Page 194 of Stars in Umbra
At last, the tide stilled.
The stars no longer demanded their time. The galaxy gave them this pause.
It was time to usher their child into the world.
They were heading to Dunia.
Rina chose to give birth to her baby at her parents’ farm.
‘Surrounded by family, love, and lushness of nature,’ she insisted.
Mo submitted, not even uttering a word of refusal, happy to grant the love of his life the birthing experience she dreamed of.
Rina curled into Mo’s arms, her breath warm against his collarbone, his embrace steady as the auto nav took over.
He had held her with that same quiet reverence since the moment he learned she was carrying their child.
She was glowing, viscerally, her womb round and ready for birth.
Eight months along, her skin sometimes radiated with a brighter golden shimmer beneath the surface, as if touched by starlight.
Power, subtle and steady, pulsed from the swell of her belly.
Mo eased her into the passenger crash couch and strapped in beside her, eyes following the shifts on her complexion, as always mesmerized.
‘So beautiful,’ he rasped.’
She stroked his jaw. ‘Sante.’
You comfortable,mi kaya?’ he whispered, brushing away the wild tresses from her brow.
She chuckled. ‘As I’ll ever be, with our little one doing dance drills in my ribs.’
Her voice was thick with affection. ‘We need to talk about how much Sacran energy they inherited.’
Mo let out a rumble of laughter and pressed a kiss to the dome of her belly. ‘They’re just excited,’ he murmured into her skin. ‘They know it’s our time now.’
Several hours later, Dunia came into view on the navscreen.
The twin suns painted the sky in coral and gold as the corvette slipped through the atmosphere.
Below, the land rolled out in green hills and morning mist, familiar and steady.
Hanna and Reth’s estate appeared, orchards in neat rows.
She sighed at the sight of paddocks dotted with horses and the farmhouse with its expansive terrace.
Clotheslines swayed in the breeze, and in the back paddock a newborn foal stood, still wobbly on its legs.
‘It’s good to be here for the last stretch,’ Rina exhaled. ‘Nothing’s like having your mother close when the baby comes.’
The corvette touched down. Rina squeezed Mo’s hand as they stepped out. He stripped off his boots and crossed the grass barefoot, breathing in the scent of wet earth and hay.
At the fence, he slowed, studying the gardens, paddocks, and the yearling.
‘Looks like Reth has done more planting.’
‘He has, it is almost summer after all. Also, the filly is ours,’ Rina murmured.
