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I sen gathered Melvian in his arms and fled while Maris followed him close behind. Now she would have taken the time to call the town’s healer to help her out. But this was Melvian, and she was sure she wouldn’t allow anyone but her best friend and mate to be in the same room as she delivered the babies. Running through the busy streets deepened her anxiety. Having the babies now would probably delay their trip, but there was nothing they could do.

Once they reached the inn, Isen didn’t even turn to look at the dumbfounded innkeeper, while Maris ran up the stairs, two steps simultaneously.

Melvian was already on her back in bed, squeezing Isen’s hand in her white knuckled grasp. Maris was sure the captain was losing circulation in his fingers, but his face showed nothing but love and adoration for her best friend. It made her miss Valda, as she took off the holster and placed the trident near the door.

“See? I told you having sex would do this,” Maris said while pulling her hair back in a ponytail and trying to lighten the mood but received a glare from Melvian.

“Get them out!”

“In a moment,” Maris said as the door opened to the innkeeper.

“The inn is closed. No one comes in unless it is an emergency, understood?” Maris’s voice never quivered. The innkeeper stood motionless as she watched the scene unfold. It wasn’t until Maris turned and faced her angrily that the poor girl reacted with a soft squeak and a shake of her head .

“I need a bucket of water, a basin, and towels,” Maris said before turning to Melvian.

Melvian’s pained moan filled the room as the door clicked, prompting Isen to move closer. “Breathe. You got this.”

“Keep talking to her,” Maris said as she waited for the innkeeper to come back with what she asked for. The young woman called from outside the room, and Maris opened the door, and allowed her to set everything where Maris instructed.

Maris dismissed the girl, who left promptly, closing the door behind her.

Maris grabbed a wooden stool and sat at the foot of the bed with the basin and towels. She washed her hands, patted them dry, and spread her friend’s legs. She worked her way in and let out a shuddering breath, making Isen’s brow arch.

“Is there a problem?”

“No problem.”

Maris wouldn’t admit she was nauseous and nervous. As her hands moved, she noticed Melvian was already dilated, which meant she had been having those contractions for a while now and was hiding them from everyone.

“You are completely dilated. How long have you been having these contractions?” She tried to hold her anger, but she couldn’t help but let it slip as she addressed her best friend.

“Don’t know! Don’t caaaare!” Melvian shouted, the last syllable escaping as a pained scream. “Fuck, this is way worse than I imagined!”

Isen was on the brink of tears. If Maris didn’t know any better, she was sure he was feeling exactly everything Melvian was feeling now. Poor Isen , Maris thought before taking a deep breath.

“All right. You know exactly what to do. Let’s start with the breathing—“

“I know! I know, I know!” Melvian bellowed, throwing her head back and screaming at the ceiling.

“Hold on to me, Melvian,” Isen whispered.

”I fucking am. Can’t you see it!?”

Maris placed a towel underneath Melvian before she spoke. “Baby one is already in position, and he wants out!” Maris said, raising her eyes to meet her friend’s. She gave Melvian a warm smile, sweat already dousing her brow. “At the count of three, I want you to take a deep breath and push. Can you do that for me, Melvian?”

“Yes! Gods, yes! Just get them out of me!”

“You are doing so well, Melvian.” Isen whispered, moving strands of dark hair away from Melvian’s sweaty forehead .

“One, two, push!”

Melvian’s scream filled the entire room and seeped into the halls through the cracks of the old inn. Isen’s encouraging words, as well as Maris’ countdown, blended with the panting and screaming from the young healer.

Maris instructed her to push again, and as she did, her screams turned into wails. Maris moved her hand over the stomach, feeling the baby move as Melvian pushed, and before she knew it, Maris could already see the baby’s head.

“Baby one is crowning. Let’s go! Push!”

Melvian closed her eyes tightly, her chin tucked into her chest, her legs spread apart, and her hand clinging to Isen’s red hand with a white-knuckle grip. She pushed, her groans escalating into a cry before she stopped, took a deep breath, and pushed again.

She stopped only to regain her breath and to blame Isen for getting her pregnant when war had been unleashed on the kingdom, yet Isen did not seem fazed by her words. His eyes sparkled with unspoken admiration as he watched on. A minute went by, filled with yells, screaming, encouraging whispers, and silent strokes, until another distinctive scream filled the room. It was the sound of a new life, change, and a new beginning—The cry of a baby.

“Baby one out!” Maris announced, gathering the baby in her arms. She took in the tiny arms, legs, the round, swollen face, and the loud crying. Brushing the towel over the little legs, Maris took a quick peek and beamed, ecstatic. “It’s a girl!”

Melvian released the breath she was holding and leaned her sweat-drenched forehead to Isen’s temple. “A girl!” she cried, while Isen struggled to keep his composure.

“A girl,” Isen whispered, watching Maris intently as she brushed the blood away to reveal a deep shade of aqua hair. “A blue-haired girl,” he sobbed before crawling his way to Maris.

“Yes,” Maris cooed, holding on to her emotions as she finished cleaning the infant before giving her to Isen to adore.

As he had the wailing baby in his arms, Maris pulled a small pair of scissors. She instructed Isen to cut the umbilical cord, which he did, in a daze, as if not believing the miracle unfolding before him. Maris could only imagine how both were feeling. If Isen was in the Elysian fields, holding his baby girl, she was sure Melvian was feeling the emotions pouring from her mate .

Maris smiled as she admired the baby’s small face and Sealian features before turning to her friend. “How are we doing, Melvian?” Maris asked, patting Isen’s shoulder before turning her attention to her best friend.

Melvian gave her a weak smile, yet she had enough energy to give her a thumbs up, leaving Maris in a state of wonderment at how strong she was. “Easy pea—ah fuck!” Her grip on the bed sheet tightened. “Number two wants out. Can’t momma get a breather?”

Isen didn’t waste a second. With the crying child in his arms, he scurried to Melvian’s side and offered her another hand for her to grip. Admiring their newborn daughter would have to wait when baby number two was just as eager to enter the world.

“All right!” Maris settled back between Melvian’s legs. She pulled the bloody towel from underneath Melvian and replaced it with a clean one, washed her hands again, and replaced the dirty water. “Baby two! Here we go!”

Once again, Melvian’s face contorted with pain, her hand grasping Isen’s hand while he, with his free arm, held their baby girl close to his warm chest.

Maris felt Melvian’s stomach and ensured the baby was aligned, but her heart dropped as she touched the top side of her stomach. Her blue eyes rose to look at her friend, whose eyes were tightly shut. Isen was the one that noticed Maris’ expression.

“What is it?” His breath hitched as he frowned.

Maris didn’t answer right away. Instead, she continued touching the stomach, pushing, and massaging until he asked her again. She locked her eyes with his and sighed before saying, “Baby two is breached.”

Isen frowned deeper. “What does that mean?”

“Fuck!” Melvian wailed.

“It’s not in position!” Maris yelled, her hands trembling, doubtful of what to do next.

This was exactly what she feared. She got comfortable thinking things would continue to go smoothly, but now she was dealing with a life-or-death situation for Melvian and the second baby.

“Maris!” Melvian shifted her position, looking down at her best friend. Tears ran freely down her cheeks, and even though Maris wasn’t mated to this woman, she could feel the pain and dread pouring out of her. “You know what to do. I taught you.”

“It’s dangerous! The pain would be too much. I have nothing to give you that will help you manage the pain!”

“It doesn’t matter, I can handle it! Please! ”

Maris shook her head, gripped the white towels on her lap, and bit her lower lip in frustration. “I can’t.”

“You can and you will.” Melvian looked up at Isen, her face growing paler by the second. “I need you to find something for me to bite down on. Put the baby on the pillows, go.”

She released him as he scurried to place their baby girl on top of the pillows at the head of the bed. Once the baby was safe, he pulled off the sleeve of his tunic and rolled it up. He then carefully tilted her head and placed the piece of fabric in her mouth for her to bite down on.

