“Xylo”—my voiced cracked—“is there nothing else we can do? I don’t think I can take much more...” My voice died, so I added mentally, “How much longer do you think it will be? Is there any sign of anything happening yet?”
Xylo wrung his hands as his vines writhed in agitation. “Nothing. There is no dilation. No sign your cervix has even softened in preparation. I see the cubs have moved, but we do not know if that indicates anything. It does not look as it did in the medical text—perhaps because they are not fully human...”
He and Chyox removed the scanner and headed back over to join the other healers at the sink. Xylo turned his focus on another case and started rummaging through it. I tuned out again as all four healers began a technical discussion. Far too much medical jargon to follow.
Another round of contractions had me nearly passing out. I caught the trailing edge of a panicked thought Odelm sent to Xylo before my mind blanked from the pain. As I came to, I saw the princes had moved to the tub. They were sitting across from us as they studied the room. Their vines and tentacles were tightly intertwined as though they were comforting one another.
“Is there anything we can do?” V’dim asked.
“Surely there is something else that can be done?” Z’fir demanded at the exact same moment, gesturing to me. “Selena will not be able to keep this up much longer. Is there any way to speed things up? Or a medical procedure to remove the cubs?”
I groaned as another contraction started. Odelm massaged my shoulders as the room focused on Xylo, waiting for his answer. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the soothing massage, though tears leaked from the corner of my eyes from with sharp pain of the contractions.
As I tried to drag in another deep breath, a sob emerged. Odelm started humming, sending a gentle vibration from his chest to my back. The other Ulax increased the strength of their calming blanket, but it wasn’t enough, and I could see V’dim starting to feel the strain from the effort.
“Medically, we cannot see anything wrong. The data from her medical bracelets, all her vitals, the scans... we cannot find anything amiss. But I do not know if there is something we are not aware of—we simply know so little about human pregnancy! It certainly seems the cubs should have arrived by now. And her vitals are starting to reflect the stress of the prolonged pain and lack of rest or adequate food—"
Odelm broke in, “Can you not see how much pain she is in, nestbrother? There must be something else we have not tried!”
I could practically hear Xylo swallow from across the room. Then he squared his shoulders as though needing to prepare himself, force himself to continue. He sighed, then said in a quiet voice, “There is only one other possibility mentioned in the homeopathic texts... Male ejaculation contains a hormone, something called prostaglandin, that it was claimed could induce labor. When introduced prior to dilation, the texts claimed it helps stimulate and soften the cervix. And female arousal, then orgasm, release oxytocin which can blunt the pain as well as possibly aid the effects of the prostaglandin.”
He paused, glancing uneasily around the room.
“Most of the Children have the same basic hormones. I did not want to mention this as an option, because clearly, Odelm and I are not biologically capable of helping in this way until she starts ovulating again. The only option would be one of you—which would mean a courting bond and Selena immediately making that bond permanent. She would have to take another nestmate. And even then, there is no guarantee that it will hurry her labor along or reduce her pain. It is a greater sacrifice than I was willing to suggest either she—or any of you—make.”
Silence fell in the room.
Another wave of contractions hit, and I squeezed my eyes closed as I struggled to breathe through the pain. Oh Stars... I was never doing this again. Ever. As the pain passed, I collapsed in Odelm’s embrace and opened my eyes.
Everyone was focused on me with a variety of different looks on their faces. The princes seemed conflicted. Chyox looked between Xylo and me in horror, while the other two healers appeared confused.
When my eyes roamed to Kaede, still leaning against the far wall, he stepped forward.
“I could do it.” He brushed his hair back. “I mean, I could try. I don't even know if it is possible for me to become aroused. My half-sisters said something about needing another to help them, that it wasn’t something we could control on our own.”
He surveyed the room.
“At the least, we know I’m not Circuli, so there would be no need for Selena to take a nestmate not of her choosing. And no one else in this room would be pressured to permanently bond with her.”
Kaede stepped up to the edge of the tub and turned his visor directly to me. “Plus, I’m supposed to keep you safe. This is my responsibility. It’s our fault for not finding any safe drugs that could help—that we know are safe. But this decision is up to you, Selena.”
A shocked murmur traveled the room, and I felt Odelm tense beneath me. I was conflicted.
I was exhausted and the pains kept getting worse. They were already nearly as bad as most of what I remembered experiencing at the Yaarkins’ hands—though I had been unconscious for the worst of their torture.
But more than that, I was beginning to worry for my cubs. They had been moving around quite a bit earlier but had grown very still the last few hours. What would I do if something happened to them and I hadn’t tried everything we could think
