Lorenzo dropped to all fours and crawled toward his mother. She leaned over and kissed him, and he placed wet kisses on her cheeks. "Good night, Mommy."
Theresa lifted him from the bed. "Come along, little warrior, let's get you in the bath."
Lorenzo waved at his parents and giggled as Theresa carried him from the room, and Emma followed, closing the door behind her to give the couple privacy.
Kate sighed and lay back against the mound of pillows, her hands surrounding the swell of her belly. She had felt mild contractions all day and knew it wouldn’t be long now before Shade carried her to the chamber below the castle. "I know you’ll always do what’s best for him, I just hate to see him grow up. If I could protect him from the violence of this world, I would. I’d take him away from all of this, but I know that’s not his fate."
Shade stripped down naked, as he prepared to take a shower. "There is violence in the mortal world as well, mi amore. It is not something we can escape, and as a warrior, he will learn to handle it. You can’t protect him forever.” He leaned over the bed and kissed her belly. "Come out, you wee vixen, I am anxious to meet my figlia!"
Looking up at Kate, he grinned and kissed her. "Don’t fret, bel. Your son will be our salvation.”
85
Kate sighed as she tried to get comfortable in the bed. She lay on her side, with Shade against her back, his arm draped protectively over her. He slept soundly still, and Kate was hoping the contractions would slow down. She knew he’d wake for her if she needed him, but she was hoping to hold off until sunset. She tried taking slow, deep breaths, relaxing into the contractions. Dr. Bonutti had visited her just days before. He was pleased and reminded her that the second birth would probably go much faster. She knew the chamber had already been set up in preparation for her, and the Council was on call. She felt the tightening of the muscles return, and she gripped the sheets, biting her lip, trying hard not to call out to him in pain.
From deep in his slumber, Shade felt her pain, and was immediately awake and alert. "Mi amore, she is close." He slipped from their bed, telepathically calling Theresa to come immediately. "It’s time, si? What can I do to help you?"
Kate curled up in a ball, as both hands encircled her belly. He was standing beside her, asking how he could help, but she was in the middle of a contraction that took her breath away and she waited for the pain to subside before she could answer him. She reached out to him, taking his hand and nodded her head. "It's time. Your impatient daughter says she’s waited long enough. Take me to the chamber, please."
Theresa arrived immediately, as he started giving her instructions. "Theresa, get to the chamber, get Gi, have him bring the Medici ledger and tell him to call the Council and Dr. Bonutti. Go now!"
Leaning down, he kissed bel’s head. "Everyone will be here shortly. Do you need anything before I take you to the chamber?"
She shook her head as he lifted her in his arms. She had another contraction and contorted in his arms.
"Mi amore, I think we need to teleport because she is coming faster than I anticipated."
As they teleported to the chamber beneath the castle, the Council members were already inside, setting up the ledgers and preparing to witness the birth. Shade eased Kate onto the stone altar Theresa had prepared with soft pillows and a comforting down coverlet.
Theresa returned to the chamber with Dr. Bonutti, who entered as if they had all the time in the world. Shade had laid Kate down on the altar, then eased himself down behind her, allowing her to rest her back against his chest, and let her get settled for the next wave of pain.
***
Lorenzo was playing with Nita in his room. He was waiting for sunset, so he could go to his parents’ room. He was telling Nita about his new sword, and where his dad stored it in the wardrobe when a sensation washed over him, and he stopped talking mid-sentence.
Nita cocked her head to one side. "What's wrong, Lorenzo?"
The child took off running for the bedroom his parents shared. The door was already open, the lights were on and their bed was empty, the sheets hanging off the side of the bed. The blinds were still closed to the late evening sun, and the child felt a fleeting panic. "Mommy!"
Nita rushed up behind him and started to pick him up, but Lorenzo kicked free, fighting against her until she released him. "Lorenzo, your mommy is fine. She’s been taken to the chamber where your sister will be born."
Lorenzo ran to the wardrobe in his parents’ room and swung open the door, pulling the sword from behind the clothes hanging there.
Nita tried to take the sword from him. "Lorenzo, this is not a toy. Your father said it was not for play."
Lorenzo turned on her with a fierceness she’d never seen in this sweet child before, as he held the sword in front of him, daring her to take it from him. "My mommy needs me now."
He rushed past Nita as he headed for the marble staircase, and carefully navigated the stairs, trying to hold the sword in one hand as his other hand held to the massive banister. As his feet hit the floor in the grand foyer, he started to run down the long hallway, moving on instinct. He could feel his mother, feel her pain. "I'm coming, Mommy!"
He opened several doors until he found the one that led down to the chamber. He’d never been taken to the cavernous space that lay below the castle before. He’d never seen the chamber where he was born, but he could feel his mother and knew he was getting closer. He pushed the door open, and heard it creak on its hinges, and was hit by the musty smell. The stone steps were damp, and the tunnels were dark, lit only by torches hung high on the walls. The firelight cast weird shadows that flickered across the stone, and made his heart race faster. He stepped carefully down the uneven stairs, one small hand balancing him as he steadied himself against the stone wall, and his other hand dragging the sword as it clanked on the steps behind him. “Mommy?”
Rounding a corner, he saw the doctor that came to see his mommy and rushed to the entrance of the chamber. His mother was on the stone altar, lying with her back against his father's chest. Theresa was standing at the foot of the altar, administering to his mother. He stepped inside the chamber and saw the robed Council members who both looked up in surprise. He heard a cry from his mother, and saw his father soothe her, brush the hair back from her face as he whispered something in her ear. He approached the altar slowly and took her hand. "It's okay, Mommy. I'll protect you."
Kate felt her son's presence in the room, drawn to her because he felt her pain. She felt his tiny hand grip her, as he reassured her. The wave of pain passed as Kate caught her breath, preparing for the next contraction. "I'm fine, Lorenzo. Mommy is fine. It’s time for your sister to come into this world. This is where you were born, and where your father was born and all the Medici Kings before him."
Lorenzo nodded as he looked around the room at the kind face of Theresa as she stood between his mother's legs, and the stern hooded faces of the Council. He looked back at his father, who cradled his mother in his arms protectively. "Don't worry, Daddy. I got this. I brought my sword, just in case."
Shade felt an overwhelming sense of pride for this child with the warrior’s heart, overcoming his own fear and ready to face unknown danger to protect his mother. Malachi was about to object to the child’s presence when Shade leveled him with a stare.