Descension (39 page)

Rhosewen considered his suggestion, contemplating every possible scenario. “Okay,” she decided. “We’ll wait and see how it goes, but I don’t want my baby ripped from her dead mother.”

Everyone closed their eyes, moaning at the visual she’d put in their heads, but she couldn’t let that deter her. “If it looks like it might come to that, I want to have her early.”

Serafin ran a hand down his face and shook his head clear. “Okay, dear. We’ll examine you and the baby every thirty minutes unless your pain increases, in which case we’ll do them every ten minutes.”

“Do them every ten anyway,” Aedan insisted.

“Of course,” Serafin conceded. “Whatever you think is best.”

“May Aedan and I have a few minutes alone?” Rhosewen asked, scanning everyone’s weary faces.

“Sure, sweetie,” Morrigan agreed, grabbing Caitrin’s hand. Then she pulled him from the room, immediately followed by Serafin and Daleen.

Aedan watched the door close then looked to Rhosewen, ardently staring into her swollen eyes. “You’re the most amazing woman I will ever know, Rose. Our time apart will be hell on me.”

“Me, too,” she whispered, “but we’ll be together again soon.”

“Very soon,” he confirmed, giving her a soft kiss.

“I’m ready to imprint the ring,” she said, glancing at their hands. “I’m afraid to wait any longer.”

“Sure,” he agreed. “Just let me tell them to wait a while before coming back in. We’ll be naked during the spell work.”

“Goody,” she approved, smiling sweetly.

Aedan watched her grin as he tried to mentally communicate with his dad, but the connection was too fuzzy, and Serafin soon entered the room.

“Your mind searches aren’t discernable,” he said.

“I gathered as much,” Aedan replied. “We need some time alone. Don’t come back in until I call you.”

“Sure,” Serafin agreed. Then he left, closing the door behind him.

After removing their clothes, Aedan instructed Rhosewen to roll onto her right side. Then he formed his body to the back of hers, pressing her left palm to her heart so the ring’s band made contact with her skin.

“Ready?” he asked.

As his breath whispered across her cheek, she sighed, aroused yet peaceful. “There’s something I’m not sure about,” she confessed.

“What’s that, my love?”

“Well, I’m not sure if I should include our bonding. I want to share the experience with her, show her how amazing and fulfilled we are together, but I’m afraid it will embarrass her.”

“When our daughter finds her way to the ring,” Aedan replied, “she won’t be a child; she’ll be a woman—mature enough to handle the idea of her conception. But if you’re worried about it, you can filter what she’ll sense. Just give her the song without the dance.”

“Good thinking,” Rhosewen approved. “I can show her how you make me feel without showing you naked. Plus, it will save time. If I include all the ways you’ve loved me, she’ll be experiencing the imprint for months.”

Aedan managed a small smile as he kissed her cheek. “They were the most amazing moments of my life, Rose. I’m going to miss fulfilling my earthly desires with you.”

“Me, too,” she whispered. “We gave new meaning to the words making love. We were perfect together.”

Aedan closed his eyes. It had been months since he’d made love to her, but he recalled the magnificent moments with perfect clarity.

“Okay,” she sighed, pulling him back to their grim present. “I’m ready.”

He kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger as he whispered. “Close your eyes and focus on what you want her to see, feel and hear of your memories. I’ll do the rest.”

Rhosewen closed her eyes and took her mind back to the day she met him—the love of her life, the father of her child, the perfect provider, protector and lover… her soul mate.

As she did, he began chanting next to her ear, so softly and quickly she couldn’t understand what he was saying. She wasn’t trying to understand. She’d immersed herself in a replay of the last nine months of her life, delving into the danger as well as the adoration.

They lay that way, Rhosewen remembering and Aedan chanting, for over an hour. When at last she reached the present, she opened her eyes and the ring grew hot. When Aedan’s murmuring ceased, the ring cooled. The spell had worked.

