Chapter 54 Say the Name
~ JANN ~
Three women shrieked, and Yilan cursed when I burst through the door, but I didn’t give a shit.
Diadre lay at the center of the large bed, sweaty, exhausted, and obviously in pain. Teen, rubbing something vigorously, handed my mate her arm wrapped in a cloth.
Wait.
No.
It wasn’t Diadre’s arm.
My heart pounded in my head so loudly I could barely think. But then the woman reached into the bundle of linen she’d just placed on Diadre’s chest, and I snarled and rushed the bed.
“Jann, she’s helping!” Diadre squawked.
The women nearby all scrambled back, as I rushed to her side with a growl, fear hammering in my chest. “Stay back,” I snarled at them.
“Jann, it’s fine. Jann, look at me—look at me.”
I tore my gaze from that bundle and looked at my mate—and found her weary, sweaty, hair stuck to her temple, and beaming. Smiling ear to ear.
I reached for her beautiful face, combing her hair back from her temples and leaned in. “Are you well? Is the pain terrible? What can I—”
“Jann… look.”
I swallowed hard, and made myself look down at the tiny, squirming, pink creature swaddled on her chest and my heart sank.
It was far too small. It couldn’t be healthy. Was it early? Had it been squashed by the birth? I hadn’t seen many Neph babies, but they were much bigger than this, surely?
Terrified and speechless, I opened my hands and slid them under that little cocoon.
A shivering, shattering, fizz of combined joy and grief pumped out of my heart, and tore through my body. I could hold my entire son in two hands. How was it possible that he wouldn’t be broken by this world? How could he possibly survive? So small and—
His little mouth opened and he let out a yowl that raised the hair on the back of my neck, and sent my heart into the clouds.
“Shhh, shhh, shhh,” I hushed him. “It’s okay… Daddy’s here and—”
My son stopped screaming and blinked… and then stopped. Glazed and unfocused, he looked at me, tiny whimpers and pants breaking from his little mouth.
“Is he… is he healthy?” I whispered. “He’s so small—”
“Jann,” Diadre said, her voice thick with tears.
My heart sank to my toes, but I made myself meet her eyes—I would be strong for her as long as I could be, she would already have to face so much alone.
When our eyes locked she was crying, but she smiled through it, because she was so brave.
“Jann, we need to choose a new name. Our baby… it’s not a he. It’s a she. Jann, you have a daughter.”
I blinked, not unlike my son had just moments earlier. I knew she spoke real words, but I couldn’t take them in.
A moment later, Diadre gave a wet laugh, then urged me to hold him out so she could tug his wrappings away and…
And reveal…
A daughter?
I staggered, dropping to my knees next to the bed, propping my elbows next to Diadre as she laughed and cried, and rewrapped our daughter to keep her warm.
A daughter?
“Her mother’s blood must have run very strong to have overwhelmed the Nephilim seed. Especially the Halfling,” Teen said from behind me. Her strong hand landed on my shoulder. “Congratulations, Jann. You continue the myth.”
“I suspect this is the only time he’ll be happy he was dominated,” Melek quipped from the door.
I should have sworn at him. Should have laughed. Should have done… something. I could only stare. Diadre was alive, and our baby… our girl?
Then Diadre reached for me with one hand, cupping my jaw and rubbing my cheek with her thumb. “Jann, this is good news. Can’t you see what it means? You don’t have a son. No son, means no Neph. Jann, there’s no curse!”
Those words made no sense. I was too scared to even hope they were true, but then my mate leaned forward, and laid our daughter between us, then took my face in her hands and kissed me.
“It’s time to stop being afraid,” she whispered against my lips.
“We’re here. All of us. And we’re safe. Stop listening to that voice in your head.
God put us here—and look what he gave us! ”
She drew back and we both stared down at this precious little bundle of pink skin and white cloth and…
The whole picture blurred.
Wrapping my arms around my daughter on the bed, I leaned over her, dropped my head to the bed and wept.
Diadre’s hands in my hair, and her cheek on my head, only fed more tears.
I had no idea how long I lay there with my family, trying to assimilate this new information—this hope. But when I finally looked up, we were alone in the room and Diadre smiled at me through tears.
“It’s true. We’re safe. It’s over, Jann.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“I know, but you will. She’s going to be beautiful, strong and fierce. We need a name that will declare her for the fighter she’ll be and—”
“Adiya,” I breathed.
Diadre blinked.
I swallowed. “Adiya. It means gift. She’s a gift. She’s… she’s the best gift, Dee.”
Then she smiled and nodded. “You’re right. It’s perfect.”
I looked down at our daughter and shook my head in disbelief. When I looked back up to ask Diadre if she was in pain, I found her staring at me, a peaceful smile on her face, but her gaze far away.
“What is it?” I asked her.
“Just your eyes… when you’re looking at her.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? What about them?”
Her smile softened and she reached for my hand. “Nothing. They’re just my favorite shade of green.”