“What are you going to do?” Isen asked Maris, yet his attention did not detach from his mate.

Maris took a deep breath, washed her hands again for good measures, and chanted a brief prayer to Asclepius.

“Maris?”

“I need you to hold her down.” She finally answered, “I am going to go in and move the baby…”

“Move the baby? As in—“

“Yes, Isen!” Maris sighed and gritted her teeth. “When I give you the word, hold her.”

She didn’t want to scream, but the poor man was completely clueless about what was about to happen, and right now, Maris needed him to be as alert as possible.

Giving a small countdown, Maris exerted considerable pressure on Melvian’s stomach. At first, Melvian groaned while Isen’s eyes were glued to her. He seemed collected, calm, and focused, so Maris continued her ministrations until Melvian’s groan turned low.

“She is in pain,” he fussed. “She is in pain; do something.”

“I am!” Maris snarled as she applied more pressure, fearing the pain would be too much for Melvian to handle. She couldn’t faint when she needed to push to deliver the second child. “Melvian, I need you to push.”

Melvian nodded weakly, her hands finding Isen and holding on for dear life. Maris gave another short countdown, and just as Melvian pushed, a rumbling racket on the outside of the inn caught their attention.

Isen and Maris snapped their eyes at the only window in the room. As much as Maris wanted to know what was going on outside, her focus needed to be on Melvian and the baby’s delivery. As another contraction hit and Melvian spit out the towel Isen had given her, the sound of screams and chaos filtered into the room .

“Something is happening out there!” Isen yelled.

“You are not leaving. You are staying right here,” she ordered. Maris couldn’t do this alone. “Come on, Melvian! Push!”

“I fucking am!” Melvian shrieked, and as she doubled up on her efforts and pushed past the pain, the bedlam noises outside grew.

Minutes passed like an eternity. As the screams outside deafened the ones inside the chamber, a peculiar gasp of wonderment silenced everything around them. A sob, a sigh, and finally, what all three wanted to hear, the second baby’s cries.

Melvian slumped on the bed while Isen stood to get a better view.

Maris wrapped the infant with a towel, cleaning its tiny legs, arms, and head and cutting the umbilical cord as fast as she could while the room was packed with outside noises. A quick inspection made Maris gasp in surprise.

A boy, a dark-haired boy!

“Is everything all right? Please tell me everything’s all right,” Isen begged, falling to the ground on his knees, his hand still clutching Melvian’s.

Maris nodded frantically before lowering to the ground as well and handing the wailing baby to his father. “It’s a boy,” she whispered and couldn’t help but drink up Isen’s expression of shock, bewilderment, and pure unadulterated love.

“A boy?! Just like—”

“Just like you and Eyphah,” Maris said, patting Isen’s beard-covered face and then standing up.

She headed to Melvian’s side, kneeled beside her, and touched her cheek sweetly. The color was coming back to her. That was good. “Melvian?” She called her friend.

Melvian’s eyes fluttered open, giving Maris a weakened grin before signaling with her thumb. She was okay, tired, but okay. Glory be to Asclepius . Maris swallowed hard and pressed her trembling lips to Melvian’s sweaty forehead.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and ready,” Maris said as she moved back between Melvian’s legs and the basin and getting rid of the aftermath of delivery.

As the racket outside grew, the softness and love pouring inside the bedroom were enough to deafen everything. Isen didn’t wait a second to place their two newborns on Melvian’s lap as Maris helped the babies latch onto each of Melvian’s breasts.

Taking a step back, Maris took in the spectacle before her as Isen lay down next to his mate, petting the baby girl’s blue locks and looking over his son’s black tufts. It wasn’t until Maris heard a loud knock that she was pulled away from the scene. The door slammed open, and an injured Cain moved in, blood covering his left eye.

Maris panicked, and so did Isen, who stood from the bed and got between the young Sealian guard and his mate.

“We need you out there!” Cain yelled.

Maris froze, and Isen moved to touch her shoulder, grounding her.

“They are here.”