The King's Blood Witch

Prologue

Leanna's screams rang throughout the room, her fists clenching the bedsheets to the point of whitening her knuckles.

"It's head is crowning," Ama said, assisting the bloody struggle. "You need to keep pushing!"

"Calm yourself," Dina replied calmly, placing as a hand on Ama's shoulder. "If you panic, so will she."

The exhausted screams continued, but were joined by another as the baby's head had made its way out. As the mother and child screamed, the wooden door burst open.

"He's coming!" The man yelled, heaving as he explained.

Ama shot up from her seat, an audible gasp of 'no' leaving her mouth. Dina merely shook her head, restraining her tears as she took Ama's place on the stool; they had been so careful.

"Please don't let him take it!" Leanna exclaimed, chest heaving and face red. She groaned again and continued her relentless pushing.

Dina hushed her, offering her smooth strokes on her thighs and gentle promises they both knew she couldn't keep. It didn't matter how hard they had tried, the king had found out and now he would take the child.

And if it wasn't what he wanted, the child would die like all the rest.

Joseph and Ama blocked the door, dragging chairs, shelves and whatever else they could find to delay the intrusion. There wasn't much hope but, if they were lucky, it might just give them enough time to get the child away from him.

They blew out all the lights, hoping the soldiers would ride past the small cabin. But, of course, nothing could stop the child's relentless screaming as it clawed away from its mother.

"PLEASE!" Leanna screamed, the pain only increasing. "GET IT OUT!"

Finally, the child was separated and Dina quickly cut the umbilical cord. Joseph moved to comfort his sister while Ama went to the table with the other woman. But a rock of dread landed in her stomach when she saw the child.

A girl.

Ama gulped before speaking, the dryness in her throat making her voice raspy. "Dina..."

"I know," she replied, her voice sullen but her face not giving away anything.

"What do we do?"

The taller woman remained silent for a moment, the thoughts roaring in her mind as she held the restless Bub in her arms. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, perhaps it still wasn't too late.

"I am not certain, sister. All we can do is pray to the goddess above."

"Do you think she is the one?"

"I am... not certain."

It wasn't exactly a lie, but Dina couldn't deny the electric feeling under her skin as she held the child, as if her blood could feel the power this baby possessed.

She also couldn't deny the dread that ran through her bones at the thought of the girl being the fated blood witch. Although she didn't want the baby to die - she never wanted any of them to die - there was a large part of her that had a sickly feeling that being the king's fated would be far worse than being dead.

"Can I hold it?" Leanna's strained voice broke Dina from her thoughts. Plastering on a calm smile, she brought the baby to the bedridden woman.

"Here she is, my dear." She said as she set the babe in the mother's arms.

Leanna held the child close to her chest, placing a kiss upon her fragile forehead. The child had finally quietened down once she was in her mother's arms and now all the group could do was sit in the silent darkness, praying they remained undetected.