Kai Drakon's Arc

Chapter 17 of 30

The months passed the way Kai had learned to count them: by Azure's shape, by the food she could keep down, by the nights she slept curled against him with one of his hands on her stomach. The midwife came twice and left satisfied both times. Azure kept working the field until she couldn't bend, then she sat on the porch and shelled beans while Kai carried the baskets. The nursery stopped being empty. A crib went in. A stack of folded cloth. A small wooden dragon Kael had carved and dropped off without a word. She woke him before dawn with her hand tight on his wrist. "Kai." He was already sitting up. "It's time." He pulled on his jeans and his jacket and went for the midwife. He came back with the elf woman who had confirmed the pregnancy months before. She moved through the cavern like she had built it, setting water to boil, laying cloth on the bed, telling Azure when to breathe and when to stop. Kai stayed at the head of the bed. Azure gripped his hand hard enough that he felt the ring press into his knuckles. Her tail curled around his calf and stayed there. She didn't cry out much. She swore once, low, and the midwife laughed. "Good," the midwife said. "Angry is good." Hours went by. Kai wiped Azure's forehead with a damp cloth. He kissed her horn between contractions. He fed her sips of water. He did not leave the room. "Talk to me," Azure said, between breaths. "About what." "Anything." So he told her about the pasture in summer, about the goats, about the first time he saw her at the tavern and knew he wasn't leaving. She closed her eyes and listened and squeezed his hand at the parts she liked. The midwife told her to push. Azure pushed. Kai counted with her. The midwife's hands were quick and sure. Azure bore down one more time and the room changed. A cry. Small and furious. "A boy," the midwife said. She wrapped him and set him on Azure's chest. He had a fringe of dark hair and two soft nubs at his temples, pale blue. A thin tail, orange as a coal, curled against Azure's arm. Azure looked at Kai. Her eyes were wet and steady, the same as the night she'd said the word pregnant. "He's ours," she said. "He's ours." Kai touched the baby's foot. The baby closed a hand around his finger and did not let go. The midwife cleaned up and left them. Azure fed the baby. Kai watched them both and did not move from the bed. After a long while Azure spoke without looking up. "You have to name him." "Me?"