14. A Midwife for a Mermaid #2
Hearing movement, Sapphira steps before Isabel, shielding her from potential danger. A creature lies against the rock, its shimmering tail slapping against the water. The long appendage stretches across the cramped space.
“I-It’s—” Sapphira says. “Mermaid.”
“A mermaid,” Kaelen and Isabel say in awe.
Sapphira’s eyes roam over the mermaid’s distended belly. “She’s pregnant.” She decides that the cave must be her den. It’s filled with treasure, and a pile of fish is beside the mother.
“Where’s your mate?” Isabel croons, holding out her hand.
Sapphira grabs her arm. “What are you doing? Isn’t that thing dangerous? It could take your arm.”
Isabel shakes her head. “Female mermaids, or merepersone, are harmless if you don’t threaten them.
Their mates, on the other hand, might rip you apart if you get too close to mamá and merlings.
They’re buff, with wide shoulders and corded muscles.
And they’re known to wield a dui—a club with a broad head shaped like a fan. ”
Kaelen shudders, and Isabel says, “That isn’t even what you should be worried about. Their arm strength is deadly enough to rip you limb from limb with their bare hands.”
Kaelen, the scaredy-draek?n, whimpers and takes a step back. “Maybe we should get out of here before the daddy returns.”
Isabel brings her gaze back to the pregnant mermaid and frowns. “I don’t think that will be an issue.”
“You don’t think getting torn apart is an issue?” Kaelen grumbles, his eyes narrowing to slits.
“No. The papá,” Isabel says sadly, her brows knitting.
“No mated merman would leave his mate’s side during pregnancy, especially not this close to delivery.
Merepersone mate for life, and the males are very protective of their little families.
Pregnancy is hard and long. Most have only one.
And by her scales, this looks to be her first. So, if he’s not here, something must have happened.
” Sapphira hears her whisper to herself, “I hope nothing happened.”
A tear falls from the chimera’s eye, and she quickly wipes it away. Sapphira averts her own eyes. That’s one of the things she adores about Isabel: her big heart.
The mermaid makes a sad noise in her throat and looks up with big eyes. Isabel gives her a smile and holds out her arm again.
Sapphira doesn’t try to stop the chimera this time. The healer walks carefully forward, stopping beside the mermaid’s tail. It’s the color of a brilliant sandy sunset, melding into a deep purple at the flippers and fins.
Sapphira can tell that Isabel is itching to touch the mermaid, but she refrains. She waits until the mermaid finally reaches out. The webbed hand trails up Isabel’s arm, and the woman visibly shivers at the wet touch. Eyes search hers curiously and tug at her hair and horns.
Isabel kneels down, and Sapphira suppresses the urge to pull her back against her chest, to safety. She reaches out to touch a flipper. The fearless woman.
“You’ve gotta come try,” Isabel says. “This is amazing.”
“No, thanks,” Kaelen says. “I don’t like fish unless I’m eating it.”
Sapphira’s feet move forward before she realizes what she’s doing. The mermaid flinches away at the sound of her footsteps echoing against the stone walls.
“It’s okay,” Isabel croons toward the creature, and the sound does things to Sapphira. When Isabel reaches back to grab her hand, Sapphira goes breathless, heat racing up her arm where they touch.
Raising Sapphira’s trembling hand to the mermaid, Isabel holds it and smiles at the mother.
The mermaid dips her head, and Sapphira’s chest gets tight as she kneels beside Isabel.
Isabel strokes Sapphira’s long fingers up and down against the smooth, slimy scales.
The words “Sunshine woman” nearly slip from Sapphira’s lips as she watches the chimera.
“Wonderful,” Sapphira breathes.
“You’re going to have such pretty merlings, Mamá,” Isabel whispers.
The mermaid whines, making a wounded sound in her throat.
Isabel’s face changes to one of panic. “You need help?” Her eyes roam all over the creature. “Are you struggling to give birth? Is that why we’re here?” Another sad sound, and Isabel’s eyes widen. “I will help you. Let me help.”
The mermaid slowly nods, and a smile snaps onto Isabel’s face. Sapphira steps back as she goes into healer mode, eyes focused.
“I’m going to need your guys’ help,” Isabel says over her shoulder. “I’ve helped a lot of births, but no aquatic ones.”
Kaelen makes a gagging sound somewhere behind Sapphira. “Sorry, nope. I think I’m going to pass out,” he says, his voice high.
“Tu es un bébé. What a guppy,” Sapphira says with a snicker.
Isabel rubs the mermaid’s scales in a calming motion. “Can you lie all the way back for me?” she asks, and the mermaid lies back against the stone. Isabel rubs her hands up and down the distended belly, slowly increasing her pressure on the down stroke.
