Page 24 of Singing the Dragon’s Heart

Chapter

Twenty-Four

R eno paced with Kami when he paced. He floated in the big tub with Kami when he wanted to be in the tub. And now he held Kami while he lay in the bed.

How long could this take?

Okay, he’d been there for his friends when their hailees had given birth, and he knew how much time could pass in this agony of purgatory.

But he wanted Kami to get through it fast.

Kami was panting, his body draped over his back, belly like a stone against his spine. He could feel it, the tight muscles rolling as they worked to birth this baby.

“Love you.” Reno would take it all in a second. In an absolute second.

“Isn’t he done yet?” Talon’s voice boomed out. “He’s taking forever.”

“Oh fuck you, asshole!” Kami laughed though. “Who let you in?”

Talon appeared at the door, his eyes covered with his hand. “Rowan. I’m not looking, but you know that I can hear you screaming, right? Get with the program.”

“You’re an asshole!” Kami bellowed, his belly clenching hard against him. “Reno? Reno, something’s wrong.”

“Get Rowan,” he snapped, turning to grab Kami and look at his belly. The baby’s head was there, wet and a dark blue. “Fuck. Now!”

“Going. Going.” Talon began to run, and Reno tried to decide whether to panic or not.

“I need to push.”

“You should wait.”

“Shut up! I can’t!”

Well, he guessed he should get ready to catch. “Let me grab a clean towel. I’d like to note that I am not a midwife.”

“You’ll do in a pinch.” Kami’s cheeks were bright red, his hailee clearly in distress.

“I know. I can do this. I’ve done way worse.” But he might die. This was—This was his mate’s insides… And his baby.

“The stone!”

“What?” The last thing he needed right now was for Kami to feel a new stone singing to him.

“The stone! The blue stone. The one I pulled out of the rock. Get Tal to bring it.”

“Talon!”

“Rowan is getting food!”

“I don’t care. Bring the big blue rock from the baby’s room! She’s coming!”

“She’s what?”

He roared, sparks flying as his voice snapped with the command of years and years of running missions. “Miranda is COMING! Big! Blue! Rock!”

“Right on.”

Kami sobbed softly. “Hurry. Please. Tell him to hurry.”

“I’m on it, hailee. You just hold your shit together for me.” He had this. He was a warrior. He would be the first one to hold their daughter and bring her into this world, dammit.

Talon came in, the huge aquamarine in his hands. As soon as he entered the room, the stone began to glow, and Kami screamed.

“Right on. Let’s do this. Talon, hold Kami’s shoulders for me. Take the stone with you.”

“Are you sure?”

He glared over. “You want to catch the baby?”

“Fuck no.”

“Then move!”

“On it.”

Talon rolled Kami up, Reno put his hand under Miranda’s head and waited. “Okay, hailee. Whenever you’re ready, push. We got this.”

Kami looked down at him with a wild grin. “We so do.”

“I love you, Kami.”

“Love you too, braaken.”

“Now. Push.”

Kami pushed, the sound coming from him in this amazing roar, and Reno groaned, wanting to ease his mate’s pain. Needing to.

“That’s good, Kami,” Rowan said. He had come back pretty quickly. “Very good. Breathe for a moment while you’re between contractions. Then we do it again.”

Kami nodded, and Reno wanted to wince and not watch, because pushing hurt his hailee so badly. But Kami pushed, bearing down, his cries making Reno want to smash things.

“That’s it, Kami. We’re so close. Your baby girl dragon is ready to come out and meet you.” Rowan had this way of encouraging and supporting and not making someone want to punch him in the face.

“I need this baby out!” Kami yelled at him, and he nodded, eyes wide.

“I know, love. I know. I—Can I do anything, Rowan?” He couldn’t just yank their daughter out.

“Sing to her.”

“I’m a shit singer.”

“No, asshole, he means in your mind. Like how you can hear her!”

“Right.” Reno put a hand on Kami’s back and hummed, deep in his heart. Come on, little one. Come meet us. We love you so much.

“That’s it, Reno. Kami, you’re doing amazing. Here she comes!” Rowan was so excited, he could tell, and then a blinding light in bright blue surrounded them before the wail of their baby sounded.

“Look at the stone!” Talon yelled, and he glanced at it. It was pulsing with blue light, but Reno was way more concerned with his hailee and baby.

“Kami?”

“I just need to rest.” Kami’s breath started to slow, and he was blinking hard.

“Rowan?”

“Your baby girl is fine, and Kami is strong. We just need to clean him up and let him rest.”

Relief hit him like a hammer blow to the chest. “Thank you.”

“You can help.” Rowan told him what to do, and they cut the cord and got Kami all cleaned up. By the time that was over, Miranda had bonded with her very large, very blue stone. It matched her scales.

“Look at her, love,” Reno said when Rowan handed him Miranda. “Look what you did.”

Kami opened his eyes, smiling at them. “She’s gorgeous. She’s blue.”

“Uh-huh. Something you want to tell me?” Reno teased.

“Ask Boone and Durango,” Kami shot back.

“Evil hailee.” He moved around so he could prop Kami up and put Miranda in his arms. “You did it.”

“We did it, braaken. Together.”

“We’re good that way,” Reno murmured.

“The best together.” Kami tilted his face up for a kiss. “Will you put her down when she’s ready, babe? I’m so tired.”

“I’ll keep her safe. Talon wants to feed her.”

“Of course.” Kami’s eyes drifted shut. “He’s a good…guy…”

He fell asleep, and for a long while, Reno just sat there, holding all that was most precious to him in his arms. Then Miranda started to fuss.

And then it was time for him to dad up and feed that baby.