Luna Rising

THIRTY-SIX

I rock the chair back and forth while humming a lullaby to Michael. I conjure a rocking chair made from my magic.

Michael woke up needing to be fed since we didn't have any baby formula. He cried so much we couldn't handle the volume of his scream. We tried regular milk, which wasn't his preferred taste. Then Saye suggests milk from the Demon Realm. It's a special kind of milk that you get from a wyvern. I know it's hard to believe, but wyvern milk is costly. It gives demon children growth and strength.

After dinner, I left for the Demon Realm to buy wyvern milk. I had to travel to a wyvern farm, purchase three barrels of milk, and pay one million gold. Demon Realm uses gold coins as their source of money. I will have a lifetime of baby formula with that amount if Michael doesn't have demon blood. Where did I get that amount of gold in the first place?

Since I'm Ruvik's daughter, the twins told me my dad had kept a fund for me in case of emergency. They gave me a skull gold key that I could open any door and revealed an enormous room filled with gold and jewelry.

The first time I saw the secret door, I couldn't believe the amount my dad had saved for me.

As I returned, everything in the house was in chaos. Books are off the shelves, furniture is not in place, and the gang is exhausted while Michael continues to cry. Dominic was the last to hold him, and as I took the child in my arms, Michael suddenly quieted down as I fed him the milk. He sucked on the nipple of the bottle calmly and behaved so well that I couldn't help but smile.

Is this what caring for a baby feels like?

Will Dominic and I have a little one of our own?

Having a child with Dominic just got me all fluttered inside. Will the child be a boy or a girl? Will the child look like Dominic or me or both?

All the questions about my future child made me chuckle softly.

"Lippy?" I glance up to find Dominic sticking his head and whispering my name. "We are ready for you."

"Oh," I gasp softly. "I forgot. Give me a minute to put the little guy to bed."

I rise from the chair as I approach the cradle. Gently and soundlessly put Michael down without him making a fuss. When he wiggles a bit, I pat his leg lightly to make him fall back asleep. Michael let out an adorable yawn and paused. I watched his slight tummy rise and fall as I tipped backward, as my back hit Dominic. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my temple.

"You're a natural at this," he whispers.

"It's not the first I held a baby."

"When did you hold a baby?"

I lay my head back. "Well, it's more like holding a large sack of flour. When I traveled to a hidden village on an island called Makatakura; a tiny island on the coast of Japan hidden in a volcano cave, I helped a mother manticore give birth to three healthy babies. They were adorable to see, and during that time, it got me thinking if I ever have a child with you."

Traveling to Makatakura was one of the reasons the miasma was connected there. A small village was destroyed by a beast living under the volcano. I investigated and caught a whiff of the miasma surrounding the area being used as a barrier. That's when I met a manticore, a face of a lion with horns with wings and a spit tail of snakeheads. The Manticore is a myth from miasma causing.

"And?"

I turn around and stare deep into his eyes and feel the love and compassion. I can feel them even though our minds, as I'm sure Dominic's love, will never fade away.

"And," touching his hair, "I thought if we have a boy or girl or maybe both."

He grabbed my hand and the other and brought them to his lips. "If we have a girl, she will be as beautiful as her mother."