her a true sister. Jon is loyal, kind, strong, good looking, funny, family oriented—everything a woman could want. But he is more inclined to sow his wild oats rather than settle down. Still, he’s great fun to flirt with.
Jon gives me a cheeky wink and grabs my hand, pulling me into a twirl as if to show off my figure. Alec watches Jon like a creature assessing a threat, and Taliah hits Alec lightly over the head. My mouth drops open, but Alec just looks at her, thoroughly ashamed. Jon snickers from the exchange until she does the same to him.
“You know better, Jon.” She clicks her tongue and hums as she pulls out silverware and hands it to Jon and Alec. The men set the table for us, and I bite my lip, wondering where Ossian learned how to fold napkins into something artsy. He’s fully fucking domestic, and it’s sexy as hells. Jon and Dellon eye up Alec and pull out a jug.
Shit.“No. No. Don’t you dare give that to him.” I shake my finger.
Jon gives me a wicked grin. “You don’t think your man can handle a bit of spice?”
A challenge to me and to Alec. Everyone waits patiently to see how I will deal with Jon. I doubt Alec would raise an eyebrow if I punched Jon in his face, but I think he wouldn’t be too pleased if I fell into Jon’s lap and deny any feelings I have. Alec has seen my memories.
I squint at them. “I’m not worried about him—he can handle himself. I’m worried about the two of you.”
Jon teases, “So what you’re saying is that heisyour man.” I childishly stick out my tongue to deny it, but Jon turns and yells over the children’s thunderous squeals, “Alec! I thought a man of your talents would have tamed that mean tongue of hers by now.”
“I don’t think anyone can,” he grumbles. They all howl with laughter and pour him a shot of spice.
“I’m not carrying you back to the castle,” I warn him.
“That’s what the horse is for.” He smirks, raises his glass to me, and downs the shot.
Dinner becomes a wild affair of stories and teasing. Tess’s father barges in late from the fields and joins the boys in another shot of spice. Dannie is perched on Alec’s knee. They share a plate of food, with Dannie getting the majority. Everyone groans with delight when dessert is served, and my face flushes when Taliah lets everyone know I made it. My heart feels full in this house with everyone around the table. The only people missing are Tess and Paul.
The sun is in the first stages of slumber as we say our goodbyes. The twins hold on to Alec’s legs while we walk to Artho, but the laughter is quickly drowned out by a woman screaming and running down the road. “Taliah! Get your boys and come quickly. Mags went into labor in the field! It’s not an easy labor. She needs a healer.”
My breath sucks into my lungs. “Tess’s sister-in-law. Her other brother Liam’s wife. Two months early,” I whisper to Alec. There is no hesitation. He mounts Artho and pulls me up. “Which field?” I ask, and the woman points to the field on the other side of town, telling us Mags is close to the woods.
Artho takes off, running at a fast pace, his beautiful mane beating against his head. Alec holds on to me, and I’m holding on to hope that we can make it in time to heal her. As we get close to the woods, he slows Artho.
We scan the field. Nothing. Artho snorts and trots farther in, and then we see a trail of blood leading towards a small clearing.Hells, Mags is crawling through the grain. Alec jumps down, and I follow.
There’s a lot of blood, and Mags is panting with her knees to her chest, pushing.
Immediately, I heal her pain. “Mags, I’m here. Let us help you.”
She looks at us with panic in her eyes—gasping, sweat dripping, brown hair plastered to her face—and points towards the right side of the field. I gently move up her bloody skirt; she’s already removed her undergarments. Mags is fully dilated, and hells, I see her baby’s head. I reach for my power, concentrating, and discover her uterus has a tear, which I heal immediately. Her body trembles as she points again.
Mags manages to get out, “In the fields—there issomethingin the fields. Liam is there. He’s trying to protect us.” She sobs. “I can’t—I can’t do this without him.” She grits her teeth, and her body shakes. She might not feel the pain, but her body is going through the process of labor, and it is a war within itself.
Alec mounts Artho. “I’ll come back for you.” He sets off into the field where Mags pointed. I pull off my sweater, and the cool air hits my chest. I lay my thick sweater under her and rip apart my skirt, using the inner layers for the baby. Mags is a strong woman to have been in such pain but crawl for the safety of her child.
“Mags, you’re doing great.” She reaches for my hand, and I move to the side, helping her hold up one of her legs. She pushes, gritting her teeth, and pants. Something rustles in the distance, and I look up to see the grain moving in the last of the sunlight. Mags groans, pushing again. I quickly place my ripped skirt underneath the baby’s head and neck for support while Mags pushes out the shoulders, and the rest soon follows.
“It’s a girl,” I whisper, wiping her off and checking the beautiful baby over. I hand Mags her baby girl and sheimmediately pulls out her breast to feed her little one. I remove the clip holding my braid together and hand it to Mags to clamp the umbilical cord when she is ready. Something moves in the grain to my right, and it’s too close. I wipe my hands on my skirt and pull out my knife. Whatever it is circles us but then seems to be drawn back to something in the distance. Relief fills me, but I stand ready just in case.
Time ticks by. Mags pushes out her placenta, and I heal her immediately. Mags may have lost blood, but since I healed her, it’s like she didn’t just birth a small human. This is the exact reason the queen should have a rotation of Rook healers throughout the kingdom. I cut the cord with my knife above where Mags clamped off the nutrient supply and quickly heal the end to prevent infection. The grain begins to move again, faster than before.
Mags cautiously stands and skirts behind me while nursing her sweet baby girl. The sky is still darkening, and I keep my brace glowing to see. We slowly move away from her birthing site, back-to-back. There is a chance it’s an animal that was attracted to the blood. There is also a chance this animal will attack if we run. Mags touches my hand briefly when we hear a low snarl to our left. We move right. It moves with us. The creature is tracking us, toying with us. We keep moving until we reach an area where the field has been cut. In the distance, there’s yelling, and Mags begins to cry, taking off toward them.
“Mags, no!” The animal in the field matches her stride as I speed up alongside her, blocking her with my body.
