The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (34 page)

“This is too much for me, Valor. All of this
is. I don’t know how to do any of it,” Jala admitted weakly.

“Which part? Being a mother or being a High
Lady?” Valor asked. There was no sign of judgment on his face and
if he had lost any respect for her there was no sign of it.

“Can the answer be both?” Jala asked
miserably. Reaching over she grabbed a random dress from the pile
and wiped her face. Letting out a ragged breath she looked back up
to Valor knowing she must look a sight. As usual he was immaculate
in appearance, his hair perfectly pulled back and his clothes of
the finest quality and clean.

“It can be,” Valor agreed with a nod and
shrugged. “There really isn’t much you can do about either, though,
Jala. You are quite pregnant and unless you give the child away,
that makes you a mother. Do you have any intent on offering the
child to another?”

“No,” Jala snapped, her voice frantic. The
simple thought of giving her child to another brought an instant
wave of panic to her.

Valor smiled and nodded. “Protective. That is
the first sign of a good mother. You are nervous. That is normal.
Chastity was, too. My Mother’s advice to her was simple so I’ll
pass it on to you and see if it helps any.
Love them, protect
them, and teach them. That is all there is to being a mother. Each
of those three things is equally important. Never forget one of
them, and never place the importance of one above the other
two
.”

“As much as I still have to learn, I think
I’ll have to let the teaching part fall on Sovann’s shoulders,”
Jala sighed.

Valor frowned at her and shook his head. “The
most important lessons in life come from our mothers, Jala, not
from lesson books. Our mothers teach us right from wrong, they
teach us to be compassionate, and they teach us respect. My father
taught me how to fight, but my mother taught me what to fight
for.”

“Is your advice about being a High Lady this
sage?” Jala asked as she leaned back in her pile of clothes and
watched him. Her son shifted inside her and she felt a moment’s
discomfort as he pushed hard against her stomach. She shifted her
position again trying to find one more comfortable.

Valor shrugged. “That was mostly words from
my mother. The only advice I have on being a High Lady comes from
my great grandmother’s journals and I’m not sure if you want to
follow in her footsteps or not. Her path did not have a pleasant
ending.”

“High Lady Veyetta,” Jala surmised, her
interest peaked. The city War had shown her was a beautiful sight
and the statue of Lady Veyetta had been modeled after a woman that
was poised and confident. Somehow, she doubted High Lady Veyetta
had ever crumpled to tears like an infant into a pile of discarded
clothing. Her son shifted again and pain lanced through her body.
Holding her breath for a second Jala slowly released it until the
discomfort passed and waited for Valor to continue.

“Are you OK?” Valor asked, his blue eyes
fixed on hers.

Jala bit her lower lip and smiled bitterly.
“Do I look OK to you, Valor?” she asked sarcastically.

“No, I mean health wise, Jala. You looked
upset when I entered but now you look pale and I swear that was
pain I saw flicker on your face. Are you all right, physically?”
Valor pressed as he stretched his legs out and leaned closer to
her.

“My son is active. It’s nothing. He kicked a
bit roughly,” Jala explained as another pain tore through her and
she felt the clothes go damp beneath her.

“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.

“Relax, Jala. It’s OK. He isn’t so fragile
that you can’t simply hold him. It will be OK, just relax,” Wisp
assured her.

Jala forced herself to relax and brushed a
finger through his thick red hair. “He looks so much like me,” she
whispered, her finger pausing at a streak of white along his
temple. “What happened?” she asked her panic rising again.

“Calm down,” Wisp pressed and shook her head
at Jala. “He is fine. He was born that way, I promise you. I was
here the moment he drew his first breath. Kendry checked it and
believes it was a side effect from the magic Death placed on you,
but there is no harm to the child. Look at him; he is healthy and
whole.”

Jala relaxed once more and smiled down at the
child. “He is perfect,” she agreed in a soft voice, her hand moving
from the streak of white hair to the tiny hand that was grasping at
the side of his wrappings. “So tiny and so perfect,” she breathed
as she felt the knots in her chest slowly loosening. Everything in
the world beyond was a bloody mess right now and life was
complicated beyond words, but finally she had a reason to face the
mess and sort through the complications. So tiny, and yet the
answer to her every problem. For her son, she could put aside the
pain. For her son, she could face the responsibilities ahead of
her. Looking up, she turned to look at Wisp and smiled faintly. “I
know I have been useless to all of you since the battle in
Sanctuary. That will change, Wisp, I promise. It still hurts so
much, but I believe I can face it now.”

“You were grieving, Jala, not useless, and we
all understood. Well, except for Neph, but, then, he is an
insensitive prick. He didn’t even show pain when we received word
that his father was dead. The Delvay are as cold as their
mountains. You take as long as you like, Jala, and we will keep it
going until you are ready to take over,” Wisp assured her with a
smile. Leaning over she brushed a hand across Legacy’s cheek and
smiled up at Jala. “Give him at least a few days of your undivided
attention,” she urged with a growing smile.

“He will have as much of that as I can
possibly give him for his entire life,” Jala promised as she gazed
back down at her son. The small hand had moved from tugging on the
wrappings to brushing at her hand and she felt a smile growing on
her own face. “Everything I need,” she whispered to him.

And you have your balance back
.
Marrow’s voice came softly as the Bendazzi jumped lightly onto the
foot of the bed.
You had me worried for a bit. I thought you
truly had gone mad
.

I think I did go mad for a bit there
,
Jala admitted to Marrow through their mental link. She didn’t think
Wisp needed that particular confession. They likely already had
enough doubts about her resolve without raising concerns on her
sanity. The baby squirmed in her hands again and murmured
softly.

“He is likely hungry, Jala. It’s been several
hours since he was fed. I’ll leave you to tend him and let the
others know you are awake and coherent now. Everyone was worried,”
Wisp said as she stood slowly. Pausing she scratched Marrow behind
the ears and then headed for the door quietly.

“Thank you, Wisp. Thank the others for me
too, please, and let them know that I am much better now,” Jala
called after her.

Merro

“Poised and dignified,” Jala reminded herself
in a whisper. She stood in front of the mirror and studied herself.
The last time she had even attempted to look at herself she had
been ragged and worn to the breaking point, but then that had been
before Legacy’s birth. She inhaled deeply and practiced a serene
expression in the mirror. The statue of Lady Veyetta had mastered
the expression much better she decided with a slight frown.
Carefully she tucked a stray wine colored curl back behind her ear
and checked her hair once more in the mirror. Every lock seemed to
be in place. Smoothing her dress for the last time she turned back
to Marrow. “Do I look poised and dignified?” she asked quietly. The
dress she wore was so dark purple it was almost black and the style
was much more subdued that the Firym clothing Finn had preferred.
It seemed appropriate to her, however. It matched her mood. She had
no desire at all to be brightly clad and even her jewelry was dark
toned.