C. Bryant - Broken

“Kira, please forgive me. If I knew you were. .”

“No, you’re right. He’ll make a wonderful father.” She brushed him aside and went into the room-with a faux smile painted on her face.

The room fell quiet, all eyes aimed at Kira. Mara lay on the bed with her back propped up with several pillows-Arela snuggled at her side. Nestor stood next to her, while Cade sat on the window seat beside him. As she stepped closer, Ussay walked out of what Kira assumed to be the dressing chambers carrying clean linens.

And then she saw Octavion.

Kira paused. She wanted this moment frozen in time, record it in her heart forever. He stood near the window cradling a tiny bundle-his face all aglow as if he were the proud papa. Luka had been right-this man was meant to be a father. She saw it in his eyes and the loving way he held the child close to his heart. The thought of him being denied that privilege pained her heart. He raised his eyes to meet hers and smiled.

“Good morning beautiful. I trust you found everything to your liking?” he asked.

Kira tried to calm her racing heart. She didn’t want him to see how she really felt, that seeing him like this broke her heart in two. “I loved it, thank you.”

“Would you like to meet the new addition to our family?” Mara asked.

Kira nodded, a lump forming in her throat. “Is it a boy as you predicted?”

Mara smiled and glanced over at Nestor. “Yes, I have given my husband another son.”

Nestor leaned over Arela and gave Mara a kiss. “A very large son,” he added.

“Would you like to hold him?” Octavion asked.

Luka cleared his throat. He’d been standing behind Kira but now took a position at her side. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Cousin, perhaps you should explain about Royal infants. She may not react as you hoped.”

Octavion winked at her, flashing his dimples. “You do not know her as I do. She will revel in his beauty.”

Kira gave him a sideways glance. “Let me guess. Royal babies look like tadpoles?”

The men in the room laughed, especially Cade, but Mara didn’t seem to appreciate Kira’s humor. “Our infants reflect our heritage. Their magnificence is far beyond any other creature in our world. I suspect that may be true of your world as well.”

“I’m sorry, Mara. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Kira pushed up the sleeves of her dress and held her arms out toward Octavion. “Well, just don’t stand there. Let me get a look at-does he have a name?”

“Not yet,” Octavion said.

Then he laid the baby in her arms and all the sorrow she’d been feeling disappeared. She lowered herself to sit in the chair and pulled the blanket down a little to expose more of the baby’s face.

“Wow,” was all she could manage. She scanned the faces in the room, all silently waiting for her reaction, then looked back at the baby boy that held her amazement. His eyes were the color of honey, highlighted with threads of gold that sparkled when he found her face. Of all the eyes she’d looked into, his were the most telling. They radiated peace, comfort and love.

“He’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”

One corner of his tiny mouth turned up as if smiling at her and the entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Octavion knelt beside her. “I think he likes you. Did you see his markings?”

“Markings?”

He gently pulled back the blanket exposing the baby’s naked flesh. Covering almost the entire infant were dark misshaped circles filled with golden brown and black.

“It is how we know the species of our heritage. His is jaguar.” Octavion wrapped the blanket around the baby and gently kissed his forehead. “Mine were different because I am a hybrid. I had the stripes of a tiger on my body, but my face and head were completely bare. They say my hair stood on end, like a lion’s mane, but I am skeptical.”

“So, where does the jaguar come from, wasn’t your mother tiger? That would make Mara tiger as well, right? She’s your mom’s sister.”

Kira listened as Octavion explained the heritage of each family member. Mara is indeed tiger, but her mother had some leopard in her line. Nestor is jaguar and Luka as well. But Cade is what they referred to as a throw-back. Even though most of his blood line is either tiger or jaguar, he’d pulled the tiny bit of leopard from his mother’s side of the family. They felt it contributed to his uncanny talent as a tracker and his ability to share memories as well as thoughts. He’s also swift and agile, like no other Royal in the room. No wonder he was so good at saving Kira’s life, even without the use of his legs.

Arela spoke proudly about being the only other tiger in the family, even though she seemed a little disappointed that the new addition wasn’t more like her. Kira suspected Arela secretly wished for a baby sister.

“The markings will fade as soon as the Khapri ceremony has been performed. He will receive his name at that time as well.” Octavion brushed a tear from Kira’s cheek. “Are you all right?” he whispered. “I was not sure how this would affect you.”

Kira looked into Octavion’s loving eyes and a genuine smile lit up her face. “I wasn’t sure either, but. . he seems to have taken my sadness away. Maybe that will be his gift.”

“I believe you are right, I felt the same as I held him in my arms.”

For several moments it felt as if the three of them were the only ones in the room. An image popped into Kira’s mind of what life would be like if they held their own child and reveled in his heritage. But the images flashing through her mind only carved a hole in her heart. She knew she would never give Octavion the son he deserved, which made her want it even more. She pushed the images away, knowing that was one vision that would never come to fulfillment.

Ussay scurried around the room making sure everything was perfect. Her eyes kept flitting back and forth from Mara to Cade. She seemed uncomfortable, but her dedication to her job overrode her feelings. When the baby started to fuss, Ussay stepped in and offered to take him.

“Perhaps I should bathe him and put him in a warm gown. There threatens to be a chill in the air.” She tightened the blanket around the infant, lifted his tiny body from where it lay on Kira’s lap and left the room.

Kira’s arms felt empty and without the baby cradled near her heart, her sadness returned. She hugged her torso to keep from falling apart and tried to stay positive by pretending to participate in the conversation-the naming ceremony that would take place in three days.

“Have you chosen a donor for the ceremony?” Nestor asked Mara.

Mara smiled and looked at Kira. “There has only been one villager who has expressed a desire. However, I’d hoped Kira would honor us with her sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?” Kira didn’t like the way the word rolled off her tongue. It made her feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

Octavion still knelt by Kira’s side. When he heard Mara’s suggestion he jumped to his feet. “I won’t allow it. It is too dangerous for her.”

“Octavion, we will take precautions as we always have,” Mara said in a condescending tone. “There would be no danger for her.”

“You would not say that if your throat caught her scent. It burns like fire and completely consumes all hope of having control. Who will protect her if you react as I do?”

“Excuse me?” Kira interrupted. “Would someone please explain to me what you’re talking about? What sacrifice? Shouldn’t this be my decision?”

“There’s nothing to decide,” Octavion said. “You would be in a room full of Royals, spilling your blood to satisfy a newborn’s hunger. It is the only way to curb his appetite until he is of age.” He turned back to face Mara. “And she is not doing it.”