Leo squeezed her hand. Priya leaned close. “You already are,” she said. “Fear is just a wave, too. Let it pass.”
But Elara wasn’t listening. She was counting ten tiny toes, ten perfect fingers. She was breathing in the new, milky scent of her daughter. Outside the window, the sun crested the horizon, painting the room in shades of rose and gold. women giving birth
“It’s time,” she said.