The Heir (17 page)

Luana turned and looked at the Queen. “I’m
scared.”

The Queen stroked Luana’s hair lovingly. “I
was too when Baylin was coming. But I made it through it, and now I
get to see you bring his child into the world. Nothing gives me
greater joy.”

Luana clenched her teeth, struggling not to
scream at the spasms. “I wish he was here.”

“I know, dearest,” the Queen soothed,
stroking her hair. “I have sent word through my personal messenger,
but I am afraid your son is in a hurry to see this world and will
not wait for his father’s return.”

Luana tried to smile, but the pain was too
great.

*****

Through the night and well into the morning,
Luana labored with the child. The midwife had provided her with a
special tea that helped to dull the senses, but the pain
remained.

Queen Valasca had not left Luana’s side.
Like a true mother, she held Luana’s hand and soothed her lovingly
through the pain. Luana was grateful for the Queen, but her soul
ached for Baylin. Her heart seized as painfully as her body did.
She was losing strength with every minute that passed.

“My Queen,” the midwife said with a slight
bow. “Might I speak with you on the balcony? I believe some air
would do you good.”

The Queen began to argue, but the expression
on the midwife’s face stopped her tongue.

Valasca leaned over to Luana, kissing her
forehead. “I am going to step outside for a moment, dearest. I
promise I will return momentarily.”

Queen Valasca followed the midwife out onto
the balcony. “What is this? She needs me.”

“Apologies, Your Grace,” the midwife
replied. Her lined face was exaggerated by the rays of the rising
sun. She furrowed her brow and squeezed her hands together. “My
Queen, I must inform you that the young miss is not doing
well.”

Valasca’s beautiful face transformed as fear
overwhelmed her. Her mouth fell agape and her eyes flew wide open.
“What do you mean?”

“I’m afraid there is little more I can do,
Your Grace,” the midwife said. “I’ve brought many a baby into this
Kingdom, some that were very determined not to come. But with this,
it’s like his mother has given up. The young miss is very
weak.”

“But surely there is something you can do!”
the Queen said, tears forming in her eyes. “Certainly there are
some herbs or…” She found herself lost for what to say.

The midwife shook her head. “She needs to
fight. She needs to hold on.”

The Queen left the balcony and returned to
the bedchamber. She walked to the side of the bed and gently wiped
Luana’s forehead with a cool wet cloth. “Dearest, you must fight.
Fight for Baylin.”

“Baylin,” Luana murmured.

“Yes,” the Queen answered. “Fight for
Baylin. Fight for your son, his son.”

The agony was so intense and she had been
struggling against it for so long, but Luana had enough strength to
scream out when another powerful surge of spasms poured over her.
“Baylin!”

“Baylin!” Luana’s scream echoed down the
dimly lit hall. The Prince and his men were beginning to emerge
from Fagin Forrest when his mother’s messenger had intercepted him
with word that his son was on the way.

He rode hard through the night, through mud
and muck to get here.

He heard Luana’s screams as he approached
the bedchamber and threw the door open with a heavy clang.
“Luana!”

She was lying in their bed, surrounded by
maids. He could see his mother at Luana’s side, holding her
hand.

The Queen looked up at him as he rushed
across the room to the bed. “Baylin? My son, how is this
possible?”

“I am here, my love,” Baylin said, kneeling
next to the bed to be by Luana’s side. He was clad in armor, soaked
to the bone, covered in dirt and leaves and knew he reeked of sweat
and horse.

Luana looked up at Baylin’s battle-worn
face, breathlessly she asked, “Baylin? How?”

Baylin looked up to his mother. “We were on
our way back from Mirstone. Your messenger met us halfway. I rode
all night to get here. Mother, we’ve been betrayed. Cadman, has
turned Mirstone against us. At this moment, Mirstone readies for
war.”

Queen Valasca’s eyes grew large as a mixture
of fury and terror filled her face.

Baylin reached out and took his mother’s
hand. “I will sort this out. We have time.”

Baylin turned his gaze to Luana as the
midwife spoke out, “My Lord Prince Baylin, she must fight or we
will lose both her and the child. She has grown too weak to push
now that the time has come.”

