Isabella gave a weak laugh. "They better. They almost killed ."
The older woman let out a small breath that sounded like she was trying not to laugh.
The babies kept crying, but when Isabella touched them and whispered to them, their cries slowly beca softer. They did not beco completely quiet, but the sound changed. It beca less angry, more needy.
A little while later, the door opened.
Only after the won said it was safe.
Zyran ca in first, though he did not step too close. His red eyes went straight to Isabella, and for once, no teasing appeared imdiately on his face. Ophelia ca in behind him with Valen at her side. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and Valen’s hand rested gently behind her back to support her because she looked like her legs might give out from relief. Shelia ca in too, her face pale but steady, though the mont she saw Isabella alive and wrapped in furs, her eyes beca wet.
They did not look at the babies first.
They looked at Isabella.
That alone made Isabella’s chest soften.
Ophelia pressed both hands over her mouth and started crying again. "You are alive."
Isabella smiled weakly. "I would like to sleep for one year, but yes."
Shelia stepped closer with careful movents. "Does it hurt a lot?"
Isabella stared at her. "I gave birth to three children."
Shelia blinked, then nodded slowly. "Right. Stupid question."
"It was a loving stupid question," Isabella said.
Ophelia cried harder at that, and Valen quietly rubbed her shoulder. He did not say much, but his gaze moved over Isabella with relief. He had co to support Ophelia, but even he looked as if a stone had been lifted from his chest.
Zyran finally moved closer.
His eyes rested on Isabella’s face, then on the babies, then back on her again. Sothing in his expression shifted. He looked relieved. Too relieved. The kind of relief he would never fully admit because it made him look too soft.
Then he opened his mouth and ruined it.
"Thank the heavens you survived," Zyran said. "I truly cannot imagine living this life without you."
Isabella closed her eyes at once.
She had just survived birth. Her body was weak. The attack was still happening. Her babies were crying beside her. And sohow, Zyran still managed to make her headache return.
She opened one eye and looked at him. "Between you and my system, I do not know who annoys more."
Zyran smiled, not asking what she ant by system. "Then I am honored to be compared to sothing powerful."
"I did not say it was a complint."
"I accepted it as one."
Cyrus actually smiled a little.
It was small, but Isabella saw it. He looked exhausted, almost drained dry, but seeing her annoyed by Zyran in such a familiar way seed to reassure him. If Isabella could still glare at Zyran like she wanted to throw him into a river, then part of the world had returned to normal.
Shelia had already moved toward the babies. Her eyes softened when she saw them, but she was also not blind.
They were tiny.
They were loud.
They were wrinkled.
Their soft little horns made them look even stranger.
Zyran looked down at them and tilted his head.
"Those are the most..." he began.
Shelia’s foot ca down on his so hard that his whole body stiffened.
Zyran sucked in a breath and turned his head slowly toward her. "What?"
Shelia looked at him with deadly calm. "Shut up."
Isabella’s eyes narrowed at once. "What did you want to say?"
Zyran looked at Isabella.
He saw the weak but dangerous look in her eyes. He saw Cyrus watching him with a face that said he had already given too much blood today but could still bite if necessary. He saw Shelia’s foot ready to crush him again.
Zyran smiled smoothly. "Those are the most cutest babies I have ever seen."
Shelia stared at him.
Ophelia blinked through her tears.
Valen looked away like he wanted no part in this.
Isabella looked down at her babies with imdiate agreent. "I know, right?"
Zyran’s mouth twitched.
Shelia pressed her lips together.
Cyrus lowered his gaze, and this ti his smile was warr.
Isabella truly believed it. Her babies were perfect to her. Their tiny horns were perfect. Their wrinkled little faces were perfect. Their angry cries were perfect. Even their strange little snake bodies were perfect because they were hers.
The won brought the babies closer to her chest.
Isabella kissed their tiny hands one after the other. The first boy had a strong cry and kept moving his head as if already looking for trouble. The second boy was louder and more dramatic, which made Isabella imdiately suspicious that he had inherited sothing terrible from all the n around her. The little girl cried the least, but when she did cry, the sound was sharp enough to make everyone look over.
Isabella touched her tiny horn with the lightest fingertip. "You gave the least pain, so you are already my favorite."
Cyrus looked at her. "Isabella."
"What? She earned it."
Zyran leaned in slightly. "I support favoritism when it benefits the correct person."
Isabella looked at him. "Who said you are the correct person?"
"I always assu."
"Bad habit."
"I have many."
The older woman ca forward with a calr face now. "They will need to feed soon."
Isabella looked at the babies.
A strange nervousness ca over her. She had survived birth, but now she was supposed to feed them. It felt simple and huge at the sa ti. Her body, which had already suffered so much, was still needed. They still needed her.
Cyrus noticed the tiny fear on her face. "I will help you."
The way he said it was soft, but then his eyes moved to the low table near the fire where the warm broth was sitting. His expression changed. It beca stern in a way that made Isabella blink.
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