I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure he realized his attack coincided with your wedding day.” Then I shrugged again. “Of course, he did mention that he raided my memory bank, so maybe he did know.”
“He raided your memory bank?” Jolie repeated while studying me dubiously. “How do you know he isn’t raiding it right now?”
I shook my head. “I would have to open my mind to him in order for that to happen.” Her frown and ensuing expression suggested she didn’t understand me, so I continued. “As soon as he contacted me with the information that he was planning an attack, I closed myself off to him.”
Jolie nodded and dropped her eyes to the floor of the cave as she digested the new information. When she faced me again, her eyes seemed hollower. “Then all this time, you’ve been feeding Luce information by leaving your mind open to him?”
I inhaled deeply, but nodded once I realized there was nothing I could say to defend my actions. They were what they were. “I always considered myself loyal to Luce, and loyal to my tribe. I was your prisoner.”
“And what about now?” Jolie continued. “Is your mind open to him now?”
“No,” I replied immediately, hating the expression of pain that glossed over in her eyes. I never imagined it would be so difficult to admit to my treachery, especially when I was my sister’s prisoner.
Jolie nodded, but I could tell by the fire burning in her eyes that the conversation wasn’t yet over. “You always considered yourself loyal to Luce, and yet once he told you he was going to attack, you turned traitor?” I noticed that Sinjin didn’t say anything. He just leaned against the wall of the cave, maybe ten feet or so from us. It was fairly obvious that he was allowing us as much privacy as the confined quarters could offer, and I was grateful to him.
I shrugged and reminded myself of Jolie’s comment. “I guess people change.” I was quiet for a few seconds as I realized I wasn’t exactly expressing myself properly. “What it came down to was that I couldn’t hand you over to him. No matter the situation. No matter the circumstances. No matter the fact that we are both on opposite sides. I couldn’t do that to my own sister and I couldn’t do that to my niece or nephew,” I finished as I glanced at her belly.
Jolie didn’t say anything more, so we both stood there quietly, each of us just staring at the other. “Thank you,” she finally said as her voice hitched an octave. “Thank you for choosing me.”
I suddenly felt uncomfortable with the emotion hanging in the air between us. In general, I didn’t handle emotions and feelings very well because I wasn’t used to them. Lacking any training on how to deal with anything that wasn’t based in logic, I usually ignored my emotions or pushed them aside so I wouldn’t have to confront them. “I think it’s probably safe to say that I made this choice a long time ago,” I tried to explain. “I just never really voiced it to myself.”
Jolie nodded and grew quiet again as her attention returned to the ground. When she glanced up at me a few seconds later, I could see another question brimming in her eyes. “Do you know what Luce’s plan is?” The uncanny weight of Sinjin’s stare was on me as well.
“To bring you and me back with him,” I answered glumly. “To what end, though, I have no clue.”
Sinjin cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice. “I apologize for not believing you sooner,” he began, addressing me. Then he frowned before facing Jolie. “Had I listened to your sister and trusted her when she first approached me with this information, I could have acted faster.”
“You had every right not to trust me, Sinjin,” I interjected, hoping to avoid making him feel responsible for everything that had just happened. “You acted just as you should have,” I continued. “After all, I am your enemy, right?”
“You aren’t our enemy,” Jolie exclaimed as she turned to face the handsome vampire. “And, Sinjin, please don’t blame yourself.” Taking a deep breath, she sighed. “Now isn’t the time to discuss whom to blame anyway. We need to focus on the bigger picture—what we’re going to do now to make sure my people survive.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing we can do for them now,” I said resolutely. “Their fate lies in Rand’s hands.”
“Your sister is correct,” Sinjin added definitively. “We must focus on protecting you, my queen.”
“They were unarmed,” Jolie went on, as if she hadn’t heard either one of us. Her voice dissipated into the wet night air.
“I know,” I replied, unable to mask the sullen tone of my voice. “But hopefully, Rand was able to prepare them, at least a little bit?” The comment sounded completely inane even to my own ears, but I couldn’t help offering my sister a glimmer of hope, even if it was completely unfounded and far-fetched.
