A cry of pain escaped Liliana's gritted teeth as she pushed.
“Almost there,” Marabella encouraged. She and Ava were crouched between Liliana’s legs, getting ready as new life was about to enter their world.
“Push! You got this,” Ava added.
With another wordless shout, Liliana gave it her all. A few moments later, a baby’s cry filled the room.
“Aw, look at you,” Ava said, swaddling the baby as Marabella handed the child over. She gathered some magic, using it to clean up the child, while seeing what sex they were. “You got a beautiful baby girl there, cuz,” she added, handing over the still balling babe to Liliana’s outstretched arms.
Liliana only nodded in response, her eyes taking in the baby cradled in her arms. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for since he died. Now that she held the baby, she found herself apprehensive. Would…No, could this child fill the void of his passing? Will the child live up to my legacy and his?
These and more questions filled her mind. The questions only increased her nerves.
She would look into the fate of this child. With her divination abilities coupled with her true sight, she could see the branching paths of an individual’s fate. This being a newborn and her lacking a magical crest she wouldn’t receive till she was eight, Liliana could only get feelings and glimpses. She had done this with all her other children from the consorts and it hadn’t failed yet, so with a deep breath, she activated her magic.
The tingly rush of energy flowing through her grew as she gathered the energy she would require. Her sapphire gemstone-like eyes glowed dimly as her gaze turned distant.
What Liliana found was…disappointment, death, and failure. She frowned and searched down more paths, using more power. Again, death and failure. Her frown deepened as she tried again, then again. The results were the same. Her apprehension had long ago turned to disgust and rage. No matter what action she took to help the child, the results ended the same, either disappointment, abject failure, along with death.
She had never officially married because having a king would complicate matters. If she was being honest, she had no interest in the noble families of allied nations or those in her own domain. The only one she would have gladly shared the throne with was him. When she had found out Indra had died, she had mourned him and would for years to come. But when she discovered she was pregnant, it gave her hope that there would be something in this world they had made together. She wanted so much for this child and…and now. Now she had to decide what comes next.
If this was a child from a consort, she would simply arrange for the child to be sent off to a branch family, where they would never receive the title of princesses and be forgotten. She had only had to do this twice out of the eight other children she had before this…this disaster. She had looked into that potential path and the child still caused trouble and would most likely end up dead…like all the other paths.
Liliana sighed and looked into fate once again. She had wanted this child to follow in her footsteps, but now she was looking for any path that had the child living, even if it was the slightest chance. Maybe once the baby got her magical crest, her fate would change, but the overall feeling from the paths left her heartbroken, knowing deep down nothing would change.
The ripple from her choice to give up the child laid before her. She searched and still nothing. Again…nothing. Panic seeped in as she tried frantically to find a path, any path.
There it was! She found a tiny thread and latched on to it. The path branched out before her and it still had the feeling of death, but it felt more distant than others. When she pushed more power into her spell, it revealed that it was barely any different. Her instincts from doing fate magic hundreds of times clearly identified that it would still be a negative path, but it was one where the child lived a more carefree life, even if it was shorter than most. This had to be it. She went back along the path, searching for the family that would give her daughter a life she herself could not provide. When she did, her gaze snapped to their usual sharp focus.
Her gaze went to Ava, who was standing next to her bedside, looking worriedly down at her. Ava had the same hair color as the royal family, a deep blue that transitioned to ocean teals and greens near the tips. Ava, being a Celarian, meant her hair glinted like gemstones under the light of the glow stones. She wore dark leather and chain-mail armor, being the uniform she wore acting as her guard.
Liliana and Ava had been friends for years and she knew even now that Ava and her husband had been trying for their first child. Their attempts had failed and Liliana knew they would keep failing for a few more years.
The child would look somewhat like Ava enough to say she inherited her looks from the royal family and it would help Ava and her husband be ready for their next child. It would work out and would happen, but…
“Ava-” Liliana said wearily, “take her. I…I can’t keep her. She is yours.”
Ava and Marabella stared in stunned silence, which lasted for a few seconds till Ava shock her head, “I can’t.”
“No, hear me out. I can’t stand looking at her. She would always remind me of Indra and-” Liliana sighed, “her fate…” She struggled for a moment. “Her fate isn’t someone that can live the life of a princess. And I know you two will care for her.”
