The blood loss was concerning, and I didn’t know if witches could be healed like normal draken mates could. Benedict steadfastly refused to look down at the witch but snuck a glance at me.

“Are the wings stuck?” he asked tentatively.

I jerked, my face peeking up from Cassie’s thighs to blink dumbly at Benedict. “What?”

He took a steady breath, deliberately looking at me and not the blood on the floor. It was interesting how a bloodthirsty warrior could be brought to his knees by childbirth. “The wings. It’s a common danger in childbirth for drakens. This is the fifth month of pregnancy, isn’t it?”

“Cassie’s not a—” I clamped my mouth shut, my brain catching up to what he was saying. The child was a draken! Trego’s jaw dropped, understanding dawning in his eyes, along with a different, more desperate panic.

I shook my head and turned back to Benedict. “There must be something that’s commonly done, what do I need to do?”

Benedict’s stricken face went between mine and Trego’s. “I don’t know, draken bodies are better designed for it, but Yarin might remember.”

“Go get him!” I shrieked, and Benedict disappeared right on the spot.

Almost immediately he was back, a rumpled, half-conscious Yarin in tow. He took one look at the blood and the witch, and he was awake.

“We think it’s a drakling, and the wings are stuck in the birth canal. Do you know what to do?”

Yarin’s eyes filled with shock. “No, I’m only a rough field medic trained in traumatic injuries. The women always took care of—”

Trego roared in helpless rage, his screams matching Cassie’s. He turned towards me, desperate anger in his eyes. “What good as a female are you if you can’t help?”

His words hurt, and even though I knew he didn’t really mean them, they still made me feel insignificant and small. He was right; I didn’t know anything a female draken should. I pushed my lips tighter together, refusing to cry. I held a hand out to Benedict, who had stepped towards Trego menacingly. I needed to think.

“What about the female darkens?”

Benedict’s head snapped to mine, and so did Trego’s. They just stared at me.

“What? Surely one of them would know more than us!”

They stepped back at my harsh tone, but we were closing in on a life-or-death situation. Benedict sighed and looked away.

“What?!” I demanded again.

His amethyst eyes met mine. “I promised to leave them alone. Many of them are traumatized when it comes to births.”

I didn’t want to hear what he had to say, even though I understood. I spun on the spot, remembering the place Vela had confessed to me where they’d hidden the female drakens away. It was warded heavily, but the wards were set to males, and not me. I slid through them like hot butter.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I stood outside the lava tube, not wanting to frighten them. “Please? I need help!”