Read Online Claimed by the Elven King: Part Four by Cristina Rayne - Free Book Online
Authors: Cristina Rayne
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and he carefully guided me into the warm, barely-waist-deep
water. There was a seat made of marble in the very center that reminded me of
an open-ended toilet seat on three legs, and I sat down somewhat awkwardly onto
it at his urging. I concentrated on keeping my breathing even while he
undressed.
A huge wave of warmth suddenly began gushing out of me, and startled, I
looked down to see that the once pristine water was now slightly cloudy around
me.
“My water just broke!” I exclaimed, and then I was unable to speak
again for a long moment as my body was rocked with a contraction twice as
strong as the last one.
When it was finally over and I raised my head with a grimace, I saw
that Sethian was already in the pool and wading out to me. Once he reached me,
he positioned himself behind me, to my surprise, and knelt down. Wasn’t he
supposed to deliver the baby? Why in the world had he knelt down back there?
“Lean back against me for a moment,” he said before I could voice any
of my questions.
I did as I was told, and Sethian immediately wrapped his arms around my
waist, his hands position flat on either side of my belly.
“Close your eyes and relax,” he murmured in my ear. “I am going to ease
your pain now, though it will not disappear completely. You will still feel
each contraction as a mild twinge. For now, just concentrate on connecting with
the baby’s soul just as I have instructed you rather than on the frequency of those
twinges. The time between now and a mark before the birth is the most important
time of the whole process. This is when we both shall bind mentally and
spiritually with our child.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, trying my hardest to relax against Sethian’s
chest as the weird chair I was sitting on wasn’t very comfortable. I
concentrated on sensing emotions that I knew I was not feeling just as Sethian
had taught me, but without really understanding what it would be like to “hear”
the baby, I couldn’t be certain that I wasn’t missing something already.
For the next six hours or so this is what we did. As the seventh
approached and Sethian informed me that I still had not dilated completely, I
was counting my blessings that Sethian was a healer because I don’t think I
would have been able to handle such excruciating pain for so long without
losing my mind. As it was, I was already exhausted.
So far, the only emotions I had been able to sense were definitely
Sethian’s, as he was having a hard time containing his excitement and
occasionally, impatience. During this time, he had only spoke to me a few
times, and mostly just to ask if I was comfortable and if I had heard the baby
“speak.” No and no on both issues, but I had kept the first one to myself as it
involved the chair and there was probably nothing he could do about it. He
still didn’t seem worried about my failure to hear the baby’s soul, so I
decided not to worry about it either at this point.
As it was getting fairly close to the actual birth, I was more
concerned with how awful the actual birth would be and whether or not I would
be able to push the baby out at all than something that was completely out of
my control.
Another half hour and I was starting to wonder if it was possible to
overdose on Sethian’s healing magic as my head had started to spin and
everything took on a blurry, surreal look.
That’s when I felt it, a rush of bewilderment and fear that was not my
own. Was that…?
“The baby’s…scared,” I said a bit deliriously.
Sethian rubbed a hand across my stomach. “Ah, your minds have finally
bonded,” he said with satisfaction. “It won’t be long now, I think.”
“Wait, you mean it’s because of the baby that everything’s gone all
loopy?” I slurred.
“Yes,” he replied, rubbing at my shoulders. “You perceive the world
partially as the world the baby perceives. It is skewing your sense of
reality.”
About fifteen minutes later, I was finally pushing, and
water. There was a seat made of marble in the very center that reminded me of
an open-ended toilet seat on three legs, and I sat down somewhat awkwardly onto
it at his urging. I concentrated on keeping my breathing even while he
undressed.
A huge wave of warmth suddenly began gushing out of me, and startled, I
looked down to see that the once pristine water was now slightly cloudy around
me.
“My water just broke!” I exclaimed, and then I was unable to speak
again for a long moment as my body was rocked with a contraction twice as
strong as the last one.
When it was finally over and I raised my head with a grimace, I saw
that Sethian was already in the pool and wading out to me. Once he reached me,
he positioned himself behind me, to my surprise, and knelt down. Wasn’t he
supposed to deliver the baby? Why in the world had he knelt down back there?
“Lean back against me for a moment,” he said before I could voice any
of my questions.
I did as I was told, and Sethian immediately wrapped his arms around my
waist, his hands position flat on either side of my belly.
“Close your eyes and relax,” he murmured in my ear. “I am going to ease
your pain now, though it will not disappear completely. You will still feel
each contraction as a mild twinge. For now, just concentrate on connecting with
the baby’s soul just as I have instructed you rather than on the frequency of those
twinges. The time between now and a mark before the birth is the most important
time of the whole process. This is when we both shall bind mentally and
spiritually with our child.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, trying my hardest to relax against Sethian’s
chest as the weird chair I was sitting on wasn’t very comfortable. I
concentrated on sensing emotions that I knew I was not feeling just as Sethian
had taught me, but without really understanding what it would be like to “hear”
the baby, I couldn’t be certain that I wasn’t missing something already.
For the next six hours or so this is what we did. As the seventh
approached and Sethian informed me that I still had not dilated completely, I
was counting my blessings that Sethian was a healer because I don’t think I
would have been able to handle such excruciating pain for so long without
losing my mind. As it was, I was already exhausted.
So far, the only emotions I had been able to sense were definitely
Sethian’s, as he was having a hard time containing his excitement and
occasionally, impatience. During this time, he had only spoke to me a few
times, and mostly just to ask if I was comfortable and if I had heard the baby
“speak.” No and no on both issues, but I had kept the first one to myself as it
involved the chair and there was probably nothing he could do about it. He
still didn’t seem worried about my failure to hear the baby’s soul, so I
decided not to worry about it either at this point.
As it was getting fairly close to the actual birth, I was more
concerned with how awful the actual birth would be and whether or not I would
be able to push the baby out at all than something that was completely out of
my control.
Another half hour and I was starting to wonder if it was possible to
overdose on Sethian’s healing magic as my head had started to spin and
everything took on a blurry, surreal look.
That’s when I felt it, a rush of bewilderment and fear that was not my
own. Was that…?
“The baby’s…scared,” I said a bit deliriously.
Sethian rubbed a hand across my stomach. “Ah, your minds have finally
bonded,” he said with satisfaction. “It won’t be long now, I think.”
“Wait, you mean it’s because of the baby that everything’s gone all
loopy?” I slurred.
“Yes,” he replied, rubbing at my shoulders. “You perceive the world
partially as the world the baby perceives. It is skewing your sense of
reality.”
About fifteen minutes later, I was finally pushing, and
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