Page 28 of Princess (Marinah and the Apocalypse #5)

King

Eagle, Alden, and Rodrigo waited outside the med bay. They stood against the hallway walls. I couldn’t stop my smile even if I wanted to.

“The princess of the Shadow Warriors has arrived,” I said after taking two steps from the room.

A cheer went up. Eagle hugged me. Rodrigo shook my hand and said congratulations in Spanish. Alden slammed his palms into my back.

“The islanders are waiting for news,” Rodrigo said. “May I tell them?”

“Yes.”

He began walking away, then stopped and turned. “You know she will be spoiled?”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “Mostly by her father.”

“How is Marinah?” Alden asked.

“She’s fine now. Her Nova made an appearance, giving us a few tense minutes, but the rest went smoothly. The shrapnel caused no harm to the baby.”

Eagle’s expression changed. “When are we putting an end to this?”

I knew exactly what he was asking. “As soon as Marinah is healed we will move forward. It’s past time to fight for peace.”

Our families had to be safe. With the Federation in control, it would never happen. I also suspected if they weren’t already pushing around the rest of the surviving world, it would happen soon.

Marinah and the baby were moved into our room a few hours later. They were both sleeping now. We hadn’t named the baby, but we would discuss it again after Marinah rested.

There was a soft knock on the door. I opened it and saw Beck. I quietly entered the hall and closed the door behind me.

“One casualty,” Beck said. “It was one of Rodrigo’s men. A hellhound bit him, and he died shortly after.”

I was furious that the hellhounds evaded our search.

“We know what Knet’s assignment was,” Beck continued.

“There was a hidden tunnel a mile from the shipyard. Who knows how long he’s been collecting hellhounds.

Some of the debris was cleared and the men could see holding cells.

Small detonations were used to free them.

They tend to head towards water and we think that’s what drew them to the shipyard. ”

It didn’t make sense.

Beck stared at me and gave his next news. “A human detonated the charges.”

My eyes burned. “Is he alive?” I asked.

“Alive and terrified.”

“Do not kill him. Place a guard outside the room. I’m not leaving Marinah tonight. Tomorrow will be soon enough.”

“Do you want guards on your room?” Beck asked.

I smiled, showing my very human teeth. “If someone tries to hurt Marinah or our child, they will die violently, so no, we will be safe.”

“We are still on high alert. No one will get to this room,” Beck promised.

I nodded and went back to sit and watch my mate and child.

A little girl. Her eyes were blue like mine, but her face was all Marinah. She weighed sixteen pounds and still looked entirely too small. I was a father. This was something I thought would never happen. Too much fighting and killing for so long.

I passed out in the early morning hours. When the baby stirred, light was just coming through the window. Marinah woke instantly.

“She’s wet,” Marinah said at the exact moment the baby let out a loud cry that built even though Marinah picked her up.

“And hungry,” I said. “I’ll grab a diaper.”

The women on the island had brought baskets of cloth diapers with lanolized wool wraps to go over them to keep the cloth from leaking.

They explained the diapering process to Marinah, so I simply handed her the diaper.

She looked at it for a second before taking the old one off.

The baby screamed throughout the process.

Her tiny legs stiffened while the old diaper was removed.

Marinah seemed to have a difficult time, and I had no idea how to help.

The baby’s cries grew louder and her lower lip trembled. She had a good, strong set of lungs. As soon as she was dry, Marinah brought her to her breast. The screaming stopped, though soft, heartfelt whimpers continued. I lay down beside them.

“We need a name,” I said.

“I truly thought she would be a he,” Marinah said with a sigh. “I had a dozen male names chosen. Did you think of girl names?”

“Not a one,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to test fate.”

“We can wait. The perfect name will come to us when we know more about her personality.”

“That works for me.” I touched my daughter’s cheek with the back of my finger. “She’s so soft. It’s hard to believe she wasn’t here yesterday.” I rubbed her cheek again. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired, but not too sore. I really want a shower.”

“After feeding, I’ll hold her, and you can take your time. Food should arrive soon.”

Marinah laughed. “I don’t think I’ve gone this long without thinking about food since I became pregnant.”

“You can eat before the shower.”

“No, shower first. A mountain of food afterward. The hellhounds attacked us from behind, and they shouldn’t have been on the island. Have you discovered anything?”

I told her about the Federation soldier on lockdown and how the hellhounds escaped detection.

“When are you going to question the soldier?” she asked.

“He’ll wait for as long as we need him to.”

“The sooner the better. He might know about their future plans.”

“They’re always planning something,” I said. Frustration laced through the words.

She took my hand and squeezed my fingers. We would face whatever they threw at us together.