He obeyed, and in that moment she jumped to her own bed. To her relief, Frostinch came with her. She didn’t know if it was because he was gripping her legs, or because she tried to include him in the penumbra of her own pret and all its servants. Perhaps it required both touch and intention.

Two of her women were in her room when she appeared on the bed. She immediately moaned as if she were in labor. She remembered it well, and pushed.

The women shrieked. “Who is that!” cried one. “Is the baby coming?” asked the other.

“Bring the midwife!” cried Anonoei. “And the king!”

Both women rushed from the room.

“Are you really giving birth?” asked Frostinch softly.

“Of course I am,” said Anonoei. She was not, but she knew that Wad was watching her and would help bring out the baby. He had already told her that the child was turned inside her, ready to be born. She had already had slight pains. When the baby came out, Wad would make sure the boy was healthy.

When Prayard arrived, he had men-at-arms with him—the women had told him of the strange man, as well as Bexoi’s sudden appearance in the midst of her travail.

“He came because I called for him!” cried Anonoei the moment Prayard came in. “Now come, husband! Help me deliver our child!”

“Frostinch!” Only in that moment did Prayard realize who the intruder was.

“Let this baby be born of cooperation between Gray and Iceway!” shouted Anonoei. “Let me say that my husband and my nephew both helped me bring forth this child of both nations!”

Then Anonoei raised a cry of pitiful agony and, on cue, she felt the baby begin to push down, felt her own muscles contract. Labor was beginning in earnest. Wad was coming through for her. Either that or Bexoi’s body was unusually susceptible to suggestion.

Prayard gingerly came and took his place beside Frostinch. “What do I do?” he asked.

“I have no more idea than you,” said Frostinch. “She asked me to help brace her legs.”

“Then I’ll take this leg,” said Prayard.

“Yes!” cried Anonoei.

The midwife came in, all a-bustle. “What are men doing inside this place!”

“I command it!” cried Anonoei, and the midwife had no more power to resist her than the two rulers did. “And let the men-at-arms be witnesses, that the king and the jarl both held me as the boy came forth!”

The midwife pushed her way between the men. “If the baby dies, it’s not my fault,” she muttered to them.

But neither man faltered in his resolution to do what Bexoi—as they thought—demanded.