Page 31 of Princess (Marinah and the Apocalypse #5)
King
The baby slept while I studied her. I’d held other babies for a short time, but this was different. Marinah and I created her. She seemed so delicate. Too delicate. I knew she would grow strong but her vulnerability while she lay in my arms was jarring.
Protect baby .
Beast said it almost like a reverent whisper which was damned strange.
With our life , I assured him with more command than usual.
I swear he purred.
The baby’s smell seeped into my senses and my body tingled with a strange awareness.
Love rolled through me. The overwhelming urge to fight that usually surrounded me was missing.
I would protect my child at all costs, but the sense of calm I felt was strange.
The bloodlust I’d carried with me since the Federation betrayed my uncle was missing.
I stood carefully when a knock sounded at the door. The unique scent of flowers and herbs told me who was in the hall. I opened the door. Cosway looked at me before her gaze turned to the bundle on my shoulder.
“May I?” she asked and placed her hands out.
I’d almost killed this woman because I thought she was a man with half his screws loose.
The killing would have been a mercy. I wasn’t happy when I discovered she was indeed a woman.
But I was wrong. She’d helped Marinah find balance in the chaos that surrounded her after she went nova.
Cosway used meditation. I had laughed and shook my head at first. Now the Shadow Warriors embraced it.
In a way, meditation was similar to how the baby affected me and my beast.
I placed my child in her arms. She smiled down at her then turned and took a step down the hall. I grabbed her shoulder.
“I did not say you could take her away,” I said somewhat sternly.
Her eyes remained calm. “The Shadow wish to see Nikayla. It is my job to take her to them. They are safe and would not harm the child of the queen.”
Interesting. I looked at the sleeping baby’s face. The name Nikayla chimed through my brain. Very interesting.
“I will accompany you.” The baby was going nowhere without me or Marinah.”
“Of course,” Cosway said, almost like she had a say.
Beast didn’t grumble. His restraint was odd. Hell, the feelings I had were more than odd. I needed to question Marinah about these changes. I didn’t think Beck or Nokita would be much help. They had never said anything had affected them strangely after their children were born.
I followed Cosway to Marinah. I recognized one of the women immediately. The other was a stranger.
“King, I would like to introduce you to Endura and Amissa,” Marinah said.
The women bowed their heads slightly before looking me in the eyes. Beast didn’t grumble. Cosway handed the baby to Marinah and the woman named Amissa stepped forward. She placed one finger on the baby’s temple.
“Nikayla, not a God but the victory of the people,” she said softly and smiled.
That damned tingle happened again and Marinah actually jumped slightly. She turned to me, her eyes larger than normal.
“Amissa sees into the future and the future has named our daughter Nikayla.”
What could I say? I wasn’t sure I believed in someone’s ability to read the future but there was no denying our baby’s name.
“I made a promise to Labyrinth our child would be named after him,” Marinah said. “She can have more than one middle name if you would like to offer one.”
The Shadow Warriors had adopted one name when we joined the war against hellhounds. We had left our human identities behind.
“I wish the name to be Greystone.”
“Nikayla Labyrinth Greystone. It’s the perfect name,” Marinah said.
As soon as the words left her mouth, the tingle returned with more force. If the name appeared mysteriously on our child’s skin, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Slowly, the world returned to normal or as normal as it had been since Marinah entered my life.
“May I,” Endura asked.
Marinah handed Nikayla to her. Endura gently kissed her forehead then handed her to Amissa who did the same. The baby was then placed back in Marinah’s arms. I saw something in my mate’s eyes that surprised me.
Peace.