“Where does it . . .” Sapphira questions, raising her eyebrows.
Isabel doesn’t seem shocked by the question. “Mermaids have a slit that widens during childbirth and mating.”
Kaelen gags again, and Sapphira chokes to hold back her laughter.
Time passes quickly, Isabel rubbing the mermaid’s belly and adding pressure as the contractions worsen. When the mermaid makes shrill, distressing sounds, Isabel says, “We must get her into the water. It’s deep, but we can stand on a bit of a ledge here.”
Clothes and all, Sapphira joins Isabel in the warm water, and she grows shy under the proud smile Isabel directs her way. She would do anything for that smile.
Sapphira helps the mermaid into the water, and then slips in after her. Isabel directs her to repeat her movements, putting downward pressure on the belly to let the merling slide out easily.
The poor, scared, first-time mother with an absent, possibly killed mate.
“Push, Mamá,” Isabel encourages, water lapping at her as the panicked mermaid’s flapping tail creates waves. Sapphira has to dodge being hit by it.
“I see the head!” Sapphira says with awe and excitement in her voice. When she looks at Isabel, the woman gives her a fond look.
“Can you swim?” Isabel asks her.
“Uh . . . a bit. That’s odd because of my homeland, but I never swam in deep waters as a kid. I was taught though.”
Sapphira can’t help but think of being tossed around in the sea, with no sense of ups and downs, and waiting to die. She shudders.
“If you feel comfortable swimming, can you get down into the water and be ready to catch the baby while I continue pushing?”
“M-me, catch the baby?” Sapphira says, her eyes wide.
“Contrary to belief, merlings can’t swim right away. They spend the first month of life out of the water.”
Sapphira is scared. Her eyes are wide, and she’s breathing fast.
Isabel pitches her voice low and soft. “You can do it, Sapphira Tuisaravere. We believe in you.”
Sapphira gasps, her cheeks heating. “Okay, I’ll do it.” She takes in a deep breath and dunks under the water. Isabel helps the mermaid push.
It doesn’t take long for Sapphira to see the head through the clear waters, and when the merling slips out, Sapphira is quick to snatch it up.
“I got it— There’s another!” she cries, diving to catch the second one. With one hand, she presses both merlings to her chest and swims back up.
Isabel climbs out of the water, a wide grin on her lips. “Twins,” she whispers, her voice choked up and tears swimming in her eyes.
She takes the babies from Sapphira so the woman can get out of the water, and the tired mother swims around a bit to release the rest of the birthing fluids.
Sapphira finds the sight of Isabel shaking, her curls dripping wet across her face as she cradles two tiny merlings with undeveloped flippers, indescribable. The sparkle in her eye takes Sapphira’s breath away, and she knows she’s too deep already.
Isabel stares proudly down at the bundles of joy as the mother hauls her large tail out of the water and drags herself across the stone toward her nest of seaweed in the corner.
Lying back, she waits for Isabel to place the babies into her waiting arms. Isabel looks nervous and sad, and the sight breaks Sapphira’s heart. A tear streaks down Isabel’s face, and she knows she’s feeling the same way.
Isabel fondly says, “You have a girl and a boy, Mamá. Congratulations. You did so good.”
“Here, let’s get you some food,” Sapphira says, trying to brighten the mood. She crosses the cavern toward the pile of fish where Kaelen is huddled, peeking curiously over at the babies.
There’s a piercing sound, like a whistle, and a merman cuts angrily through the water.
Before they can react, the giant beast leaps out of the water, wielding a long dui, and knocks Isabel off her feet with his powerful silver-black tail.
The merman quickly turns to Sapphira, knocking her to her back. The large, terrifying male screeches in her face. She fears she will be torn apart, and the sound of Isabel’s and Kaelen’s shouting is the last thing she hears.
In a thunderous, lightning-quick move, Kaelen shifts, expanding as much as he can in the cramped space, and knocks the merman away from Sapphira. She quickly rolls out of the way, shielding Isabel and the new mother with her body as the men fight.
Kaelen whimpers as the merman winds his arms around his torso and squeezes.
Sapphira winces at the sound of bones cracking as Isabel sobs.
Her heart is pounding so fast and so loud, it sounds like a herd of wild horses.
And she’s so hot that she feels she might pass out.
Watching Kaelen fight for her, watching him struggle against the merman, is frightening.
It may be the worst thing she’s ever witnessed. He’s going to die—for her.
Knowing she has to do something before the raging merman kills her friend, Sapphira rolls over to the pile of treasure and grabs a jeweled spear atop a mountain of precious metal.