Fear flooded Baylin. He cupped Luana’s chin,
looking into her eyes. “No, you’re much too strong for that.”

“I’m so tired. So scared,” she said through
hot tears. Her eyes fluttered open and shut as she fought to keep
her body going.

“I know, my love, but I’m here now,” Baylin
said. The Prince turned to address the midwife. “What can I
do?”

“She must sit up and push; the baby is
ready. She simply lacks the strength to hold herself up,” the
midwife said in a concerned tone.

I have to help her. If I could only push
for her.
Baylin held Luana’s hand as the midwife tried, again,
to coax Luana to sit up and push.
That is it; I will help her
push.

Baylin stood and began the laborious task of
removing his heavy, rain-soaked armor. “Mother, help me.”

Baylin and his mother made quick work of the
chore so he was merely in a pair of leather trousers when he
returned to Luana’s side. “Dearest, I’m going to help you. We will
do this together.”

Baylin lifted Luana forward so he could
slide behind her, bracing her and holding her in his arms. Luana
cried out as another wave of pain pulsed over her body.

“She needs to push now!” yelled the
midwife.

“Come on, love, you can do this,” Baylin
said, gripping Luana’s hands in his. “Push!”

Baylin felt Luana’s hands grip his as she
braced against the pain and began to push. He supported her body
and held her as she screamed out at the pain her body was going
through.

“Good, good,” voiced the midwife. “A dark
head of hair I can see on this one! Now when you feel the pain rush
again you will need to push with everything you have, my child.
Once his shoulders are past, it will be easy.”

Luana sobbed. “I’m scared, Baylin. I can’t
do this. It hurts so much.”

Baylin held her in his arms; her hands in
his as he braced her. “I have never seen you fail at anything you
set your mind to, Luana. It’s one of the many things I love about
you. You can do this.”

Luana laid her head against Baylin’s
muscular chest and gasped for breath. He so badly wanted to take
this pain from her. The Queen was stroking Luana’s hair tenderly.
Baylin searched his mother’s worried expression for some kind of
reassurance.

Just then Baylin could feel Luana tense as
the pain flowed over her once more.

“Push, milady! You must push!” the midwife
coached.

“Come, dearest, push,” the Queen joined
in.

Luana’s strength was all but spent. She
hardly had the strength to stay conscious.

“My love, you can do this,” Baylin said
softly into her ear. “We can do this together.”

Luana took a deep breath, beared down and
pushed with a scream that echoed through the room. She gripped his
hands until her nails began to cut his flesh. He leaned with her,
helping her as she leaned forward to give the final push that would
bring their child into the world.

Luana fell back onto Baylin, with no
strength left in her. She was nearly unconscious. He reached up,
stroking her hair, trying whatever he could to help comfort her.
Fear began to grow in him; the room was far too quiet and something
felt wrong.

“What is it?” Baylin asked the midwife, who
was busy at the foot of the bed. “Is she all right? What is
wrong?”

The silence was broken by the sound of a
loud, healthy cry of a baby.

Baylin looked up and saw the midwife holding
a dark-haired wiggly baby wrapped in a blanket.

“It’s a boy, Your Grace,” the midwife said
with a smile spread across her face.

Baylin’s heart felt as though it would come
right out of his chest as the old woman held the baby up for him to
see.
I’m a father. I have a son.

The Queen began to cry. She leaned over,
wrapped her arm around Baylin’s shoulder and kissed Luana on the
top of the head. “You did it, dearest. You have a son!”

Tears began to flow from Luana’s eyes. “A
son? Please, let me see him.” She reached out her weak arms.

The midwife’s expression changed to sadness.
“I’m sorry, miss, but you know the law. You cannot possibly…”

Anger flowed over Baylin as his voice cut
through the room like a sword. “You will do as you are told! Bring
her our son.”

The midwife, shaken, walked to Luana and
Baylin’s side and laid the baby against Luana’s chest. Baylin
hugged both Luana and his son tightly.

He held his entire existence in his arms and
could not fight back a few tears of joy that managed to fall down
his cheek.