“Rand,” Jolie repeated as her voice broke. Even though I felt clumsy, I wrapped my arms around my sister and held her head against my chest. I tried to swallow the lump that was riding up my throat and decided there was a good reason I’d never dealt with emotions before—because they were pretty difficult to endure.
“He’s got Odran and the prophetess there to help him,” I whispered, searching for any sign of proof that Rand might be okay. “He’s also got the most powerful of the fae in Mathilda.”
Jolie shook her head and her subsequent tears drenched the front of my dress. “You know how powerful Luce is.”
I couldn’t argue with her because Luce was certainly the most powerful person I’d ever met. I swallowed and sighed heavily. There wasn’t anything more I could say. And there was no point in trying to offer meaningless comfort. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sell it. I was useless when it came to things like sympathy and consolation. Instead, I just held my sister and ran my hands through her hair, hoping that my ministrations would at least do something to comfort her.
Nearly reeling under the weight of his stare, I glanced up at Sinjin, and found him watching me intently. There was no expression on his face.
“Maybe I should try to reach out to Rand through our bond?” Jolie suggested, glancing up at me with newly found hope in her eyes. “Just to let him know I’m safe?”
“No,” I responded immediately and shook my head. “It’s too risky. Luce would be able to pick up on any conversations you both have right away.” I inhaled deeply and then exhaled, not enjoying being the bearer of bad news. “Just focus on yourself for right now, Jolie,” I offered. “You and I both know that that’s exactly what Rand would want you to do.”
She nodded and looked as if she were about to say something when she suddenly pushed away from me and bent over, gripping her stomach. “Oh, God!”
“What?” I demanded as my heart plummeted all the way down to my feet. “What’s wrong?”
But Jolie didn’t answer. Instead, she shook her head and an expression of utter pain completely overcame her face. She bent over, gripping her stomach. “The … baby,” she finally answered. Within a blink, Sinjin was at her side. She started to breathe in and out very quickly as she gripped Sinjin’s hand tightly. He gently assisted her, placing her onto the sandy floor of the cave where he’d already laid out his suit jacket.
“Please tell me this is just a bad case of indigestion or something,” I said in a panicked voice. Shaking my head, I briefly tried to convince myself that this really couldn’t be happening. Not in a cave, for God’s sake!
My sister didn’t respond, but continued to wince in obvious discomfort. She labored to breathe in for a count of three, and then out for a count of three. Somehow I didn’t think this was what indigestion looked like …
“The baby is coming,” Sinjin announced matter-of-factly. He directed his comment toward me, like I was the only one having a panic attack.
“What?” I replied while shaking my head harder and instinctively taking a few steps back. I nearly tripped over a stalagmite on the floor of the cave. “Now? No way! That can’t be right! The baby can’t be coming … NOW?” I exclaimed frantically, my voice revealing my horror. “Jolie, you aren’t d
ue today, right?”
Sinjin immediately started to laugh. “Bête Noire, babies are rarely, if ever, born on their due dates.”
“Okay, even so,” I started as I shook my head and then wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to face off with Luce after all.
“He’s … right,” Jolie managed between more facial winces and heavy breathing. “The … baby is coming.”
I didn’t say anything more. I commanded my panic to subside for a moment, in order to come up with a reasonable plan.
Babies are born in hospitals, I thought, so maybe we need to get Jolie to a hospital and a doctor’s care? Seconds later, I got angry at how ridiculous that concept was. A hospital? I nearly reprimanded myself aloud. Really, Bryn? We are stuck in the middle of a cave, you idiot! There’s no way we could make it to a hospital!
Well, then, maybe you could somehow find a doctor and bring him here? I asked myself, then shook my head and forced the ludicrous thought right back where it came from.
“Okay, I’m shit out of ideas,” I admitted helplessly.
“The situation is what it is,” Sinjin responded.
