Page 50 of Impaled By His Omega Prince
“It’s a girl,” Lumic said in disbelief.
Kershai and Pallosar stared in surprise, but it was Pallosar who spoke first. “Our first princess. Do we have a name for a female?”
“I don’t know,” Askara said, reaching forward to stroke his child’s face again. His fingertips trailed her tiny lips, full cheeks, little ears. Hair so red. That color so beautiful.
Seidrik stood by the door, Stamel at his side. Neither entered nor asked to. Ingred, for his part, waltzed in uninvited and flopped unceremoniously in one of Lumic’s favorite chairs. “I have asuggestion from the goddesses.. Probably will piss Alluin off, though.”
From nowhere, Ingred had procured a wind apple and bit into it with relish. Lumic would have killed for something to eat, his stomach aching. “Speak your mind, brother.”
Jori glared at him while Kershai seemed poised to kick him out.
“Lyrica,” Seidrik answered for him from the doorway, staring in with haunted eyes.
“Lyrica…” Askara said the word, and his face didn’t show the pain Lumic had come to expect.
“Is there any reason not to?” Lumic glanced at his fathers and Askara, and it felt right. “Lyrica it is.”
When Lumic looked up, Seidrik was gone, as was Stamel.
It was no matter, though. Jori brought a vial of silvery liquid and sat it on the side of the bed. As for vitalis, Lumic didn’t need it. Askara leaned in and their lips touched. A peek of tongue, a lingering hum of contact, and the honeyed taste of vitalis spread through Lumic.
Drink.The moon spoke her peace and Lumic eyed the vial.
He’d said he wouldn’t.
But when Askara brought it to his lips, he did as he was told. It was better he not know, anyway.
“Mother Goddess, moon above, thank you.” Lumic handed the baby to Askara, and he strode to the window to hold the child forward into the moon’s glow. Her soft cries of protest lasted only as long as it took to settle.
My beautiful daughter. Bless you.
Epilogue
Askara
Askara had taken his duty of caring for the babe seriously. She slept about as well as a newborn should have, according to Pallosar and Kershai at least. Jori didn’t seem worried, but Askara worried so much.
He paced the halls with her every night, soothing her cries. As long as he held her, she quieted easily. It was only a few days after her birth, after all. She slept a lot but woke often.
He found himself by the kitchens that night, babe in one arm, a piece of fruit in the other. The harvest had been plentiful. He took a bite of some fruit he’d never had before, a pear of sorts. As much as he wanted to give Lyrica her first taste, he avoided doing so at Jori’s behest. It was too tempting to want to give her all her first memories.
Askara didn’t need a candle to see in the dark, as moonborne had her blessing, the light in their eyes enough to see the world. Lyrica’s bright eyes opened wide, too, pale-white irises aglow, though she could see little. Pallosar said she’d be near blind the first few months of her life.
The kitchens were close to Stamel’s wing, and from the darkness of the hall, a whisper of voices caught his attention. A quick glance gave Askara a bit of a sight. Stamel stood tall, leaned against the wall, looking down at Seidrik. At first thought, the pose seemed threatening. Askara tensed, ready to say something or intervene but retreated in silence when Stamel tilted Seidrik’s face up before locking him into a rough, messy kiss.
Well, that’s one way to ensure he never had an heir. Good for him, though.Askara buried a huff of laughter in his throat before the couple slipped away. He didn’t need to make themfeel awkward. But he did need to grab a pastry for Lumic. So, he did so and managed to tuck it in his robe pocket while seeing to some fresh tallroot milk, using a trick with his thalms to heat it. Lumic loved the stuff.
His journey back upstairs was a long one. It’d seemed so short when he walked down, but with a child in his arms, a weighted pocket with fruit and pastry, and the tankard of hot tallroot, it was cumbersome.
Lumic needed to be up to feed Lyrica, and since it was a middle-of-the-night feeding, it’d be a long one. Making Lumic feed in bed was a recipe for him falling asleep with her in his arms, so bribing Lumic into the nursery with tallroot milk and a pastry was the best he could do.
Delicately, he placed a dozing Lyrica in her bassinet by the window where the moon could see her. She said she enjoyed staring at her new daughter. Moonborne always did better when they could see their goddess. Askara did, at any rate.
He arranged the snack on a side table and made sure a cloth lay on the arm of Lumic’s rocking chair. He refused to do anything other than his utmost best for his mate and child.
He turned from the steaming mug, lit a candle, and strode to their bedchambers to wake Lumic with a kiss and hand up. “Lyrica is hungry, my love. I have you some tallroot milk and a fruit pastry.”
Lumic opened a single pretty green eye and stared up at Askara before rising and yawning. He was still weak on his feet, but shuffled with Askara’s help to the next room over.