Rhosewen slid his hands to her protruding belly then held them there as she hummed a sweet and slow melody. Aedan raptly listened, savoring every last drop of the bittersweet moment. Then he added soft lyrics to her soulful serenade.

“Our sweet, precious child,

you’ll soon be in the world.

You’ll bring it so much joy,

our beautiful baby girl.

Mommy and daddy love you,

and wish you all the best.

Just be your precious self,

and your heart will do the rest.”

~ * * * ~

By that afternoon, it was clear invoking an early birth wouldn’t be necessary. Rhosewen progressed at a normal rate and had dilated to six centimeters by five o’clock. She didn’t notice the pains of labor. Her body had been in worse agony for too long. Only the tightening of her abdomen confirmed her contractions.

The family kept constant vigil at her bedside, knowing it might be their last chance to spend time with her, but a curtain of dread kept the room quiet and sober as time flew on supernatural wings.

When Aedan looked at the grandfather clock across the room, finding the short hand approaching the twelve, he shook his head and refocused. “Is that the right time?”

“Yeah,” Caitrin answered, checking the timepiece on his wrist. “It’s 11:17.”

As Serafin performed an examination, placing his hands on Rhosewen’s bare belly, the baby kicked and Rhosewen wailed. Aedan lurched into action, brushing swift kisses across Rhosewen’s tight jaw.

“She’s ready,” Serafin announced, and Rhosewen cried again, tightening her grip on Aedan.

“Mom…” she gasped, blindly reaching out with her right hand, “…dad… I love you…”

Her parents immediately responded by leaning closer, and Morrigan buried her face in golden spirals as Caitrin tenderly wiped away Rhosewen’s tears.

“We love you, too, sweetheart,” he rasped. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to your mom and me. And we’re so proud of you… for being so strong for your baby girl.” He touched his forehead to hers, squeezing his eyes shut on fat teardrops. “I love you, Rhosewen, with every beat of my heart. Always.” He kissed her wrinkled brow then backed away, literally choking on grief.

Morrigan stroked Rhosewen’s hair as she touched her lips to her ear, murmuring a gentle proclamation of devotion that only a mother could execute correctly. “You’ll be with us forever and always, my sweet child, in our hearts and on our minds. I love you with every ounce of my being, and until I see you again, I’ll miss everything about you every second of every day.” She pulled away, staring deep into Rhosewen’s eyes for a long, heartbreaking moment. Then she gave her a lingering kiss, whispering
I love you
over and over again. Instead of backing away, she fell away, landing in Caitrin’s open arms.

Rhosewen’s features twisted as she squeezed her eyes shut. Then her body cringed as her eyes popped open, frantically searching the room. When she found Daleen, she tried to speak, but screamed instead.

Daleen moved closer, touching her lips to Rhosewen’s clammy forehead. “You don’t need to say anything, darling. You’ve made our son the happiest he’s ever been, and you’ve done a wonderful job keeping our granddaughter safe and healthy. You’re an amazing daughter, wife and mother, and special things await a person like you, wherever you’re heading.”

“Thank you…”

“No, Rhosewen. That’s our line. We love and appreciate everything about you. Please know that.”

Rhosewen managed a small nod, and Daleen soothingly smiled as she moved away. But as soon as she was out of Rhosewen’s sight, she quietly sobbed into her hands.

“It’s time,” Serafin insisted, holding a hand to Rhosewen’s lower abdomen. “Your body’s too weak to do it alone, so Daleen’s going to give you a magical hand, but I’ll need you to push during contractions.”

Rhosewen and Aedan found each other’s eyes and searched each other’s souls, trying to recall every detail of their journey, every second they’d spent together. But time was too short.

“I love you, my beautiful Rose,” he whispered. “More than my own life. We’ll be together again soon. I promise.”

“I love you, too…” she sobbed. “I won’t be complete without you.” She squeezed her eyes shut then forced them open, finding his gaze once more. “I’ll be looking for you every second until I find you… but please…” she pleaded, tightening her grip, “please make sure our daughter’s safe before you come to me. Please.”

