BONUS

  KF Breene

  Contents

  Introduction

  BONUS ADD-ON EPILOUGE FEATURING A BIRTH

  Introduction

  Thank you to everyone who has made the Warrior Chronicles a success. You have showed up time and again to snag the latest and wait patiently for the next. Thank you to everyone who has left reviews along the way. That greatly helps the books thrive and I really appreciate it!

  I wasn’t originally going to add this piece of epilogue to the book — or even write it — but I know how many of you like to hear about babies down the road. Since I won’t be writing any more in this series (I know - booooo!) I figured I might just scratch something out with the ol’ quill and stave off the questions of if Shanti can ever manage to get pregnant since her people have a hard time with it.

  So here you go. It’s just a little glimpse into their future, and a chance for one last piece of their lives before we shut the door. Though if you don’t care about a couple having a baby, you might not be as enthused as those who are :)

  BONUS ADD-ON EPILOUGE FEATURING A BIRTH

  THREE YEARS LATER

  * * *

  Shanti walked out onto the practice yard with knives in hand. It was one of the few options left to her for training. She felt a kick to her ribs, more painful from the inside than it had ever been from the outside. Wearing a scowl, she rubbed the offending spot, and then ran her palm over her huge belly.

  After just over two years of trying, and three early miscarriages, her body had finally accepted a baby. Since then, she had been seen to every day by various Shumas and Shadow, knowing how fragile unborn children were to people with the Gift. Marc hung around constantly, giving her special concoctions that surpassed anything her people or the Shadow had ever come up with. Though he didn’t have the Gift, he seemed to understand its effects on the body better than most healers. It showed in the ease of this pregnancy.

  The doctor had also been by, at Cayan’s request. He hated the job. If he wasn’t being told what to do by a Shumas, he was threatened by a Shadow. Even Marc often corrected him at this point, having grown into his post as the second resident doctor in the city. The man left shaking his head and muttering every time. He was not thrilled.

  “Are you sure you should be out here?” Marc asked, trailing beside her.

  Movement slowed the further she got in, heading toward the Pit. Men and women both cleared to the sides, giving her a wide berth.

  “I am getting my daily exercise,” Shanti said with barely contained impatience.

  “But throwing knives? I think the captain is very much against this, isn’t he?”

  “The captain doesn’t know our customs,” Kallon said, one of the ten Shumas following behind. Her people took turns being with her, as they would with any pregnant female, or any wounded person. “In this, she will do things our way.”

  “You really need to let it go, man,” Marc mumbled. While the Shumas always spoke to him in their language, he usually answered in his own. Shanti had no idea why either group insisted, nor did she ask. Some things were beyond her power to care. “She’s part of this city now. She has to compromise. Oh no. Here comes Sanders.” Marc hunched and stepped away to the side.

  As one, the Shumas formed a line in front of her, blocking the way.

  “What is she doing here in her state?” Sanders growled as he neared. “Get out of the way, gorgeous.” He still used the nickname for Rohnan.

  “It amazes me that you react the same every day,” Rohnan said, always with her regardless of shifts and duties. It was no longer his official duty to watch her back, but he’d kept the post regardless. She was his adopted sister before he was her guardian. They’d formed a bond before their duty cemented it. “It always ends the same.”

  “That woman is about to pop and you are letting her on the practice yard with knives and swords?” Sanders yelled. Those around her drifted even further away. “What if one slipped and accidentally struck her?”

  “What do you think we are here for?” Kallon asked. “She is slow. We are not. We will protect her.”

  “It’s fine. I’m done.” Shanti stepped forward to get her knives, but Marc ran and got them instead.

  “And you!” Sanders gestured at Marc. “You are a doctor. You should know better.”

  “Not much I can do, sir,” Marc said, his face directed away as he recovered the knives. “They’re stronger than me. Oh no. Not again.” Marc’s face drained of color. “We need to go, S’am!”

