Chapter 82 Caelum

• REIKA'S POV
• The night my labor began, the entire palace seemed to hold its breath. The contractions came swiftly and strongly, rippling through me like waves that stole the strength from my body. Servants rushed through the halls, and healers surrounded me, their hands steady and calm even as my cries echoed against the stone walls of Aurelia’s palace.
• Apollo never left my side. He held my hand so tightly I thought he might crush it, yet his grip grounded me, kept me from drowning in the pain. His voice was steady in my ear, low and commanding yet full of tenderness.