Three survived, one wasn't so lucky

Venus awoke to a cold, wet cloth being applied to her face. Saraf was gently cleaning the sweat from her brow with one hand while his free hand, still glowing, was on her stomach. Her stomach was back to almost normal. It was still slightly bigger than how she usually looked and the stretch marks from her quick pregnancy were healing. Saraf looked worn down and she realized he had been using quite a bit of power to restore her body to how it had been.

"Where is it? My child?" Her throat burned and her voice croaked from the almost endless screaming.

When Saraf looked way from her, she felt her anger rising and tried to rise. Dakur's strong arms wrapped around her and stopped her from moving.

"Damn it Saraf where is my child."

"Children, Shea. You have children, not a child."

Taka stood in the doorway, a small bundle still in his arms. She saw tears in his eyes, but they didn't look happy.

"What happened Taka? Where are they?"

Taka began walking towards her, holding the bundle close to him.

"Three born, strong and healthy. The last... He never saw the world."

Taka put the small bundle beside her and she felt her body begin to shudder as she looked into the small lifeless face.

"Was it because of my choice? Did I... Did I kill my baby?"

She was crying and almost in hysterics when Taka pushed Dakur aside and held her himself.

"No Shea. Saraf felt its life. It was weak even before you made the choice. Nothing would have saved it. You pushing may have given it a better chance with the magic flowing into you."

She was quiet for a few moments, letting his words sink in. It wasn't her fault, but it was still a loss. When she felt more calm she decided to ask him another question.

"Why do you call me Shea? You know my name Taka."

Take pulled back and looked into her eyes. A small smile lit his face.

"Shea, in our words means "Giver of Life" but in your words it means "Mother." Your true title should be Lok Shea, since you are a warrior as well."

She had heard the title Lok before. Boma was one of the few with it, and so was Taka. Lok, in Martuk terms meant Honorable or Noble. Taka was calling her Honorable Mother.

Venus took a slow breath and then nodded, accepting the new title.

"I want to see them. Where are my babies?"