Page 25 of Black Hearted (Cursed Fae #4)

Dawn

Zander hovered over me, one hand resting gently on my swollen belly and the other stroking my cheek. His eyes were full of concern as the healer, Eowyn, waved her arms over my midsection.

I’d been woken by cramping pains late last night. There was no blood, but the cramps were coming every hour, radiating painfully to my back. It was far too early to give birth, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Eowyn, a woman in her sixties with silver hair and long, pointed ears, had a motherly kindness about her, though she was quiet.

Zander had been searching for her ever since I told him I was pregnant.

He’d sent messengers throughout the kingdom to track her down.

It took months, but she was finally located last week on a refugee train coming up from the Southern Kingdom.

It was rumored that she was the most talented healer in all of Ethereum, but after losing a patient, she had become a recluse. When Zander finally found her, he’d had to all but beg her to come and attend to me.

“You’re in early labor,” Eowyn said, her voice heavy with sadness.

My stomach dropped. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head.

She pressed her lips together in a stern line, her brows furrowed deeply. “There are too many babies in there to stay put much longer.”

I looked up at Zander, who stood rigid like a stone statue next to me, his face void of emotion. He seemed to be in shock.

“How many? Can you tell?”

Eowyn nodded. “I sense four heartbeats.”

Four.

My eyes widened. I had known there was more than one— maybe even three—but four?

“Like my mother,” Zander breathed, his voice barely audible. He rested his forehead lightly on my stomach, his expression torn between awe and fear.

I turned to Eowyn, seeking her honesty. “You can heal them if they come too early, right? Help them grow until they can survive on their own?”

From what I’d heard, she was skilled at managing complicated births and could even create a bubble of healing energy around premature babies, feeding them strength until they were big enough to survive on their own.

Shadows crossed her face, and she turned away, giving me her back. “I used to be able to.”

Zander’s head snapped up. “Used to be able to? Are you saying you can’t anymore?”

Eowyn remained silent, her shoulders tense. I wondered if this inability had something to do with why she had become a recluse.

I glanced at Zander, worry and fear etched into the lines of his face. Reaching for his hand, I gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Darling, can you give us some time alone to speak?”

He frowned, reluctant, but finally nodded and left the room. I watched him go with a heavy heart, knowing that if anything happened to me or the babies, he might never recover.

The moment the cramping pains had started, Zander had sent a letter to Adrien and Isolde, asking them, along with her sister Seraphina, to join us and Stryker and Aribella here in Zane’s castle in the Western Kingdom.

We, along with our subjects, had fled here to escape the curse.

It was the only remaining kingdom yet untouched by the curse.

Zander believed we’d be stronger together, and I agreed.

“Eowyn, you are the only chance my babies have to survive. If they’re coming earlier than they should, and you have the magic to keep them alive once they are delivered, I need you to try. No matter what.”

She turned back to me, unshed tears glistening in her light teal eyes, her wise, wrinkled face etched with emotion. “Even if they die at my hand?”

Her words were shocking, but I could feel the weight of what I was asking her—to bear the responsibility of four fragile lives.

I nodded, my throat tight. “Even if they die.”

Her chest heaved as she glanced from my face to my stomach. “You should know something before you agree to this,” she said, her voice trembling.

Here it was. Whatever had caused her anguish and driven her into hiding. I braced myself for the revelation.

“I was in this same situation over ten years ago,” she began, her voice shaking.

“I was confident I could help the mother deliver her twins early. Confident I could help keep them alive until they were big enough to suckle and survive outside the bubble I created. I’d done it dozens of times before.

It was second nature to me—like breathing.

I barely had to think about how to conjure such magic. ”

A tear slid down her cheek, and she batted it away quickly.

My heart pinched for her. Something had gone terribly wrong.

I reached out a hand to her, but she refused to take it. “They all died, Lady Dawn,” she whispered. “Both babies … and the mother.” Her face contorted in agony, and my stomach dropped.

This was why she had gone into hiding. This was why she had stopped healing.

Still, she was my only chance. “Do you know what happened?” I asked gently.

She nodded. “I think so. When I create the bubbles babies need to survive, I tie them to the mother’s energy.

It’s the only way to sustain them. Even though it’s my magic, the mother powers it.

But I didn’t know the mother was sick. She was too weak.

I was so focused on the babies that I neglected her, and they all perished. ”

Relief washed over me at her explanation. I was heartbroken for that mother and her children, but that wasn’t going to be my fate.

“Eowyn, look at me.”

She lifted her gaze, and the agony in her eyes was nearly unbearable.

“That won’t happen with us,” I said firmly. “I’m a royal princess of Faerie, and I have self-healing magic. I’m not sick. If I do become sick, my body heals much faster than the average fae. I’m strong, and if you tie these babies to my energy, I promise you I can support them.”

“But it’s four babies,” she said cautiously. “It could weaken you tremendously, and if you were stressed or injured—”

“I’m strong,” I interrupted, my voice resolute. “And I’m not going to let anything happen to my children.”

I laid a hand on my enormous belly and held her gaze. Now that I knew their existence was tied to my ability to stay strong, that’s exactly what I would do. Stay strong.

“Will you help me?” I asked.

She hesitated but finally nodded, reluctantly. “What choice do I have? This is our only option.”

Just as she spoke, another contraction hit, and I buckled to the side, clutching my stomach in pain.

She hurried up behind me and placed a hand on my lower back. “Shhh, breathe through it.”

Soothing energy flooded my midsection, and I felt some of the tension ease. I relaxed a little, focusing on breathing through the contraction.

Peering up at her, I offered a weak smile. “Thank you.”

She nodded, her expression softening. “You are carrying the future lords of Ethereum. It’s a lot of pressure.”

I understood that, though part of me hoped there was at least one lady of Ethereum in there, too. But I wasn’t sure how that worked. In Faerie, royalty only had girls, while here in Ethereum, it seemed they only had boys.

“I promise. My husband will not blame you if this goes badly.”

She swallowed hard, her teal eyes shimmering with emotion. I felt a pang of guilt for the burden she carried, for the fear she clearly held close.

We had a plan now. All that was left was to execute it.

“Hang in there, my loves,” I said softly to my belly, resting both hands on its curve. “Mommy’s got you.”

But as I said the words, my mind wandered to Zane and Lorelei. None of this would truly matter if they didn’t succeed in destroying the curse.

Time was running out for all of us, and if they failed, everything—even this—would be lost.