  Shanti sighed. She really wasn’t in the mood for what was coming. “Time to go,” she said, letting Marc keep the knives and moving toward the nearest edge of the practice yard.

  “That’s right. Finally, she sees some sense.” Sanders nodded, then flinched as half the Women’s Circle passed by him, their sighs and scowls aimed at Shanti.

  “This will not do!” Eloise yelled. At least half the practice yard flinched. “I do not care what your customs are, they are wrong. Pregnant women do not traipse into a field of battle and wield knives like a lunatic! Get back into your home this instant. I will not stand for it.”

  “Now is the time to protect me,” Shanti muttered.

  “These women are not pleasant when you cross them,” Rohnan whispered.

  “While we’re stating the obvious…” Marc glanced behind him. “They’re gaining on us. I sure wish you could run, S’am.”

  “We need to make a stand,” Kallon said. “Again.”

  “You are in our city, and you will speak like you are in our city.” Eloise caught up with them and shouldered her way through the Shumas. “You aren’t headed home, I see. You better not be headed to practice archery.”

  Alexa, who had barely pulled out of the fever, had made a full recovery, and now walked toward Shanti with Rachie and Xavier, a bow in hand. The Honor Guard had followed the Shumas’ customs and stayed by her side in shifts, making sure she was never alone. Because of that, she accepted them as her second family and fighting group.

  Xavier and Rachie slowed, and Alexa became shifty-eyed as she looked at the Women’s Circle. The bow in Alexa’s hand slowly moved to behind her back.

  “I have done this every single day of this pregnancy,” Shanti said, in the fight whether she wanted to be or not. “I will continue to do it until I am physically unable.”

  “Walking,” Molly said, hands on hips, something she’d clearly picked up from Eloise. “Walking would promote plenty of health in this late stage. We’ll even walk with you. I love a good walk.”

  “Yes. A walk. Through the park, maybe. It is a lovely day.” Eloise nodded decisively, slipping her arm through Shanti’s, and started forward. “Yes. This is a great compromise.”

  “I hate how they do that,” Kallon muttered. “By the time you get out an argument, you are already on the wrong course of action.”

  “Oh look, a bird.” Valencia, the crowned pig killer, followed behind them, nestled in between the Shumas.

  “So…” Alexa kept pace. She glanced at Xavier with a question in her eyes. He shrugged. “Do you want this?” She flashed the bow at Shanti.

  “Don’t be silly, young lady. Of course she doesn’t want that. We are on a walk. Give that bow to Xavier.” After Alexa confusedly followed the command, Eloise motioned at Molly, who fell in beside Xavier. Suddenly, he was no longer part of their group, having been led away. The women were as great at social battles as the captain was at physical ones.

  “Now, tell me, Alexa,” Eloise began again in a light tone. “What is it about Xavier that turns you off? I hear you haven’t accepted any of his offers to date.”

  Rachie groaned and drifted to the outside of the small crowd.

  Alexa stiffened. “I am seeing someone.”

  “Yes, the Hopkins boy. A good boy, surely, but a bit floppy for you. He offers you no challenge.” Eloise scratched her chin. “No, you’ll get bored of him. I know your type. Alena and Maggie are very similar women, and both are habitually single because men either feel intimated by them, or have a mommy complex and need to be bossed around.” She tsked and shook her head sadly. “That’s no way to live, trust me.”

  Shanti sighed in annoyance, hitting her threshold of meddling. Before she could utter a word, though, a wave of pain washed over her. Was it a false alarm, like the last several days, or the real thing? She glanced at Rohnan, who was staring at her. He’d probably know before her what it was. It was the healer in him.

  “She definitely has no equal in that wet blanket mama’s boy she’s seeing.” Fabrienne shook her head.

  Another wave of pain rolled through Shanti, nothing more than a dull throb. It was, however, a little stronger in intensity than the last, which meant—

  “We need to head back to the mansion now,” Rohnan said, pushing Eloise away rather harshly and stepping to Shanti’s side. Like a wave of violence, suddenly the Shumas were circling her, Alexa included, pushing any non-Shumas to the outside.