“That’s no help at all,” I said, ungrateful for his completely empty words.
Sinjin chuckled. “Inform me then, Princess, how I may be of help to you?”
“Hmm, well, for starters, can you deliver a baby?” I asked, spearing him with an expression that insisted his response be in the affirmative.
He chuckled again, this time more deeply as he turned to face me. “I might be considered a liability, my little paramour.”
“What? Why?” I asked, throwing my hands on my hips. My only goal now was to talk him into delivering Jolie’s baby because the very idea of having to deliver the baby myself terrified me.
“The … blood,” Jolie managed to sputter before she started breathing heavily again. She clenched her eyes shut and apparently suffered another conniption, or whatever those things were called.
“Ugh!” I groaned. The sad truth was that Sinjin couldn’t deliver a baby since there would be so much blood involved, and he was a vampire. So that left me. Yep, I would have to deliver Jolie’s baby. Me … someone who knew nothing at all about such things. And, furthermore, preferred to know nothing at all.
“I will help you through the beginning stages, my little assassin,” Sinjin started in a consoling voice. “Once I can no longer remain with you, I will talk you through the rest of the birth from outside the cave. That way, I will remain downwind and thusly, not pose any liability,” he finished.
“I suppose now you plan to tell me that you were a doctor once upon a time, in your few thousand years?” I asked.
“No, I was never a doctor,” Sinjin replied with an amused smile. “And I am merely beginning my sixth century on this planet, little imp, contrary to your beliefs.”
“So you were never a doctor, yet you know how to deliver babies?” I asked incredulously. The tone of my voice conveyed my disbelief.
“I believe it is safe to say that I know more than you do.”
“Good enough,” I answered succinctly. With a nod, I shook my hands out so I could feel my fingers again. Jolie and I looked at each other as we both took a few deep breaths. Then I attempted to mentally prepare myself for the situation I would soon be in.
“I know you … can do this, Bryn,” Jolie said. She faced me with an encouraging smile, which, just moments later, turned into another grimace.
“Well, that makes one of us,” I answered.
THREE
Four hours later, I was drenched in sweat even though it was pouring rain outside and frosty cold inside the cave. I was sweating because I was already exhausted after spending the last few hours buffering my sister in a cloud of warm air. I was trying to keep the chill inside the cave away from her, and it wasn’t an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. Relying on my magic for such a prolonged period of time was, in a word, exhausting.
Even though it was still dark outside, I assumed the morning was only mere hours away. That meant Sinjin would have to seek shelter from the sun. That is, of course, unless the rain continued. In that case, the dark storm clouds would probably do a good enough job at keeping the sun concealed so he wouldn’t be turned into a pile of ash. And ensuring Sinjin stayed in the flesh was definitely my preference; I needed all the help I could get.
We were now four hours into Jolie’s labor, but there still was no baby. According to Sinjin, however, this too was to be expected.
“I don’t understand why any woman in her right mind would willingly go through this,” I grumbled. Standing up, I stretched my arms above my head. My fingers were beginning to go numb due to the coldness inside the cave. There were goose bumps covering my entire body but I tried not to notice. Instead, I was content to know Jolie was as comfortable as her current situation would allow her. “Not that you aren’t in your right mind, Jolie,” I added, glancing back at her as I thought I should probably be more careful about what came out of my mouth. But she didn’t seem to notice since she was … preoccupied.
“That is because you do not possess one ounce of maternal instinct, Princess,” Sinjin said from where he kneeled beside Jolie’s head. He faced me and offered me an amused smile before glancing down at his wristwatch and gazing at my sister where she lay on the ground, her lower half facing me. “Your contractions are two minutes apart now, my queen,” he said in a soft, kind voice. “I believe the baby will make her appearance very soon.”
“Her?” Jolie asked with an exhausted smile. Her fatigued body started to shake with another contraction and her face went white again as she closed her eyes and sweat beaded all over her forehead.
“Yes, I imagine the little sprog will be a girl,” Sinjin smiled with a chuckle.