“I swear, Rose. I’ll give our baby what she needs, but then I’m coming to find you.”

He touched his burning forehead to hers, fighting red hot tears. Then they kissed, so passionately their bonded lights reached their full potential for the first time in months, bursting from their trembling forms like a heavenly explosion. All too soon their lips broke apart, severed by Rhosewen’s bucking body, and the golden hazes retracted.

“We have to do it now,” Serafin advised.

Aedan glanced at his dad’s forlorn expression then looked to his wife’s sea blue eyes. “Ready, my love?”

“Yes,” she answered, squeezing his hand.

“Then let’s meet our baby.”

“Our baby,” she breathed, and Aedan inhaled the sweet sigh as he gave her another kiss.

Aedan held her hands, Morrigan braced her back, and Daleen placed her palms on her stomach, murmuring with her eyes closed. Serafin would deliver the baby with Caitrin’s assistance.

After thirty minutes of unbelievable effort on Rhosewen’s part, Serafin announced he could see the baby’s hair. “Just a few more pushes,” he encouraged. Then he lowered his voice as he glanced at Daleen. “Release her womb and check her pulse.”

Daleen obeyed, choking back an alarmed squeak as she touched Rhosewen’s chest.

Aedan heard his mom’s muted terror, but ignored it, keeping his eyes on Rhosewen as she pushed again.

The grandfather clock tolled midnight, echoing in Aedan’s ears like a death knell as Rhosewen’s emaciated shoulders lifted, shuddering over desperate gasps. The second bell chimed, and Rhosewen squeezed her eyes shut, giving her daughter all the strength she had left. As the clock’s third strike faded from the air, a tiny cry filled the room with miraculous music. Serafin worked quickly and had the baby on Rhosewen’s chest before the clock’s fifth signal.

Rhosewen and Aedan stared at their little miracle—tiny, red and raw, but healthy and so perfect. She had her daddy’s dark skin and onyx hair, her mommy’s curls, and a shiny white aura swimming with wispy rivers of pearlescent silver and soft pink. Clutching her teeny fists to her chin, she stared at them with blurry, emerald green eyes, confusion creasing the features of her petite face.

“She’s beautiful,” Rhosewen breathed, running a quaking thumb across her daughter’s wrinkled forehead. “Our perfect… Layla.” She gripped Aedan’s hand like never before, pulling it to her cheek as she lowered her lips to Layla’s matted curls. “I love you guys.” she rasped, her aura swelling with proof. “So… much…”

Darkness suddenly washed over Aedan as the worst physical pain he’d ever experienced shot from Rhosewen’s hand, pulverizing his insides, stealing his breath and sanity. But as quickly as it came, the agony drained away, all of it, and he knew.

He opened his eyes, finding his baby girl lying on his wife’s idle chest, the heart inside no longer beating. It had burst with love.

Aedan slipped her wedding ring off her finger then folded her hands over her flat stomach. After carefully closing her lids, he whispered across her lips. “I love you, my perfect Rose. Forever.”

After one last kiss, he left her lips and wrapped his hands around his daughter, gently pulling her into a warm, cradle hold. His Rose was gone, but a piece of her lived in their baby, their beautiful, perfect Layla. He bowed his head over her, closed his eyes, and cried like never before.

Aedan wasn’t able to sit beside Rhosewen’s empty body for long. Morrigan and Caitrin had already left the room, and as soon as he was composed enough to safely carry his baby, Aedan left as well.

He walked dazedly down the hallway, finding Rhosewen’s parents sitting on the couch in the living room, crying in each other’s arms, and Katherine sitting in an easy chair by the fireplace, looking lost and helpless as she twisted a tear-soaked tissue.

When Aedan tried to speak, his voice failed him, so he cleared his achy throat and tried again. “She needs a blanket.”

Katherine jumped up and disappeared down the hall, returning in a flash with a pink blanket. “May I?” she asked, motioning to the baby.