  “Wow. Regardless of what Xavier says, I do not think we’ll ever be as good as that.” Rachie whistled.

  “Keep the pace even,” Rohnan said in a soothing voice. “Stay calm. We’re right here.”

  Shanti nodded, letting go of all her worries. Fully trusting herself to those around her, she held on to Rohnan and let her mind drift. One in four babies died in birth, so she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

  Cayan felt a sudden spike of anxiety from the group of Shumas around his wife, before violence overcame them. A moment later, Shan

ti went completely placid.

  He nearly shit himself.

  “Sanders!” he yelled, his heart hammering. “She’s going into labor.”

  He was standing on the edge of the practice yard, having followed her to it with the intention of making sure people chased her away. He should’ve let her keep her customs, but she was his everything. Losing the baby would be a travesty, but losing her would be his undoing.

  People glanced his way with smiles. Clearly they didn’t realize how dire this was. “Sanders!”

  “Sir, keep calm.” Sanders stalked up to him. “I know those are stupid fucking words at a time like this, but you have to keep calm. If you rile her up, that could cause problems. Junice just wanted me around to hold her hand. Don’t let the women chase you away, either. Junice wanted me right by her side.”

  Junice had fallen pregnant in a month. That was all it had taken. Her pregnancy was healthy, and birth as normal and pain-filled as those things went. She was now pregnant for the second time. Cayan’s only consolation was that Sanders lost his shit when Junice went into labor. Cayan felt the same way right then, and couldn’t think straight.

  “A word of warning, sir. It will look ten times worse than it is.” Sanders walked him across the yard. “Not true, actually. It probably looks exactly as bad as it is, but women can handle it. Don’t ask me how, because it reminded me of when I was being tortured, and wanted to die several times, but they get through it. So you just need to bite your tongue and help her through it. Don’t show your fear, sir. They can get like wild animals if you do that. They’ll get the other women to eat you alive. It isn’t pretty, sir.”

  “She’s in the park.”

  “Excellent, sir. Let’s head her off.” Sanders changed their direction. Cayan shook his head to clear it, but adrenaline was buzzing through him, distorting his thoughts. “Now, we might have to fight through her people.”

  Lucius ran up from behind them. He patted Cayan on the arm, wearing a big smile.

  “We’re not at the smiling stage yet, man,” Sanders growled. “We’re still at the tactical stage.” Lucius’ smile dripped off his face.

  “Like I was saying,” Sanders said, steering left. “We might have to fight through her people. They’ve shown themselves crazy about things like this. Lucius and I will head up the attack. You can then force your way in, sir. You might have to elbow an old woman. Don’t worry; she’ll forgive you once the child is born. Maybe even applaud you, who knows. They’re as insane as Shanti’s people.”

  “Oh. That’s what we’re doing?” Lucius looked confused.

  “If you are going to keep playing dumb, you need to leave,” Sanders said. “This is battle. Those old women think a birth is a woman’s thing. Well, sure, they have the baby, but it is my baby, you know what I’m saying? His baby, in this case. We want to be there for that shit, just as much as we want to be really far away. It’s a confusing, terrifying time, I’m not going to lie. I think I can admit that here.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t,” Cayan said, feeling the group getting closer.

  “Where are we headed, sir?” Sanders paused near the trees.

  Cayan pointed as he walked, flanked by his commanders. He saw them then, drifting through the trees like phantoms, eyes hard and battle ready, except for their lack of drawn weapons. A few of the Women’s Circle half trotted on the outside. Rachie and Marc trailed like puppies.

  “Okay, sir. Here we go. You just take her hand. That’s all. Don’t speak unless spoken to, sir. Trust me on that. Keep her calm, above all else.” Sanders bristled as they walked at the group head-on.

