Chapter 95: Almost Time

The pain came out of nowhere.

Elena gripped the edge of the wooden table in her tent, her knuckles pale, her breath stolen by the sharp, stabbing sensation that bloomed like lightning in her lower back and stomach.

The world tilted. Her vision shimmered at the edges- flashes of color, blue-white like mana sparks, bursting behind her eyes.

She closed them, riding the wave.

False contraction. Another one.

But the power in it, how it sang through her ribs and spine, told her this was no ordinary ache. Something deeper stirred now. Something ancient.

She exhaled slowly, her breath warm and trembling. She poured herself a cup of cool water from the clay jug, tracing the condensation with shaking fingers. Her brow was damp with sweat, curls clinging to her temples like vines.

The rim of the cup met her lips, and she drank deeply. It was more than water. It tasted charged, laced with the herbs Aurora steeped in every morning. Mugwort, rose, lemongrass, and a trace of obsidian salt. A womb blend. A grounding charm. A blessing.

The false contractions had started days ago but now they had rhythm. A pulse. A voice.

She wasn't just feeling her own pain. She was feeling the threshold.

Still, Aurora had said to keep moving. And Elena trusted her.

So she braced herself, one hand to her lower back, the other over her belly. The baby kicked against her palm, and for a moment, she imagined the child was reaching for her. Calling her toward the veil.

"Almost there," she whispered. "You're almost here, little one."

A knock at the tent flap.

The flap stirred as if moved by more than just hand or wind like spirit. Like intention.

She turned, wincing through the ache. When she saw Aurora and Phineus step in, her face lit up.

"Hello, you two! Come in-"

But her words faltered as another contraction crashed down like a tidal wave. She gasped, knees buckling.

Aurora was at her side in an instant, arms wrapping around her, whispering low and steady.

"Easy, sweetheart. I've got you."

The hem of her cloak brushed a protective ring of mana-scribed salt that surrounded the sleeping mat, something they'd drawn together days ago in case the baby came early. The symbols shimmered faintly now, responding to Elena's pain, to her power.

Phineus moved quickly, eyes wide but sure, helping Elena ease down onto the mat, where pillows and dried herbs softened the seams.

"Where's Niegal?" he asked.

Elena smiled faintly, despite the tight pull of pain. "Don't go bothering him… it's normal. Just means it's almost time."

The ache subsided. The magic didn't.

Aurora dabbed her forehead with a cool cloth, murmuring something in the old tongue as she did. Not a prayer, a protection. Her words pulsed through the air like drumbeats.

"The Behike should be here any day now," she said softly, fingers moving to Elena's wrist, checking her pulse not just for speed, but for resonance. For alignment.

"You're strong, Elena. And you're not alone."

Elena closed her eyes again. Breathed in.

And as the next wave came, she felt herself slip. Not into pain, but into vision.

For a heartbeat, she wasn't in the tent.

She was standing in a circle of ancient women, cloaked in feathers and smoke. The Coabey Cemi watched from the shadows, his skull glinting like a pearl in firelight. His hollow gaze saw not just Elena, but the generations she carried, the lineage unfolding in her bones.

The wind carried her name. The stars opened like eyes.

And in the center of the circle: a cradle made of bone and lightning.

A soft voice, her grandmother's, maybe? Or the Behike's, whispered:

You carry the storm. But this child will carry the peace.

Elena opened her eyes, breath shaking.

She didn't feel alone.

She felt held. She felt watched. She felt known.

And beneath her skin, the child moved again. Strong and certain.

She pressed her hand over her womb, heart hammering, and whispered a prayer.

"Please… let me be enough."

And the answer came, not in words but in warmth.

It spread up from the earth beneath her, into her spine, her blood, her soul.

Yes.

Yes, you are.

Yes, you will be.

Yes, she is ready.