Ariyah's POV
Mira's Cottage
The pain is blinding.
I scream through another contraction, my body arching off the bed, sweat pouring down my face. But the physical agony is nothing compared to what's happening in my blood. It burns. Like liquid fire racing through my veins, pooling in my belly where my son is fighting to be born.
"Push, Ariyah!" Mira's voice cuts through the haze. "I can see the head. Push!"
I bear down with everything I have, my fingers clawing at the sheets. Elara kneels beside me, gripping my hand so tightly that I think she might break bones.
"You can do this," she says, her voice fierce. "You're the strongest person I know. You can do this."
I want to believe her. But the burning is getting worse, and I can feel something else stirring inside me. The power. The
