Epilogue Dracul
5 years later
The day was here, the day was here! At long last, Lora was giving birth. Though both of us were excited, I was extremely anxious, as there was no record of a dragon-human pairing before. We were in fully uncharted territory. I hoped everything would go smoothly, and so far, the pregnancy had progressed normally. But I was still worried.
Lora had taken everything in stride. While she had her own worries, she did not ever seem as worried as I felt. For the past nine months—since we had found out we were expecting—she had been planning for our baby’s arrival. Everyone was ecstatic when we shared the news and absolutely no one let Lora do anything by herself anymore. Everyone wanted to help her, much to her chagrin.
“I’m an independent woman I can do a simple task!” she had complained to me after a dragon insisted on carrying a small pile of paperwork for her to Lord Verhorn.
After the eighth month, Lora had been put on bed rest upon the midwife’s insistence, and much to Lora’s dismay. I brought her as many books as she requested, checking in on her every hour throughout the day. The Dragon Maidens also took up shifts so she never was alone. Someone was always there at her beck and call, although she rarely took advantage of that.
Only a few days ago, she’d complained about the baby and how she wanted to give birth already. We both were excited to meet our little one, but I also knew what human birth entailed, how dangerous it was. Just in case, I had prepared multiple potions to help with her healing process should the worst happen. While I was excited for the baby, I worried about what the cost would be. We had not even been sure if procreation was possible between us, but Lora had been beside herself with happiness when she realized she was pregnant.
Now the baby was on its way and I was at Lora’s side, my hand tightly gripped in hers while she panted and screamed, pushing the baby out. The midwife encouraged her to push again and there was more screaming. My heart broke for her. I wanted to take the pain away, but it was impossible. She was the only one who could bear this pain.
A couple more pushes later and the baby was out.
“It’s a healthy baby girl,” the midwife said, handing the baby to Alonsa to clean off before a freshly swaddled baby was placed in my arms.
I held the baby towards Lora so she could see the newborn. “She’s beautiful,” I said softly.
Lora’s face suddenly grimaced in pain.
“What’s going on?” I asked frantically, turning to the midwife.
“It looks as though it’s twins,” she said. “Valora, you need to push.”
This time was only three pushes total before our little girl had a sister.
Lora lay back in the bed, completely spent from giving birth. I crawled in next to her, showing her the two newest members of our family.
“You did wonderfully,” I said, passing them to her to hold. Alonsa moved to wipe Lora’s forehead of sweat, but I took the towel from her and started cleaning her myself.
“They look human,” she said, staring at both of our babies in awe. “We did this, Dracul. We made them.”
“That we did, my love,” I said, kissing her forehead. Never before had she looked so beautiful. “What would you like to name them?”
Both girls had wisps of hair, dark navy like mine. When one opened her eyes, I could see that she had Lora’s eyes, a brilliant, bright blue. The other one was a surprise—she had one silver eye and one blue. But I could tell both had my dragaria ’s nose and I knew that it would crinkle when they smiled, like hers did.
“How about Valia and Calantha?” she asked, kissing each one as she named them.
“Perfect,” I said. She looked to me, and I kissed her once more, capturing her lips with mine. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said, her eyes bright. She glowed—motherhood already suited her. It only made me more excited to see what was to come.