Apparently I was wrong. Kah teenkah tunakan wasn’t peeved he didn’t have enough room to move. He liked it in there and he was staying.
My body just was done with him being there.
The problem was, as hard as I tried, as deep as I pushed, I couldn’t get the kid out.
And this had been going on a long time. Too long. I was worn right the fuck out.
I pushed with all I had left, which really wasn’t a lot, then gave up, my head falling back on the healer’s shoulder because I couldn’t hold it up anymore, my eyes losing contact with Lahn’s for the first time since this shit started (except, of course, when I closed them to push).
“Circe, my dear, please, please, push,” Diandra encouraged.
She was wandering the side of the bathing pool with Ghost prowling at her side, watching, wringing her hands and as the minutes passed, visibly moving from excitement, to minor freak out, to major freak out and now she was not hiding out and out panic.
“I can’t,” I whispered, the pain ripping through me, I couldn’t push and fight the pain at the same time. It just wasn’t happening.
“I must cut, my Dax,” the healer said quietly.
“Me,” Lahn growled fiercely.
“He is not coming,” the healer continued quietly, stating the obvious.
“Me!” Lahn barked and her arms tightened around me.
“My queen, please, you must push,” she whispered in my ear.
I nodded weakly, lifted my head and tried again. I had little left, I gave it all I could, squeezing my eyes tight and digging my heels in Lahn’s shoulders but nothing doing.
I collapsed back into the arms supporting me.
“My Dax,” the healer hissed urgently, “I must cut.”
“You cut, I lose my queen,” Lahn growled and I closed my already closed eyes tighter.
“Maybe I can sew her together, like she did the warrior,” the healer suggested.
Oh man. Primitive experimental surgery.
Fucking great.
“You will not cut,” Lahn growled again and I felt his fingers wrap tight around my ankles. “My doe,” he called, his voice soft, “give me your eyes.”
I fought the pain, pulled in breath and with effort lifted my head.
Then I stared at what I saw. It was a hazy stare but I saw it.
Yes, I definitely saw it. Clear and unhidden.
Lahn was scared.
“My tigress does not admit defeat,” he told me, his fingers tightening around my ankles. “My golden warrior never admits defeat.” My eyes closed slowly and his fingers gave me a squeeze so I opened them. “Push, baby,” he whispered.
He held my eyes and just like that day in our cham, something came over me, something I didn’t know I had, it surged through me, taking over and I gritted my teeth, nodded my head, closed my eyes, dug my heels in my husband’s shoulders and I pushed.
Hard.
Then again.
And again.
And a-fucking-gain.
“He crowns,” an assistant whispered.
“Praise the True Mother,” the healer breathed.
Then I pushed again.
And again.
“That’s it, my Circe,” Lahn encouraged, his fingers not curled around my ankles anymore but stroking deep into the flesh of my inner thighs, his arms wrapped around to do it.
So I pushed again and Lahn’s hands moved from me to between my legs as I felt him come.
“Oh Circe!” Diandra cried with delight.
“The king’s blade!” the healer called quickly.
I collapsed into my supporting arms as water splashed around me.
Hallelujah. He was out!
I licked my lips and rolled my head on the healer’s shoulder to see the last assistant was now in the water too and working with Lahn between my legs.
Then I heard his deep, now thick, voice call, “My Circe,” and I rolled my head back to see him holding up a perfect, tiny, black-fuzzy-headed baby boy.
And he was perfect. Absolutely. From the top of his fuzzy head to the tips of his baby toes.
He was also bawling his brains out.
I lost sight of my baby when the tears filled my eyes.
Then my body jerked and my scream pierced the air when new pain tore through my belly.
“Take the child!” the healer yelled and my body bucked then convulsed as pain washed anew, water splashed around me, people switched places and Lahn barked, “What is happening?”
After a few moments when my belly was prodded as was between my legs, the healer answered happily, “There comes another. Push my queen, push.”
Another?
I twisted my head to look at her as she positioned herself again behind me.
“Another? Another what?”
“You carry twins,” she told me, “push, my true golden queen.”
Twins?
My eyes shot to Lahn and I snapped, “Do you have twins in your family?”
He stared at me and ordered, “Circe, push.”
“Tell me!” I shrieked.
“Yes!” he clipped. “My father was birthed before his sister who shared his womb.”
Oh. My. God!
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I screeched.
“Circe, my love, push!” Diandra cried.
I glared at Lahn.
Then I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes, dug my heels into my king’s shoulders (hard) and I pushed.
My daughter slid out easily.
She had golden fuzz on her head.
* * * * *
I felt the bed move and my eyes drifted open about the time Lahn had settled tight to my side. I saw his head was up and he was nodding at someone so I turned my head and saw Diandra and the healer beside the bed, each holding a swaddled bundle.
Diandra bent first with my dark-headed son and rested him on my chest. The healer came second, laying my golden-headed daughter close next to her brother. At the same time, Lahn’s arm closed around his newborn children as well as me and mine moved around my babies.
Diandra and the healer moved silently away, the door closing behind them.
My eyes went to Lahn when I felt his lips brush my temple then the bed moved as he shifted and I watched as he touched his lips to each fuzzy head.
And, incidentally, with each touch of his lips, my heart melted.
His head came up and his face came close to mine.
Then he declared in his soft, sweet voice, “I name him Tunahn, the horse. As my father named me after the tiger god, proud, fierce and cunning, I name our warrior after the horse god, strong, clever and loyal.”
There it was, that was Dax Lahn, naming our kid without even asking what I thought.
Though, I kind of liked “Tunahn” and I definitely liked the reasons he chose it.
“Now, kah teenkah tunakanahsa,” he whispered. “What do you name our daughter?”