Baylin leaned his head forward, bringing his
mouth to Luana’s ear and whispered, “I love you. You are the only
woman I have ever loved or ever will love.”

And you will be my Queen.

Enjoy this sneak peek of

Luana held the harden steel in her hands.
The sword felt awkward, foreign, to her. Even on her goat farm, she
never used large weapons to defend her herd. She only ever carried
a small knife and relied mainly on her cunning and the element of
surprise to scare off the beasts that would hunt her flock. She
always avoided bring death to any living creature. Yet, now, she
was being told her only option to defend her child was to kill.

Baylin faced Luana, placing his hands on her
shoulders. “I know you are apprehensive, but it is vital you learn
how to defend yourself. Women of the Keld are raised carrying a
sword, even if they never use it, they know how. She may appear
prim and proper, but you can rest assured that Isla was taught by
the sword.”

A cool breeze blew through the air, lifting
Luana’s silvery blonde hair around her face. She closed her eyes
and took a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it slowly
through her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked down at the sword
in her hands. It had a beauty to it. It’s long, silver blade
gleamed in the moonlight.
Just like the Princess, this sword is
beautiful on the outside, yet its purpose is one of destruction. I
will not allow her to harm my child.

Luana tightened her grip on the sword. “If
there is no other way.”

“There isn’t, my love,” Baylin said, his
brow furrowed in an apologetic expression.

“Isn’t there?” asked a voice from the
dark.

Baylin spun, pulling his sword and tucking
Luana in tight behind him. “Who goes there?”

Luana held her sword securely in her hands,
turning the knuckles a pearly shade of white in the moonlight.
“Baylin… what do… what do we do?” Her voice wavered as she
trembled, waiting for an attack to occur.

“You need not fear me,” the voice stated,
coming from the darkness of the forest. “I am here to aid Grasmere,
son of Ashmur and daughter of the moon.”

“Daughter of the moon?” Baylin repeated
softly. “What do you speak of? Show yourself!”

The Elven King Rydel emerged from the trees
like an apparition in the moonlight. Luana sucked in a deep breath
and gripped the hilt of the sword firmly.

In the moonlight his hair seemed to glow,
sweeping around his handsome, angular face like sheets of snow. His
deep set eyes glowed a pale shade of blue, like twin orbs floating
in the night. He wore a pale green long tunic coat that appeared to
shimmer in the night, billowing behind him in the wind as he walked
gracefully toward them.

“Lord Rydel,” Baylin said, bowing his head.
“To what do we owe this honor?”

“King Rydel?” Luana whispered through a
wavered breath. “He… but he is…”

The elf glided up to the couple, placed his
hand over his heart and dipped his head elegantly. “I have come to
assist you, Luana, daughter of the moon.”

Her heart began to race in her chest.
“Daughter of the moon? I… I don’t understand all this.”

The Elf-King looked up into her green eyes.
“Has no one told you of your heritage my child?”

Baylin stiffened, putting an arm in front of
Luana. “What do you speak of? She is of Open Shaw, daughter of
Hal-john and Fersa. That is her heritage.”

“Is it now?” Rydel raised an eyebrow and
showed the slightest upturn to the corner of his mouth. “I suppose
that is what you would remember, child. But has no one told you of
how you came to be in Open Shaw?”

Luana pushed past Baylin to approach the
elf. “I was born of my mother Fersa; that is how I came to be in
Open Shaw. She married my father Hal-John and they had me.”

“Yes, child, they are who raised you,” King
Rydel’s eyes softened. “However, they are not who gave you
life.”

Luana’s forehead wrinkled up as she furrowed
her brow, turning to look at Baylin in confusion.

The Prince reached out and pulled Luana into
his arms. “What is it that you speaking of? Do you not see you are
upsetting her?”

“My apologies,” the Elf-King said, bowing
his head slightly. “I do not mean to upset the girl. I merely
desire to enlighten her. She has been kept in the dark for far too
long. It is my wish to show her the light.”

“Then please, my Lord, explain,” Baylin
pleaded.

“Luana, dear child. Do you ever see things
that have not yet come to pass?” the King asked. “Touch someone and
see what could be their future?”