One womb. Two wombs. Three wombs. Count the fucking wombs. Is this what motherhood is like? His head hurt, and he felt a pain in his lower stomach. It was like he had a period.
Orias groaned and opened his eyes, the familiar ceiling of his bedroom greeted him. The soft bed and the warm blanket were a comfort, but the ache in his body made him want to rip his hair out.
A hand touched his forehead. It was cool and soothing.
Bella.
“Good morning, brother or should I say, good afternoon? You were out for a while.” She chuckled, her voice gentle.
He turned his head and saw her beautiful face smiling down at him. The aura around her vanished. He sat up and pressed his hand to his stomach. Nothing. No color, no auras.
His sister helped him sit up, placing a pillow behind his back for support.
“Are you feeling better?” She kissed his cheek.
He hummed and nodded.
Putting her hand on his abdomen, she rubbed it gently.
“Am I a mother yet?” She joked.
He laughed and shook his head. The womb was absent. It was as if it was never there in the first place.
“No, but I’ve got a few ide—ow!”
A sharp pain hit his lower stomach again and he winced, his hand gripping Bella’s. He glanced at his wrist. His mana crystal was completely black: it was empty.
Isabella looked at his wrist and understood. Her mana was also low from the shapeshifting last night.
“Mana sickness, brother. You pushed your magic too far. We need to get you a mana core,” she explained, her tone worried.
She stood up but he held her wrist, stopping her from leaving.
“How many cores do we have?” He asked.
His sister sighed. There was a reason why she didn’t immediately fill up his mana.
“Only two. Three if you count the one we stole from the shop. And black swamp lizard hunting season is over, unless you want to scrap your own law.” She answered, looking at the window.
Scratching his arm, he thought back to the law he made two years ago, forbidding the hunting of swamp lizards during the breeding season—It was a good law, one that benefited the ecosystem of the Ashfen.
But fuck it, he needed cores. He needed to test his blessing.
Orias tried to get up but a wave of dizziness hit him and he fell back on the bed. Mana sickness sucked. A headache and stomach ache, a body that felt like it was on fire.
Pulling his hand over her shoulder, she helped him stand up and guided him to the door.
“Where are we going?” She asked, her eyes on his pale face.
The prince opened the door and leaned against the wooden frame, catching his breath.
“Charles. I need to speak to him,” he said, his voice weak.
His sister frowned but helped him walk through the halls. The castle was quiet, the afternoon sun shining through the windows, the smell of dust and decay filling his nose.
Puke threatened to come up his throat. He held it in.
They reached the courtyard where the rats were training. Charles was barking orders at the smaller rats. When he saw the twins, he rushed to them, his little paws pitter-pattering on the ground.
“Prince, you don’t look well.”
Orias nodded and sat on the dirt, leaning against the barrel full of water.
“I need you to hunt another black swamp lizard and bring me its core.” He instructed, his voice raspy.
Charles squeaked in understanding and gathered his troops. They ran out of the castle, ready to complete their mission.
“Brother, is it wise to break your own law?” Isabella asked, sitting next to him.
He smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. “Corrupt leaders are better than dead ones.”
She rolled her eyes and rested her head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat calmed her and she closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her pale skin.
A maid came by and offered the prince some water. He drank it and thanked her. The cool liquid helped his throat, but the nausea was still there. A bird in the sky caught his attention, growing bigger as it got closer to the castle.
Messenger bird? No. Of course it was that fucking woman.
Flapping her wings, the bird landed in front of him. Same white hair, same blue eyes, same expression like she’d personally invented the concept of inconvenience.
“Pyx. What a displeasure.” Orias greeted.
The bird-woman huffed and crossed her arms. She was small, only a little bigger than a child. Her large wings covered her small body.
“That’s my line asshole.”
Bella lifted her head and looked at Pyx.
“What is the matter Pyx? You are interrupting quality time with my brother,” she said, her tone flat.
Pyx scoffed and turned to the prince.
“Your province is being attacked. I am losing money because of you,” she hissed.
He raised a brow. Attacked?
“Details. Who is attacking us and with how many men?” He asked, his voice serious.
