The Elf Prince Is My Baby Daddy novel · Chapter 23 of 32

Chapter 23: Midwinter Night

"Seren," I said. "Get Ilvar."

"In this?"

"In this. Take a lantern. Hold the rail the whole way."

She grabbed her blanket and ran.

Mam was already moving.

Kettle on the fire.

Towels from the chest.

My bag tipped out on Seren's bed, everything in rows the way she'd taught me when I was six.

"Six months," I said. "Mam, it's six months."

"Wood elves carry seven. You've got three in there. They're out of room." She didn't look up from the rows. "They're not early. They're just impatient. Like their mother."

The first real pain came twenty minutes later.

It was nothing like the false ones.

It started in my back and wrapped round to the front and squeezed.

It didn't let go until I'd forgotten my own name.

When it let go, I was on my knees by the bed.

"Breathe," said Mam.

"I know how to breathe."

"Then do it."

Ilvar came in with snow on his shoulders and in his hair, half frozen, Seren at his heels.

He saw me on the floor and dropped to his knees beside me.

"Tell me what to do."

I almost laughed.

"Pick up the lamp," I said. "And hold it. For as long as it takes."

He picked up the lamp.

Seren came back in a minute later with her face white.

"There are guards on the stairs," she whispered to Mam. "Six of them. Royal guards. And the old healer with the beard, and a woman from the palace nursery with blankets."

← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend