From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(81)

“Bloody Aspects your water broke. I’ll get a healer,” Valor said quickly as he scrambled to his feet his eyes wide. Moving quickly he crossed the room and threw the door open. “Emily get in here and help her to bed,” he bellowed as he headed out into the hallway.

Jala watched the open door swinging on its hinges in shock and listened to the clattering of his boots as he rushed down the stairs. His words slowly gained meaning in her mind and she looked down at her lap in dawning fear. “Oh dear gods no,” she gasped, her mind irrationally searching for some form of magic that would stop this from happening. She wasn’t ready yet. A few more days. That would be enough. “No, no no!” she mumbled as another contraction rose.

“Here we go, nice and gently,” Emily said in a hushed voice and Jala felt herself being lifted from the sodden clothes. “You will be fine. Valor has gone for Wesley,” Emily assured her.

“Wesley?” Jala gasped as Emily lowered her to the bed gently. “Who in the bloody hell is Wesley?” Her voice rose as she spoke as the irrational fear grew.

“Wesley the healer you hired in Sanctuary, remember? He is the one that healed you after the Darklands,” Emily said her voice soothing.

“Is she truly having the child now?” Wisp’s voice came from the door sounding frantic. Moving as quickly as a hummingbird, the Fae crossed the room and looked down at Jala with wide bright green eyes. “Valor says you are in labor,” she said quickly, her hand moving to brush stray curls from Jala’s face.

Another contraction surged through Jala and the words she had been about to speak came out in a strangled scream. Grasping Wisp tightly by the arm, she pulled her closer. “Not Wesley. Get Kendry,” she gasped. If Wesley had been the one to heal her mangled hand she didn’t want him anywhere near her newborn son.

Wisp nodded quickly and rose from the bed once more. “Kendry then,” Wisp agreed quickly and left the room in a rush.

“Emily,” Jala gasped, her eyes searching the room wildly. “Emily, if I’m not coherent when he is born, tell them his name for me. He is Finn’s only child and he will live on in memory.” Her words failed her as the next contraction hit. They seemed to be coming much closer together than they should be. The priests in Bliss had described birth as a lengthy ordeal that often took hours to happen. This seemed to be moving far too quickly. The pain passed and she unknotted her hand from the blankets and let out a harsh sob. “Tell them his name for me,” she repeated raggedly. “He is to be called Legacy Sovaesh Merrodin,” she finished, her voice nearly a whisper.

“It’s far too soon for this,” a woman’s voice echoed from the stairs.

“Then you better be a damned good healer. Your life depends on it,” Valor stormed behind her.

“Valor, go back downstairs. You are not in the right frame of mind to be near her right now. She is terrified,” Wisp snapped as she pushed the door open for the tall dark skinned woman Jala barely knew. Other than their first meeting in Rose’s clinic, she and Kendry had barely spoken to one another. Yet she was trusting her life and her son’s life to the woman.

“Rushing such things with magic is unwise,” Kendry said sternly as she studied Jala’s form on the bed. “If you lose your child you will have only your impatience to blame for it Lady Merrodin. I will do what I can to save you both, though,” she added in softer tones as she approached the bed.





“Little toes and a little nose,” Wisp’s voice was a hushed whisper beside her and it took Jala’s mind several long moments to sort out the nonsense words. “Look at you, so precious,” the Fae whispered again.

A soft murmur that was not Wisp’s voice brought Jala’s eyes fully open. She blinked several times in the shadowed light of the room and then slowly focused on the Fae seated beside her on the bed. Wisp was leaning back against the headboard holding a carefully wrapped bundle balanced against her knees. One slender hand cradled the baby along his side holding him steady while the other tickled playfully at his chest.

“Mommy is awake now,” Wisp crooned, as she turned to look at Jala with a warm smile on her face. Her dark hair had been pulled carefully back and not even a single stray lock brushed across her pale face. “Your son is adorable, Jala, and so sweet and quiet. He does like hair though so let’s pull yours back before you take him. Usually they are much older before they start grabbing for hair and such, but young Legacy here is an early bloomer,” Wisp informed her in a quiet voice.

Jala nodded and slowly pushed herself up on her elbows. She had expected her body to be sore, but there was no sign of pain when she moved.

“Kendry healed you completely. You don’t remember much, though, do you? It was difficult and you were in terrible pain,” Wisp said softly. Carefully, the Fae laid the baby down between them on the bed and leaned over to pull Jala’s hair back from her face. With a quick twist she tied it in place with a scrap of leather from her wrist and then leaned back with a smile. “There now, you are safe from the little fingers. Now admire your son.” Wisp carefully picked the baby up once more and handed him gently over to her. “Look at his skin, so pale and perfect. Most babies are red and wrinkly and not so cute at first. Look at yours, though, Jala. He is perfect.”


“He is so small,” Jala whispered in a hoarse voice. The child felt so fragile in her hands that she was almost afraid to move. Carefully, she pushed the edge of the wrappings back from his face and stared down at two little violet eyes that were a perfect match of her own. He squirmed in her hands and she felt a moment’s panic in her chest at the thought of dropping him or squeezing him too tightly.