  When they neared, the Shumas changed position. One moment they were blocking everyone out, and the next, they were enveloping Cayan and pushing Sanders and Lucius to the outskirts with everyone else.

  “I forgot about the damn mental warfare!” Sanders staggered and then straightened before following.

  Cayan’s heart surged as he fell in beside Shanti, circled by her people and now his. He slipped his hand into hers and was rewarded with a serene smile.

  “Right now she is letting her mind drift away from her surroundings,” Rohnan explained, though Cayan knew exactly what was happening. He had been there when the Shumas were coaching Shanti during the long months of her pregnancy. “She is trusting us with her wellbeing. All decisions will now go through her mate and her chief healer, which will be Marc.”

  “Shouldn’t I be in the circle, then?” Marc called up lamely.

  They emerged from the trees. The rest of the Honor Guard was in a group, running at them.

  “Let them help with the circle,” Cayan said, knowing Shanti would want that. She had always viewed them as family. He heard the unmistakable huff of Eloise.

  “I’m honored,” Leilius said with a smile as he joined.

  “Do we get to see the actual birth?” Gracas asked with wide eyes and a small smile. “Because that would be wicked!”

  “Keep calm or I’ll rip your heads off,” Sanders barked.

  “You need to take your own advice, sir,” Marc said in a small voice.

  “Noted.”

  Shanti’s grip tightened as pain washed through her body and into Cayan’s. Strangely, it calmed him.

  “You may have the chance to feel it with her,” Rohnan said as they neared the mansion. “If she allows you, or forces you, her pain will be shared across your Joining, easing hers.”

  “I would like that,” he said immediately, stroking her skin with his thumb. “Please let me help you, mesasha.”

  “I won’t argue.” She angled her face up for a kiss.

  “I don’t know if I envy you or fear for you, sir.” Sanders pushed a Shumas out of the way and entered the mansion. “I’m here for the father. I won’t be in the way, but he may need someone to bust heads.”

  “This isn’t a battle, sir.” Marc stopped Shanti in the living room.

  “Like hell it isn’t.” Sanders went about checking the house.

  “He seeks control now, since he felt he had none for his own.” Kallon smiled. “I can respect a man like that.”

  “He’s a nut,” Rachie said, standing near the door. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

  “Okay, everyone,” Marc said as the Women’s Circle shouldered their way past Xavier and then Rachie. “She is in the beginning stages right now. This is her first, so it’ll take some time.”

  Eloise and Valencia disappeared to the kitchen as Molly walked in. She surveyed the room, seemed to count, and followed the others. Fabrienne slowly worked her way to the couch and took a seat. She folded her hands in her lap patiently. It was surprisingly calming.

  “We will wait here until it is time to go to the hospital,” Marc said. “At that time, only family will be allowed in the room with her.”

  “We have decided who will be in the room with her already,” Kallon said, taking up a position near the wall. More Shumas filtered into the house as a wave of pain rolled through Cayan. He flexed with the bite of it. He’d had worse.

  “No more than five,” Marc warned. He looked at Shanti. “Do you want to keep walking, S’am? It might hurry it up.”

  “Yes, please,” she said.

  Six hours passed, and the pain that was rolling through Cayan was unlike anything he’d experienced before. If that was what Sanders had endured with the Inkna, Cayan had new appreciation for his trials. Shanti was still pacing, the contractions coming faster and becoming much more intense.

  Despite his earlier reservations, the Women’s Circle had actually proved invaluable. They sauntered around like all this was the most normal thing in the world. They made tea and got drinks, organized snacks for the collected helpers, and gave Shanti broth or ice chips, as she needed them. They suggested when she should go for a walk, or when she might rest, before Marc could get the words out. They shooed people away with experience, and repopulated the room when Shanti had a moment of panic that her child wouldn’t make it. It was like a dance, and they were the choreographers. Even the Shumas let them lead in many ways.

  “Okay, now it’s time to head to the hospital.” Marc felt Shanti’s belly. “Would you like to walk?”

 

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