Page 70 of Twins for the Barbarians

“Here, my darling,” Kharo replies.

He and Helios gently place the swaddled bundles of joy in my tired arms, careful to stay close and watch over us as I gaze upon my greatest work. They truly are perfect—a harmonious blend of human and Sunnaite features. As they grow, they will display more and more of each set of genes, Cynthia has assured me. There’s a chance they will be slightly smaller than the average Sunnaite, and their skin may never get to the true red hue their fathers bear, but it doesn’t matter. They’re perfect to me. They will always be perfect.

“Have you thought of names yet?” Cynthia asks, pulling up a chair to sit at the foot of my bed.

The rest of our crew is waiting outside. I can’t wait to see Amber’s face when she sees my boys. She’s due soon as well. I just hope I’ll be recovered enough to be able to wait outside her birthing room when the time comes.

“We have, yes,” I tell Cynthia. “And I’d like you to meet Rey and Hyx.”

“You named them after the twin suns!” She giggles, but her green eyes sparkle with delight as she shifts focus back to my boys. “Welcome to the world, Rey and Hyx. May you both shine as brightly as the stars whose names you bear.” She pauses and gives my ankle a gentle squeeze.

I groan as I achingly part from my babies, letting Helios and Cynthia put Rey and Hyx in their bassinets for a couple of hours. I’ll feed them soon enough, but until then, I need to get as much rest as possible, except the voices outside my room remind me we’re not exactly alone at this late hour.

“Let them in,” I say with a tired sigh. “They want to see the boys and make sure we’re okay.”

“They won’t stay long,” Helios replies, his brow furrowed with concern.

“Jewel!” Cynthia calls out. “Bring the gang in, but try not to be too loud. The boys are close to falling asleep.”

“Well, your big mouth isn’t helping in that endeavor,” Jewel retorts as she pokes her head through the door, then gives me the widest and shiniest smile she can muster. “Holy hell, woman, look what you did!”

I can’t help but laugh while Yossul and Fadai come into the room. Binzen, Izzo, Kai, and Maur gather around the cribs and take turns saying hello to the twins. Amber and Jewel come to my bedside, and Helios and Kharo head over to the bassinets so they can receive the traditional warriors’ greetings for the birth of their sons.

“I can’t believe you did it!” Amber says, taking a seat. Her baby bump is quite large and causes her back pain with each second she spends standing. “You are an absolute rock star, Alicia.”

“Hey, give credit to the doc, too, please,” Cynthia chimes in.

“You pumped her full of horse tranquilizers,” Jewel laughs. “You do deserve credit. I can’t even imagine how painful it would’ve been without the proper medication.” She stops and gives me a worried look. “How are you? Down there, I mean? Everything back where it’s supposed to be?”

“Well, it’s not like they turned me inside out, Jewel! It felt like that for a few hours, but I think I’m okay,” I laugh, then look at Cynthia, suddenly realizing that Jewel’s concerns aren’t exactly far-fetched in these circumstances.

“You need to relax,” Cynthia kindly assures me. “You’re okay, babe. As demanding as the birth was, your body has an amazing ability to recover. Besides, I didn’t just pump you full of painkillers. You’ve got about half a gallon of Sunna’s fire flowing through you as we speak,” she adds, then scowls at Jewel. “And you need to stop scaring her silly. I know what I’m doing.”

“Hey, I was worried, that’s all,” Jewel replies, raising her hands in a defensive gesture.

That draws a laugh from Amber. “You’d better stock up on Sunna’s fire for me as well. I’ll be damned if I’ll go through the raw pain of childbirth again. Once was enough, thank you.”

“It’s still going to hurt,” I say, hating to burst her bubble.

Cynthia nods in agreement. “But Sunna’s fire does do wonders for recovery. Imagine that, back on Earth, I’ve had to rearrange women’s insides after difficult deliveries. Here, all I had to do was push this magic water through your IV and look at you: spick and span, baby!”

“More like spick and span in a week or so. I long to sleep forever,” I mutter.

“They’re perfect!” Kai exclaims as he gleefully joins our conversation, slipping an arm around Cynthia’s waist. “My love, I’m wondering—”

“No second baby until we sign a peace treaty with the Sky Tribe,” she jokingly retorts. “I thought we agreed on that.”

“We did, but looking at Rey and Hyx, I have to admit…I’m getting in the mood.”

“It’ll pass.” She shakes her head, prompting the rest of us to burst into hearty cackles of laughter. “Listen to him, talking about pregnancy like it’s a walk in the park or something.”

“Truth be told, you’ve been an incredible mother to Kala,” Amber chimes in. “You’re obviously cut out for it.”

Cynthia gives her a stern glower. “For Pete’s sake, I thought you were my friend.”

“She is. She’s just worried you’re falling behind,” Jewel chuckles. “I mean, the score’s pretty tight now. Alicia whipped out two at the same time. Amber’s got a second on the way. You, Cynthia, are falling behind.”

Kai picks up on Cynthia’s mood and shifts the conversation to Jewel. “You’re the one who’s falling behind, actually,” he tells Jewel. What’s up with you and the Kreek boys?”

---