Chapter 114
Chapter 114
The drive back to the packhouse felt longer than it should have.
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I sat in the passenger seat with the scan picture resting on my lap, one hand pressed under my belly and the other gripping Damien’s fingers so hard I knew it had to hurt. He did not complain once. His thumb kept moving over my knuckles, slow and steady, like he was trying to keep me inside my own body.
Every small cramp made me inhale too fast.
Damien noticed every single one.
“Sienna?”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly.
He looked at me for half a second before looking back at the road. “Do not lie to me right now.”
I swallowed and shifted against the seat. “It hurts a little.”
His jaw tightened. “Where?”
“Low. Like pressure.” I looked down at my stomach and tried to breathe normally. “Maybe it’s just because I’m scared.”
He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles without taking his eyes off the road. “We’re almost there.”
I hated how much I wanted that to comfort me.
The packhouse gates opened before we reached them. Guards moved fast, already warned through Damien’s mind link. I saw Linda standing at the entrance with the healer, both of them looking like they had been waiting for hours even though we had only been gone a while.
The second Damien parked, he got out and came to my side. I tried to open the door myself, but he was already there, one hand on the handle, the other reaching for me.
“I can walk,” I said.
“I know.” He helped me out anyway. “I’m holding you.”
I wanted to argue, but another cramp pulled through my lower stomach and made me grab his arm. His face changed immediately.
“Sienna.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered, but even I did not believe it.
Linda stepped forward, eyes dropping to my hand on my belly. “What did the doctor say?”
11:52 Thu, May 21
Chapter 114
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Damien wrapped his arm around my waist and started walking me inside. “Baby is measuring close to full term. Bleeding. Cramping.”
Linda’s eyes widened. “Full term?”
I pressed the scan picture to my chest. “Apparently.”
The healer moved beside me, not touching yet, just watching my face and the way I was walking. “How much blood?”
I looked at Damien.
He answered for me. “Bright red. Enough to scare her.”
“Damien,” I muttered.
He glanced down at me. “What? It did.”
The healer nodded once. “Take her upstairs. No council room. No elders. Straight to your quarters.”
That was the first thing she said that I agreed with.
The halls were not empty. Of course they were not. People stared as Damien guided me through, and I wanted to shrink inside his coat. A few servants moved aside fast. One woman whispered, “Is it the baby?” and I had to close my eyes because I could not do this right now.
Damien stopped walking.
His voice was cold. “Anyone standing in this hallway in ten seconds answers to me.”
The hallway cleared so quickly it would have been funny on any other day.
I leaned into him. “You didn’t have to scare them.”
“Yes, I did.”
I almost smiled, but the pain came again, sharper this time. I bent forward, fingers digging into his sleeve.
He lifted me before I could protest.
“Damien.”
“Not arguing,” he said, already carrying me up the stairs.
I wrapped one arm around his neck and pressed my face against his shoulder. He smelled like leather, soap, and panic he was trying to hide.
When we reached his room, he set me on the bed gently. The healer entered behind us with Linda carrying towels, bowls, and a medical bag.
“Lie back,” the healer said.
11:52 Thu, May 21
Chapter 114
…
I obeyed, but my fingers grabbed Damien’s wrist the second he tried to step away.
“Don’t leave.”
His face softened. “I’m not going anywhere.”
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He sat beside me on the bed and held my hand while the healer checked me. She pressed around my belly, listened with one instrument, then another, and kept frowning. Every time her expression changed, my chest tightened.
“Is the baby okay?” I asked.
The healer did not answer fast enough.
Damien leaned forward. “Answer her.”
The healer placed both hands over my belly and closed her eyes. Her lips moved silently for a moment. I watched her face, watched the tiny crease between her brows deepen.
“The heartbeat is strong,” she said.
I let out a shaky breath.
“But?” Damien asked.
The healer opened her eyes. “But the rhythm is not steady enough for me to relax.”
My stomach dropped. “What does that mean?”
She looked at Linda. “Bring the warm water closer.”
Linda moved instantly, setting everything on the table. Her face was calm, but I saw the way her fingers tightened around the towel.
The healer checked the bleeding next. I stared at the ceiling while Damien held my hand against his chest.
His voice dropped low. “Look at me.”
I turned my head.
“There you are,” he whispered.
I blinked fast. “Don’t be sweet right now. I’ll cry.”
His thumb brushed my cheek. “Cry then.”
I shook my head. “I’m tired of crying.”
He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Then breathe with me.”
I tried. I really did. I hated every second of it. But the healer pulled back, and the room went too quiet.
11:52 Thu, May 21
Chapter 114
Damien looked at her. “Say it.”
The healer wiped her hands, then pressed a cloth between her palms. “She has lost a lot of blood.”
My fingers went cold around Damien’s.
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The healer continued, voice careful. “The baby is low. Too low. And with how advanced the pregnancy appears, I do not think waiting is safe.”
I pushed myself up on my elbows. “Waiting for what?”
Damien’s hand tightened around mine.
The healer looked me straight in the eye.
“We have to deliver the baby now, or there is a real risk the baby will not survive until tomorrow.”
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11:53 Thu, May 21
