Chapter 273: List of Names
Soleia bit down hard into the cloth that she had been given, sweat beading across her forehead as her veins popped against her skin. She let out a strangled cry, her teeth tightly gritted against the fabric as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Push, Your Majesty," the midwife said, glancing worriedly at Soleia before returning her gaze to her task at hand. "I can almost see the baby’s head."
She was pushing. Hell, if she had the luxury of time and energy to yell right now, she would’ve. But all of Soleia’s strength was placed into trying to get the baby out, for every second that it was in her stomach, she felt her insides cramp up and churn like never before.
Was getting drained of her life force by King Recaldo any better? Honestly, probably so. Soleia had never felt such a guttural, impossible pain before.
Worst of all, Rafael’s magic was of no use. He had been hovering beside her, trying to heal her body as it tore to give way to the child, but not even the power of the gods seemed to help. If anything, it only made matters worse, which was why Rafael had stopped and stepped away.
The servants and midwife had suggested Rafael leave the room, but he was insistent on staying. His face had turned pale, and he wanted nothing more than to wrench the baby out of Soleia and kick it to the ends of the earth where it could not hurt his beloved wife.
Several times he wished to step forward to help, but was quickly blocked by a maid who would come forward. They dabbed the sweat off Soleia’s forehead and kept her as clean and cool as possible.
Finally, a piercing wail broke through the room, and everyone in the chambers let out a collective sigh of relief.
Soleia slumped back into the bed, her chest rising and falling quickly as she caught her breath. She felt sick. Her limbs no longer felt like hers, and no matter how the maids dabbed away at her skin, they couldn’t fully remove the sticky sheen that had formed during her exertion.
"Your Majesty," the midwife said, bringing the baby over to Soleia. The latter weakly raised her head, her eyes half hooded over, and her lips parted. "It’s a boy."
"Let me see," she softly murmured, and the midwife dutifully brought the child over to her.