“See to the Queen,” I growled at Clara. “She needs to pass the afterbirth.”
“Wait!” Clara stopped me before I started another round. “You're giving the babe breath? I can do that with magic.”
I pushed Clara away impatiently and bent over the baby again. I didn't have time to explain how it had to be done precisely. I needed to concentrate on pumping that little heart before the air essence inside it decided to return to its source.
“I can do that!” Clara pushed me back. “If all the child needs is air, I am more than capable of giving it to her.”
“All right,” I growled. “But only when I say and not too much; her lungs are tiny.”
“I am thousands of years old, Queen Vervain. I can manage precision.”
“Now!” I shouted at her.
Clara held her hand over the baby's lips and a gentle wind pushed into the body, lifting the little chest. I started pushing again but before I made it to three, one of the greatest sounds I've ever heard echoed through the room; the feisty squall of the new Princess of Air.
I sobbed in relief and bent over the baby, smoothing the gunk away from her blinking eyes. They were green like her mother's. A shade darker than Viper's. Breana, Fionn, and Clara all echoed my relief. Then the Air King kissed his wife before he hurried over to kneel beside me.
“She's alive,” Fionn whispered. “My daughter lives.”
“She lives, my King,” Clara said as she cleaned the child off with a few waves of her hand. The dried wings fluttered against the floor.
“Thank you,” Fionn sobbed. “Thank you both.”
“I wouldn't have known to breathe into the Princess' mouth. I thought she was already dead,” Clara admitted. “Thank Queen Vervain, not me.”
“You did what you could,” I protested. “And you helped once you knew what to do.”
“And I will pass that knowledge on to every midwife I know,” Clara vowed.
“Will someone please bring me my daughter?” Breana asked anxiously.
“One moment, my Queen,” Clara said brightly as she swaddled the crying child in her own wings before wrapping her in a fresh blanket. The warmth seemed to help, and the baby calmed into random gurgles. “King Fionn, it's my great honor to present you with your daughter.”
Clara held the baby up to her father, and the Air King took her proudly. Fionn laid his forehead to the baby's as he stood, a single tear trailing down onto the child, and then took her to her mother. Carefully, as if she were made of glass, Fionn laid his daughter gently in his wife's arms. Clara discreetly cleaned the Queen with a few hand waves as the Royals of Air welcomed their daughter into the world.
I got to my feet and watched the new family with a soft smile. “It would be good if you could feed her soon,” I suggested. “I'm going to leave you to do that privately. But I just want to say congratulations first. She's beautiful.”
“Queen Vervain,” Breana said brokenly as she held a hand out to me, “thank you for saving my daughter's life. Her conception wouldn't have been possible without you changing the Fey and now, she wouldn't be alive without you. Thank you, and thank you, Faerie, for bringing Queen Vervain to us.”
You're very welcome, Faerie said. Queen Vervain had excellent timing.
“It was my pleasure to help.” I squeezed Breana's hand. “Do you have a name for her?”
“Eveline,” Breana said then kissed her daughter's cheek.
“It means; a child long wished for,” Fionn explained.
“It's perfect and beautiful. Welcome to Faerie, Princess Eveline,” I brushed a fingertip across her rosy cheek before I left with Clara. As I retreated to the outer room, I hissed in my head, If I had been just a few minutes late, that child would be dead.
Your destiny is rewriting itself, Faerie said smugly. It may not be the original plan, but it's shifting into something very similar.
Maybe next time, my destiny could try to not cut it so close, I muttered.
Faerie laughed gleefully.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
“Finally,” I declared as I fell back onto my bed.
The twins were off playing with Hunter, Deidre (Dexter's daughter), and Dexter. Arach and I had just finished getting an update on kingdom issues from Isleen. Nothing major had occurred in our absence so we were able to withdraw to our bedroom to decompress before lunch.
“I was exceptionally proud of you today, A Thaisce,” Arach announced as he climbed up beside me. “You saved that child's life, and you did it without the assistance of the elements. It's astonishing.”
“Clara used some air magic at the end, but I think the CPR would have worked without her. Magic isn't everything, Arach.”
“CPR,” he mulled it over, ignoring my comment about magic. “I think I've seen that procedure done in movies. That's when they shout at someone while pounding on their chest and then kiss them while holding the person's nostrils shut, correct?”
“Um... no.” I sat up and chuckled. “It involves blowing air into someone's lungs and then rhythmically compressing the chest. It pumps blood through the heart and air into the lungs until the person's heart starts beating and they can breathe on their own.”
“Breathing into them and pushing on their heart?” Arach asked. “I suppose that makes more sense, although I don't understand how it could work.”
“Sometimes, the body just needs a little help.” I stroked a hand down his cheek. “Just like the mind. A little nudge in the right direction.”
“I promised you that I'd bring you back,” Arach whispered; for once not sounding smug about an accomplishment. “I made you a vow and nothing was going to stop me from keeping it.”
“Not even me.”
“Especially not you. That was the point,” he agreed and then kissed me.
Arach jerked me against him suddenly, and I went with a sharp inhale that turned into a moan when he settled me over his lap. His erection pressed up against me insistently, and I couldn't
