Twilight's Dawn

moved away from him.
    “Surreal . . .”
    Lucivar walked into the room and gave Surreal a lazy, arrogant smile. “Want to shred something, darling?”
    “Yes,” she snapped, “but since he likes his balls, I doubt he’d stand still for it.”
    “Surreal . . .,” Daemon soothed.
    “Stop hovering over me!” she shouted. “This baby will come when it wants to come, and your pushing at me isn’t going to make it come any faster!”
    “I’m not pushing. . . .”
    “You prick-assed son of a bitch, get out of here !”
    Daemon looked at Lucivar. “I was told she’d be bitchy, but is it normal for her to sound insane?”
    “Insane?” Surreal shrieked. “You think I sound insane ?”
    “Yes,” Lucivar said to Daemon. “Right now, she doesn’t like you much, old son, so come into the next room and give her some peace.”
    “Why are you taking my side?” Surreal demanded.
    “When Marian was in labor with Daemonar, she wanted the birthing room clear of males on occasion, and when I got stubborn about it, she threatened to cook up the afterbirth and feed it to me.”
    Daemon felt like something stringy and greasy was stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard and looked at Surreal.
    She looked at him and said, “I’ll stab you before I cook anything.”
    “Thank you,” he said faintly. “I appreciate it.”
    “Then get out!”
    Lucivar hauled him into the adjoining room, closing the door to the birthing room most of the way. That gave Surreal sufficient privacy but made it easy to hear her.
    Daemon let out a shaky sigh. “She’s hurting.”
    “She’s in labor, old son. Having a baby hurts like a wicked bitch. Or so I’ve been told.”
    “There has to be something the Healer can do. Something I can do. Hell’s fire, Lucivar. If I can drain the power from Surreal’s Jewels to make her more comfortable, why can’t I take some of the pain?”
    “The Healer has spells to dull the pain. You have to let her take care of that part,” Lucivar said. “You trust her, don’t you?”
    “Yes, I trust her but—” Daemon tensed as he heard another voice in the birthing room.
    “It’s Marian,” Lucivar said. “She’ll keep Surreal company until your presence is requested.”
    “Will it be requested?” Daemon asked softly. “She’s hurting, and it’s my fault. She’s having my baby, and she kicked me out of the room.”
    “Like I said, she doesn’t like you much right now and doesn’t want you around every minute, but that doesn’t mean—”
    “Sadi!” Surreal shouted. “If you want to keep that overrated cock of yours, get your ass back in here!”
    “—she wants you to go too far away,” Lucivar finished.
    Daemon rocked back on his heels and stared at the partially open door. “So she’s going to keep flipping from wanting me with her to wanting me gone? For how long?”
    Lucivar put both hands on Daemon’s back and gave him a light shove. “For as long as it takes to birth this baby.”
    “Mother Night.”
    “And may the Darkness be merciful. Show some balls, boyo.”
    “That’s what got me into this in the first place,” Daemon muttered. But he went into the birthing room and found Surreal looking teary-eyed and vulnerable—and ready for a few hugs and cuddles.

    Lucivar wandered over to the window farthest away from the door. Moments after Daemon walked into the birthing room, Marian walked out and closed the door between the rooms.
    “How are they?” he asked when Marian wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him.
    “They’ll be fine, but your brother is going to need you today,” she replied. “Surreal is focused on having the baby, but Daemon seems . . . shakier, more vulnerable.”
    “Until the Birthright Ceremony, the child isn’t legally his. He’ll spend years raising that child and loving that child, but it won’t be his until that day.”
    Marian leaned back enough to look at him. “You’ve never worried about that, have you?”
    He brushed her hair away from her face. “No, but that’s you and me. It’s not going to be as easy for Daemon to trust.”
    “That’s not fair to Surreal.”
    “No, it’s not, but that’s how it is.”
    Marian hesitated. “Have you ever wondered . . . ?”
    He sighed. Then he nodded. “I don’t know if Jaenelle wasn’t able to have children or if it just never happened for them.”
    “I think there was a concern—a fear—that she wouldn’t survive childbirth,” Marian said quietly.