The bird-woman flapped her wings in irritation.
“Are you this incompetent? It’s the Snake Province! They captured the lake and now my employees can’t transport water to the Ashen city. It’s fucking drought season for fuck’s sake! Do you know how much money I am losing? Five golds, Ori! Five! And that’s just for today!” Pyx yelled.
Orias sighed and closed his eyes. Of course it was Basil.
“We had two guards at the lake... What happened to them?” He asked, hoping they were still alive. Men were hard to come by.
Pyx shook her head, her blue hair whipping around her face. “Dead, of course.”
Fuck Basil and his tiny snake dick.
“Are they advancing? How many men?” He continued the interrogation.
The bird lady glared at him, her hands on her hips.
“Normally I’d charge you for this information, but since you’re a fucking useless prince, I will tell you. They have thirty men, and they are building a camp near the lake. So far they aren’t moving further into the Ashfen. But who knows? Maybe they will attack the Ashen city next and I will have to relocate my entire business because of your sorry ass,” she spat.
Orias hummed and thought about his options. Thirty men was too much for his rats and Sela to handle. The Ashen city had no defenses and the people were going to be weaker thanks to lack of water.
The people were going to maim his ass when they find out the water source was cut off. He could already see the angry mob with pitchforks and torches.
“Did you make sure your employees kept it a secret? I don’t want the people to panic and riot before I can resolve the issue,” he said, standing up.
Pyx rolled her eyes and flapped her wings. “I already did that you moron. Now what are you going to do about it? Are you going to suck their dicks and beg them to give the lake back?”
Isabella stood up and slapped Pyx across the face. A loud smack echoed in the courtyard.
The bird-woman fell on her ass and she started to rub her cheek, glaring at Bella.
“That’s assault. I’m adding it to the debt.”
Orias ignored them, his mind racing. Thirty men. That was a small number, but that meant they all could use magic. A platoon of poison snakes.
“Fuck me, my head hurts...” He muttered, holding his head.
His sister stopped the childish fight and went to his side.
“Brother, you should rest, let me handle this.”
He shook his head.
“Go find Sela, tell her to meet me in the front courtyard.”
Isabella frowned before sighing. She left to find the Chief, leaving the two alone. Pyx got up and dusted off her clothes.
“Seriously, what are you going to do? You still have to pay off your debt to me. And I want it in gold, not blood.” She demanded, her wings twitching.
He looked at her, a small smile on his lips.
“Pyx. If you want me to repay my debt to you, then I need you to do something for me. Can you do that?”
The bird-woman crossed her arms. “Another favor? You sure are demanding for someone who owes me money.”
Orias stared at her wings, the blue feathers shimmered in the sunlight. What was her magic again? Wind? Air?
“I need mana cores, a lot of them. Can you provide me with that?” He asked, his voice serious.
Pyx blinked and raised a single brow.
“No. You don’t have the capital to even start paying it off. I’m not a charity, Orias.”
This harpy was always so difficult to deal with. But he spent the past five years trading with her. He knew her weaknesses.
“Then I’ll remove your monopoly over the water trade. I’m sure the other merchants will be happy to take over your business once I give them the opportunity.” He said, his tone cold.
Her eyes widened and she took a step back.
“I will just leave and establish my business elsewhere. Somewhere far better than this shithole. The Ashfen people need me more than I need them.” She huffed.
“Okay leave.”
He smiled at her. This was her weakness. Her species’ innate greed made them undesired everywhere. Banned from all nine human provinces, only the Ashfen welcomed them. Which wasn’t a problem to harpies, they had their own kingdom yet Pyx was here. Why? Because she was exiled.
Her wings drooped and she had to step on her toes to get in his face.
“You know what you are? Bad for business. Genuinely, structurally bad for business. Fine, I will get you the cores. But I’m claiming your first born and she will work off your debt,” Pyx said, glaring at him.
Orias burst out laughing. The image of his first born working for Pyx was too funny.
“Whatever you say, Pyx. Just get me the cores as soon as possible if you want to make profit off of me.” He walked past her and into the castle.