Chapter 46

A week later

~Kamari~

The birth of Ignis started with fire. My body was engulfed, but it felt like soft caresses of chill. I laid against Nye between his lap on the bed as he fed the ongoing flames with his hand on my belly. The contraction was getting closer, but this pain was much more tolerated compared to Ryuu's birth. Not to say it didn't hurt like Kadea's hell. They could probably hear me through the halls of the castle. Aneth stayed at my bedside. Ignis wouldn't take anyone else's flame, but Nye and I needed the fire for the birth.

Says the little black book of DragonBorns.

"She's close, Kamari," Nye says in my ear. I whimper. "She?"

"Yes." I can see the smile in Nye's voice. With a drawn-out groan and one last push, I heard a familiar sound, but it wasn't a chirp; it was a baby's cry. As I look down, I see my whelp in the form of a human child, and when the maids clean her up and give her back to me, she looks like Nye's doppelganger. "Oh, my sweet girl…" I didn't care that she took this form first; it could have happened either way. 

I feel Nye's hands cover mine; knowing how he thought about humans, my gut churned a bit. "Nye, she will-"

"I want to hold her." The ache in Nye's voice surprises me; I turn slowly to him, and his eyes light up at seeing his daughter. I give her to him, and he holds her close; Ignis takes hold of his finger, and I see it start to smoke. Nye chuckles, "You are far too young for your first flame, little one…" He says in a soft, calm voice.

Aneth comes around, his face contorted in curiosity. "Human before Dragon, how interesting…"

"I thought so, too. Maybe for females, it's different. Didn't the book mention it?" I asked Aneth. He grabbed the book, flipped through it, and shook his head, then said, "It only says they can be born either way, but they will shift when they come of age."

"I suppose it doesn't matter then," I conclude. Watching Nye with Ignis makes my heart fill with warmth. In a way, Nye looked fulfilled; his softened features almost made him look human. Nye nuzzles his nose against Ignis, which illusits a little giggle from her. My heart swells when I hear it. I scoot closer, and Nye lets me take her. "So, she can't hunt for herself, that's for sure," I noticed I had produced breast milk, and she latched quickly. 

I notice Nye and Aneth wear furrowed looks of confusion. "What? It's breastfeeding. She can't hunt in human form; I must breastfeed her."

Nye and Aneth look at one another; Aneth says, "This is normal for humans?"

"Yes," I say softly. Nye's face softens, "This will happen often?" He asks.

"Whenever she's hungry," I smile. I loved that my family was growing; now Ryuu had a sister. My mind wanders to my mother, and a gut-clenching feeling grips me. "I'm not continuing this, horrid Daughters of Shades lineage," I caress Ignis' cheek. You will never know the sick effects of their venom, my beautiful Ignis."

"A wise decision." Aneth walks towards me and gazes down at Ignis. "The Shade line should have gone extinct a long time ago."

 I look at Aneth, "I'll gladly get them back on track."

I would be damned if my daughter had to suffer from what I went through. "And she'll have me for her whole life." A long moment of calmness and bliss fills the room in Ignis' presence, and I Indulge in it until a loud banging comes at the door and makes her cry.

Nye stands at attention, then glares at the door. She marches forward and yanks the door open, and before Nye can grab her, Calea runs in. "Kamari! I tried to stop them! They came unannounced!"

I stand up, wincing, "What? Who got in?"

Calea's face pales, and my gut churns at her next words: "Paldania's priestess, they are here for Javall." 

I shake my head. "They have impeccable timing." I grit my teeth, but I wasn't able to look weak in front of them, even after I had just given birth. Nye, hold Ignis."

Aneth glares at Calea and says, in a gruff voice, "You witches keep putting your noses where they don't belong."

 Calea's fists clenched, "Don't you dare compare me to them…" I place a hand on Calea's shoulder, "I know you're nothing like Calea. Come with me; don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you cringe."

I didn't care how I looked; the rawness of labor invigorated me. The protectiveness in my veins surged like fire. Aneth wasn't lying when he said Shades protected their homes with a lethalness, because I wanted to kill. I could feel Aneth's presence behind me as I stormed into the Throne room where three people of Paldania stood, the one in the middle, a woman with natural red hair and eyes of green envy, smile like a snake.

"Kamari, I hope I haven't interrupted anything." Their high priestess says, her voice honeyed with fake sincerity. I can feel a sharp pain, and a sudden warmth trails down my thighs, my dress drenched in the sweat and tears of labor.

 "No. Perfect timing." I feel Aneth place a hand on my shoulder, and a tingle of his ability flows through me. He followed me to the Throne chair, I could see the light trail of blood behind me, but hell, they wanted an audience with me, they'd get one.

I sit upon my Throne and lock eyes with the priestess. "My time is valuable. Spare me the small talk and get straight to the point." A small smirk spreads across my lips as I watch the priestess's eyes widen at the blood.

I cross one leg over the other, my head tilts slight as I ask, "Feeling squeamish?"