Page 63 of The Goddesses' Gifts

Tamnaeth rubbed his mouth, mulling over everything Nicolas and I had laid out before him. “I am tempted by your offer.” He glanced over at his mate. “What do you think, darling?”

Imryll gave him a radiant smile. “Why would I ever want to leave the town where my grandchildren live?”

OZANNA

The babies started arriving in mid-June. All the mothers went into labor in waves over the course of nine days. Emma dedicated her divine power to ensuring every delivery went smoothly. She felt the lives created during the incident were her fault. Her responsibility.

I didn’t go into labor until the ninth day.

Naturally Lhoris was exhausted after more than a week of catching babies but insisted on delivering the twins himself. Lobikno, ever dutiful, sat at the bedside and held my hand. They took equal parts of my wrath at how long it took to deliver the first baby, though I never once cursed Emma.

“This one’s a boy!” Lhoris beamed and quickly handed him over to Alyndra. He was small compared to purely human babies, but his cries were strong. Alyndra bundled him up and her magic stirred. It smelled just like mine.

“Is he supposed to be purple?” I asked Lhoris.

“He’s fine,” Lobikno assured me. “Listen to his cry, not the color of his skin for now.”

I watched with baleful eyes as the boy was taken farther away. My hands felt empty, but I couldn’t mourn his absence with another baby to push.

The second delivered much faster. “And this one is a girl!” Lhoris announced, just as brightly before handing her over to Imryll. She wasn’t quick to cry out, but she eventually started wailing along with her brother. She looked even smaller than the first.

Lhoris continued to care for me while Lobikno checked in on the babies. When he was done with his work, Lhoris moved to sit beside me and kissed my sweaty forehead. “You are amazing, Ozanna.” He rested his cheek on top of my head. “I’m so incredibly proud of you. Thank you for these lives.” His voice was thick with emotion, and we held each other for a few heartbeats. I knew he was trusting his siblings and mother to take care of the babies. That he was just as eager to hold them as I was. I swallowed my own tears when they tried to overwhelm me. I’d thank him for this moment when I could speak without crying.

I couldn’t understand what Lobikno and Alyndra were discussing, despite my efforts to learn elvish, but watched the flurry of activity around the babies. Alyndra examined them while Lobikno and Imryll gently dried and swaddled them. Lhoris listened intently and perked up after a moment. He looked down at me with a wondrous smile. “I have a son.” He paused. “We have a son.”

I stared into his eyes and together we finally gave into tears. “I couldn’t be happier,” I sobbed like an idiot.

Alyndra summoned him, and I was left on the bed to wait. Their tiny cries tugged at my soul. I wanted to go to them, but Lhoris told me to stay put and rest while I could. I knew that under normal circumstances they’d give the baby right over to the mother to nurse and bond. But with their being so small … I had to wait until Alyndra was sure they didn’t need some form of intervention.

It was torture.

Then Lhoris and Lobikno brought the two precious bundles to me. They were both practically glowing over the lavender colored infants with dandelion fluff hair. Lhoris placed our son, Illianaro, to one breast and Lobikno placed our daughter, Rhisikho, to the other. It took me a few minutes to get situated, but after over a week straight of twin deliveries, Lhoris had us sorted quickly. Their scrunched little faces rolled around until they found what they were looking for and latched on.

“They’re beautiful.” I stared down at the tiny elves with their tiny little pointed ears that wiggled back and forth as they fed. I glanced up at Lobikno, expecting his usual half frown, but found him smiling down at us.

“Thank you.” He slid the back of his knuckles across my cheek before he bent to kiss Rhisikho’s fuzzy little head.

Alyndra looked over the scene and seemed encouraged by what she saw. “You will still need to share your current with the infants for at least another month,” she told Lhoris and Lobikno. “They should do enough growing in that time that they won’t require it beyond that. Naturally I’ll monitor their development to be certain.”

After I had a little rest, Oshruli came to see his new siblings with Tamnaeth, Nicolas, and a very weary Emma.

“You’re a big brother,” Lobikno told the boy, inviting him to see Rhisikho. He had her cuddled against his scarred chest, skin to skin inside his shirt. Her little fluffy white head peeked out of the opening of his tunic. Oshruli was surprisingly gentle when he laid a hand on her back and kissed her cheek. Illianaro smiled at Oshruli, cuddled similarly under Lhoris’ tunic. The little boy smiled back and kissed his forehead. Just like anything else new, Oshruli took his role of big brother seriously, asking questions and dedicating himself fully to any task given to him. Even the diaper changes. Judith eventually showed up to meet the newest elves in Bergellon but couldn't stay long. Eve and Guille were beside themselves trying to take care of their twins and it was up to grandma to keep them in line.

So much had changed. So much more was going to change. I knew that the years ahead would be a different kind of challenging, but everyone says children grow up quickly. I watched my strange, beautiful family as they jockeyed for space in our suddenly too small room. Maybe a larger living space would be the first change. But for now, I cuddled down into the bed and let the voices of my loved ones wash over me as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

MOTHER’S DAY

OSHRULI

Ihad been sitting on an idea for a very long time. Aunt Alyndra told me it was an excellent theory, but she didn’t have the skill to make it work. “It’s leagues beyond my ability, Ruli,” she’d told me. “But it is such a fantastic idea. You should run it by my father and see what he thinks.”

At the time, I’d still been scared of Tamnaeth as a mentor. Sure, when we had been just Oshruli and grandpa, I could tell him anything. But when our roles had shifted to apprentice and mentor, everything changed. Not that he was overly hard on me, he just had very high standards and I was terrified to let him down. Especially since I didn’t have the same kind of raw power he did. In fact, I’m pretty sure I just barely had enough to even learn spells. He expected me to know myself and limitations—to adapt and overcome in spite of them. I couldn’t very well go running to him every time I had an idea and expect him to hold my hand through it. So, I’d taken my “fantastic” idea and sat on it for years. I did my own research and read all of the books over and over.

Then one day I looked up from my studies to find that Tamnaeth was ready to release me from my apprenticeship. He’d become elderly and I was nearly an adult. It was time for him to start working with the twins and I still didn’t have an answer to my problem.

So, I gathered up my notes and screwed up my courage.

“Tamnaeth,” I called into his apartment one afternoon. He’d insisted I call him by his name since he considered me a contemporary. It still didn’t feel right, even after a few months of using it.

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