Aria's POV
The first contraction hit just after midnight, sharp enough to steal my breath entirely.
Damien was awake instantly, alert in the particular way only true panic could produce. "Aria?"
"It's time," I managed, breathless. "I think it's actually time."
What followed happened in a blur of motion — Evelyn summoned, Sophia arriving within minutes, Damien's hand never once leaving mine as they moved me to the birthing chamber prepared weeks in advance.
The pain built steadily, each contraction closer than the last, and somewhere in the haze of it, I felt something else building alongside the physical strain — my power, restless, responding to the intensity the way it had responded to fear months before.
"Aria." Evelyn's voice, sharp with sudden concern. "Your hands."
I looked do