“We have been trying, but no luck and Raith seems to believe she will have to create an elixir, which will take some time. But this…” Ava paused, uncertain. “Are you sure?” Ava asked, her gaze searching Liliana’s, whose expression filled with frustration.
“There is no other path that I can see where she thrives,” Liliana said, holding the child out with an expression as if she was tossing away a nasty bag of garbage.
Ava had never seen Liliana act like this before, but knew once she had decided, she would not change her mind. It had something to do with her magic and karmic threads that her decision would create. With no more hesitation, she took the baby, cradling it in her arms.
“I will raise her like my own. And,” Ava gave Liliana a grateful smile. “Thank you. I will need to use one of the hidden passages to avoid being seen.”
Liliana nodded, clearly deep in thought.
“I can handle any of Liliana’s needs tonight,” Marabella said.
“I’m glad I hid this pregnancy or there would be problems,” Liliana remark tapping her cheek. “We can create a magic enforced contract later and will have to add Raith and Cal to it to ensure we set our story and to protect the secret.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Ava was smiling down at the baby who by now had stopped crying and was gripping one of her fingers.
“I can bring them back tonight. Raith is still back at our home, so it will only be a quick teleport,” Ava said, glancing up.
“That can wait for tomorrow,” Liliana said. “For now, take your little one to her new home.”
“Did either of you have a name in mind?” Marabella asked, startling the two women. Clearly, they hadn’t thought of it. Marabella sighed, shaking her head. Silence fell as the three pondered for a moment.
“What about Zerine?” Ava suggested.
“Beautiful!” Marabella excitedly said, while Liliana nodded.
“Yes, a beautiful name,” Liliana added.
“Then I will go. I will be back once we settled this one,” Ava said, then vanished in a gust of wind.
“Was what you saw that bad to make you practically throw the child at Ava?” Marabella asked, as she made some tea.
“I want to forget about this entire thing,” Liliana replied, even more weary now.
“Once you make the contract, you won’t have to think about it anymore,” Marabella said, handing a teacup over to Liliana, who took it gratefully.
Liliana took a sip letting the warmth of liquid sooth her. After anther sip, she let out a contented sigh feeling more balanced after the stress of what she saw and had to do.
“True, and there will be plenty of other matters that will keep me busy. Besides, I have at least one more opportunity for a child before I reach the next rank and can no longer have them,” Liliana said thoughtfully.
“Well, children in the normal way, at least. Although, I know little about those nearing the cusps of Iridesium rank,” Marabella said, pulling up a chair next to the bed.
Liliana smiled. “I will only know for certain by reaching that final stage, but for now, let’s discuss other matters.”
***
Callahan Trevel was sitting in a cushioned chair on a balcony. He had a clear view of the port and ocean. The summer night was quite warm, but the ocean breeze was refreshing. He normally would be out on patrol, but it was rare for Raith to make time to visit with her old teammates, so here he was. Raith had gone to bed a little earlier, but Callahan had come out on to the balcony to think. He ran a hand through his dark teal hair as he contemplated about several naval matters.
There was a muffled crack of thunder, which pulled him from his musings.
“Cal!” came Ava’s quiet call.
“On the balcony, love,” he called back.
“I have a surprise and to be honest it will leave you probably in shock,” Ava said, coming out on to the balcony.
“I rarely get that surpri-” Callahan had stood going for an embrace, but froze as he saw what Ava was cradling in her arms. Swaddled in a small blanket was a sleeping baby.
“Where? How? And are you sure?” Callahan whispered, putting an arm around Ava’s shoulders.
“Yes, I am certain, as long as you are. And it’s a long story that can wait for Raith because I do not want to explain this twice. Just know we have a baby girl, and her name is Zerine,” Ava said, resting her head on Callahan’s shoulder. Both were looking down at the sleeping babe.
“I am absolutely ecstatic about this! Raith said tonight it could take her a year or more to gather what she would need to create the elixir for us to have our own,” Callahan said, then kissed Ava’s head. “Now that wait won’t be as bad and we can take our time. But, welcome home Zerine,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Ava smiled. “This is just the start to our family.”
Callahan chuckled softly. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. We are going to spoil you, Zerine. And you’ll grow big and strong. Hopefully, you will take after your mother, although not too much. We can’t have you be too wild.”