“Sprog?” I repeated.
“Pardon,” Sinjin replied. “That would be baby to you Americans.”
I wasn’t sure how she managed it, but Jolie laughed. “I’m looking forward to the day the so-called sprog asks Uncle Sinjin for a piggyback ride,” she said with a fatigued smile.
“Uncle Sinjin?” I had to laugh, thinking those two words didn’t belong together. But then, the more I thought about it, and studied Sinjin as he leaned over my sister and offered her support, it didn’t seem so alien an idea after all. Surprisingly enough, I imagined Sinjin would probably be pretty good with children. He certainly had a boyish, charming side to his otherwise off-putting personality …
“Uncle Sinjin,” the vampire repeated while nodding and smiling contentedly. “It does have a certain ring to it, does it not?” He cocked his head to the side as he further considered it before he smiled even more broadly.
“I think so,” Jolie agreed before her voice died on the wind. She scrunched up her face as another contraction ripped through her worn out body.
“If Rand were here right now, I’d give him a piece of my mind!” I announced as I paced forward and back a few times, irritated that it was Rand’s fault my sister was in such pain.
Sinjin looked up at me and immediately burst into laughter. “What a shame he is not. I would very much have liked to witness that interaction.”
I just glared at him with my arms crossed against my chest. Jolie groaned again and I pulled my attention from the charming vampire back to my unfortunate sister. “Are you sure you don’t want me to try to take the pain away?” I asked her even though it sounded more like I was begging. I just hated seeing her in such obvious agony, especially when, as a healer, I could take all of it away. I started to pace back and forth again as I attempted to rub the cold out of my arms. I even considered warming myself up with my magic, but decided I should save as much of my energy as I could. I wanted to make sure Jolie’s delivery was a warm one.
“No,” she managed between deep breaths. “I don’t want … to … take any chances.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what chances Jolie thought she might be taking, but figured there was no use in arguing with her. Instead, I sighed lon
g and hard but honored her wishes all the same. I continued to pace back and forth as I attempted to rub the tension out of my neck although I wasn’t successful.
“Perhaps some more heat, little heathen,” Sinjin said as he eyed me with an expression of impatience.
I briefly nodded and then closed my eyes as I reached my palms out toward my sister so I could gauge how much I needed to buffer up the warmth surrounding her. Then I focused as sharply as I could and imagined an envelope of balmy air surrounding her and only her. Sinjin was basically a glorified corpse so he didn’t care whether it was cold, hot or something in between. Once I’d finished warming my sister, I opened my eyes and dropped my hands. “That should last another twenty minutes or so before I have to do it again,” I announced.
“Very good,” the glorified corpse responded with a curt nod. “Perhaps you should assume your position again,” he finished with his eyebrows raised in a rendition of “Why the hell are you pacing when you’ve got work to do?” Glancing down at Jolie again, he smiled and held her hand as she squeezed his. “The time is almost nigh,” he whispered to her. His gentle tone and the way he gazed down at her with so much caring in his eyes made me suddenly feel all squishy inside as my eyes started to sting.
Oh my God, Bryn, really? I chided myself. You are seriously going soft!
“What? Why?” I asked once I remembered Sinjin’s words. My eyes went wide as I wondered if maybe the baby was about to make her entrance—a thought which completely petrified me.
“Your sister’s contractions are lasting roughly one minute, and they are coming two minutes apart,” Sinjin informed me, as if I had any clue what he was talking about.
“And translated that means what?” I barked at him as I threw my hands on my hips and tried to talk my wayward heart into calming the hell down. Me having a panic attack wasn’t going to do anyone any good.
“Translated, that means you should buckle down and prepare to deliver your sister’s baby,” Sinjin replied in a calm manner as he released Jolie’s hand. He stood up in one fluid motion, looking completely out of place in his black suit. Of course I didn’t fit any better, given that I was still wearing my maid of honor getup. “And on that note, I must now make my exit,” Sinjin finished.