“I was a bloodthirsty fool,” he said, looking away. “I left a mess that we would have had to answer for had any of it been real.”
“It will be a long time before I forget you standing in that doorway, Cat. You stopped Josiah cold.”
“Indeed I did,” Sath said, grinning. “Listen, Gin, about my…behavior lately…”
“Nope. Not gonna talk about that. I don't need you to -"
He shook his head. "Defend you? Is that what you were going to say, Gin?" Her eyes narrowed in anger. "I think you do-you need someone to defend you because no one ever has. That's okay—because I want to. I have to."
“Fair enough. You’re going to tell me a story once we find a place to camp because I am exhausted. A happy story,” she said.
“Yes ma’am, Nature Walker!” Sath said, grinning. Gin punched him playfully, laughing. After about another three-quarters of an hour, the landscape flattened, they found a tiny glen off to one side of the path. The pine trees grew very close together, and their boughs blocked out the rain and sun. Sath gathered some branches that had fallen and dried on the ground to build a small fire. Soon the moon was high in the sky, and the two were sitting on opposite sides of the glow. It was almost like being back with the Fabled Ones again—almost.
“So, a happy story, then?” Sath asked. Gin nodded. “I would like to tell you about the happiest day of my life, but I fear it will upset you.”
“Why would it upset me?”
“Because I want to tell you about the day that Khuj was born,” Sath said. “But it involves Annilanshi, and…”
Gin stopped his sentence by holding one finger up to her lips. “It’s okay, Sath. I may have hated Anni when she was alive, but I could not love Khuj more if he was my own son. I would love to hear about the day he came into our world. Please, tell me the story.”
“All right,” Sath said, “but if it makes you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me to stop, and I will.” He leaned toward the fire and her, locking his eyes on hers. “Gin, I did not truly love Annilanshi, not the way I love you. When she wasn’t playing the song that conjured the spell that charmed me on her lute, she hummed it. We were never without that tune. It was only after…well, I just want to make sure that you know that if it had been up to me…”
“I know, Sath, I do. Please, just tell me the story?”
“I had been out foraging plants and hunting for meat for our meal when Anni felt the first pangs that meant the cub was ready to be born…”
Anni had no idea what to do, so she rushed from her embassy home to the front gates of Qatu’anari, stopping periodically when the pain in her abdomen had become too much. “You must…tell First Wife…” she said in halting, hitching breaths to the first guard she saw, “that her…grandchild is about…to be born…” She fell to her knees, wailing in pain.
“Yes, Mistress Annilanshi!” the guard replied, taking off at a dead run toward the palace to alert the royal family. Luckily for her, the guard was a friend of Sath’s from the royal nursery as were many of the Sahi Kalah, and he recognized her on sight. She finally gathered the strength to stand, and began the slow walk back toward the house she shared with Sath.
As the former Prince of Qatu’anari drew close to his house, he saw Anni’s staggering steps as she struggled not to collapse in pain. “ANNILANSHI!” he shouted, dropping the bundles he’d brought back with him from hunting and running as fast as he could to her side. “What has happened? Is it the cub?” Anni nodded, unable to speak through the latest wave of contractions. Sath picked her up and hustling her into their home and then to their bedchamber. “What can I do?” he asked, his eyes darkening with worry.
Anni sank back into the cushions and pillows and sighed as the wave of pain crested and fell. “Just stay here, and please, can I have my lute? It helps me focus.” Sath immediately handed her the instrument, and she began to play. Soon another wave of agony hit, and she arched off the bed, nearly scratching Sath’s eyes out. She hissed and spit and said all manner of horrible things. Sath didn’t know what to do to help her, so he merely stood to one side of the room, taking her hand in his when she reached for him and then staying clear when she cursed him for causing this pain.
After what seemed like an eternity, an entourage from the palace arrived at their doorstep. Two midwives, Kazhmere, and First Wife Savra, were attended by a squad of Sahi Kalah. “You will not all fit in my home,” Sath said, annoyed at the display. “First Wife, apologies, but could you not have sent your midwives without all this fuss?”
“You used to call me Mama,” Savvy replied sadly. “And yes, I could have, but I want to meet my grandson on his birthday.” She leaned over to Sath and whispered, “So does his Aunt Kazhmere.” Sath narrowed his eyes at his mother but nodded, gesturing for them to enter the embassy. As the Sahi Kalah tried to enter, he stepped back into the doorway, blocking them out.
“Nope, not you. This is a birth, not a military installation.”
“But Highness…err…Sathlir, it is at your father…the Rajah’s command that we are here, and we may not leave until…” Sath roared in frustration.
“I don’t care what the Rajah commands. The closest you are going to get is out here in the grass, so get out of my doorway!” He slammed the door
