Page 101 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
Argent growled.
Brynn gasped.
Kyoko doubled over, pressing her belly through the cloth of her skirt. Sinking to her knees, her groan turned into a dark laugh. “The beast senses a fresh supply.”
What a thing to say. Tsumiko wasn’t sure if she should reach out to help or pull back.
Argent snagged the dropped bracelet and tugged Tsumiko backward, but he didn’t return the ward to her wrist. Really, there was no need. Argent’s presence surrounded her, curtailing the sudden upwell, shuttering her soul.
“Snuffed like a candle,” muttered Brynn, eyeing Argent with wary respect. “You can contain her?”
Tsumiko could feel Argent’s shrug as he offhandedly replied, “When she is willing.”
Stewart helped his wife to one of the sofas, and Tsumiko asked, “What just happened? Did I harm the baby?”
“Not at all, dear,” said Brynn, who unhurriedly poured tea. “The babe has been gathering strength from the mother, and the toll deepens. Kyoko must be delivered of her child before she grows too weak to survive the additional strain.”
Of course a baby borrowed its mother’s strength. It would be helpless without her, even after birth. Tsumiko knew she was missing something. “Isn’t the baby ready to come?”
“Reluctantis a better word.” Brynn shook her head. “With mixed breeding, the wee one does not long for light and breath and milk; their heart is already full.”
Stewart sat close beside his wife. “I suppose it’s because she’s a reaver. Unregistered, but still. They tell us there is a certain … allure.”
Understatement. And an understandable predicament. Especially if the mother’s resources weren’t inexhaustible. Tsumiko asked, “What happens if a reaver gives too much of themselves in tending?”
“Death,” said Brynn.
“Aren’t there ways to induce labor?” she asked. “Or could you perform a Cesarean?”
Brynn inclined her head. “The reavers are as eager to take the child as Kyoko is to give it. But with you here, we may be able to avoid all their unpleasantness. Come here, dear.”
Tsumiko came to sit on Kyoko’s other side, and Brynn knelt before them. The nurse guided Tsumiko’s hand to Kyoko’s belly. The young woman allowed it, but nothing happened. Should it have?
“Loosen your grip, fox,” said Brynn.
“Like when we’re tending Kith?” asked Tsumiko. Argent hummed, and she felt his hold gently loosen. At the same moment, the baby twitched under her hand.
“A little more,” coached Brynn, who shifted Tsumiko’s hand lower. “My, my, this should prove irresistible. Lean back, Kyoko. I think we can turn the child now.”
She paled and pressed her lips together, but obeyed.
Argent spoke up. “If you knew what was needed, why did you not take measures sooner?”
“We did try, but there was the matter of quality.” Brynn spoke in a soothing lilt, as if reciting poetry. “Can a child who wants its mother be satisfied by lesser souls? But your beacon is kin. She has the right feel.”
Flesh rippled and twisted under Tsumiko’s hand, and Brynn exclaimed softly. Stewart smiled and said, “That’s good. The child’s no longer breech.”
Kyoko grimaced, her gaze flickering to Argent, who’d remained at a polite distance. “Whatever it takes,” she ground out.
“You will soon be free,” Brynn soothed. Then she looked to Argent. “I will need you both.”
“For?” he inquired haughtily.
She smiled faintly. “Birth attendants.”
FIFTY ONE
Latch