“Hey!” Ava whispered, feigning being hurt. She playfully gave Callahan a slight nudge, careful to not wake the baby. “Who truly was the wild one?”
“Fair, let’s hope she doesn’t take after auntie Raith then. Oh, God she will be way too excited about this.”
That got a quiet laugh from Ava.
***
A salamandrid flew just above the trees, its four clawed feet brushing the treetops. The creature’s dark green scales glinted in the light of the early morning.
An arrow sparking with electricity pierced the creature’s chest. Magical power shot through the creature, making it squeal in pain. A second later, the creature died, falling to the ground landing in a clearing.
“That is not a baby griffon,” a man commented as he appeared in the clearing looking down at the dog sized creature.
“What do you want from me, Josue?” another man complained, appearing in a gust of wind next to Josue.
“This is a Salamandrid. You killed what is essentially a salamander with feathery wings. Now tell me how the fuck that looks anything like a griffon, Savril?” Josue wondered, gesturing to the corpse.
“Well, I only looked for feathers. You're the one that said this location had them,” Savril said, disgruntled.
“This is just like-” Josue was saying when both men stiffened.
In the clearing, space cracked like glass. It reminded Josue, as if something had impacted a glass pane with cracks emanating from a central point. Both men jumped as the spider webbing cracks shattered and tear in space manifested. A swirling vortex of blues and purples appeared in the air.
A figure emerged, the hole in reality closing behind it. The being stretched its arms, which gave Savril and Josue a chance to get a good look at the being.
Josue could only think of the being as if you took a human more than nine feet tall and combined parts of them with reptilian features. Patches of scales were visible on the being’s face, neck, and forearms. The beings’ hands were far more reptilian-like and didn’t seem to match the size of the being, as they were rather large with creepily long fingers. Large claws glitched more akin to thin knives. As they watched, the claws visibly shrunk. Soon the claws resembled manicured nails that Josue knew could still easily slice them to pieces.
“Well,” a raspy voice that sent a chill down Josue's back came from the being, “a new magically rich world. Tell me, humans, where am I?”
Josue realized then that he had instinctually hadn’t looked at the being’s face. He wasn’t sure if it was the aura that it had, which he could only describe as immensely powerful or just the feeling that meeting the gaze of the being would seal his fate.
Despite his instincts screaming at him to run, Josue glanced up and immediately looked back at the ground, bowing his head. What he saw made him shake in fear.
His eyes! Josue thought. His legs were trembling, beads of cold sweat were dripping down his back. The being’s head was an amalgamation of scales and human skin. A short curling horn protruded from the right side of the being’s head, with dark black hair cut short. Josue would never forget the being’s eyes. They burned an imprint on his very soul. One eye was draconic in nature, vertically slitted, but burning bright orange. The other eye was human-like but was burning a bright green. Josue had heard of those with abilities that could use their eyes to perform magic. Some horror stories of a man from the wastelands that made the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ take on a whole new meaning ran through his mind.
“Y-you are in the nation of Esteron and the highlands part of the Great Forest. My-my lord,” Savril said in a shaking voice.
“Hmm, could be the starting point, but I will need time to recover,” the being muttered to himself.
“We- we could lead you out of the forest,” Josue said, not believing the words coming out of his mouth. His instincts were still screaming for him to run before it was too late.
“No need. I will get the information I need,” the being said.
Unseen by the two men, the being had broken out into a smile. A smile that if they had seen it would have led to them fleeing, as it was one of a predator eyeing its prey.
Josue started as a blast of air hit him as the being moved in a blur. There was a gurgle and spray of blood as the being swiped its claws against Savril’s throat. Blood splattered onto the stunned Josue, who cried out and tried to run.
He did not get far. The last thing Josue heard was the rushing sound of air before everything went dark.
Valgarth sighed contentedly as knowledge from those he had killed filled his mind while he feasted on their remaining life force and magic.
It seems I have been impacted more by the fight this time. It will take years to recover and then more to establish myself and make contact, he thought as he munched on the flesh from the men.
This time will be different and maybe more fun.
A smile crossed Valgrath’s face as his appearance changed, shifting to resemble Josue. His hair was now light brown, with hazel eyes. He curiously stroked his trimmed beard as he broke out into a smile.
“Now, for some hunting,” Valgrath said, tossing aside the last bone that he had picked clean.