Another two weeks had passed. Dehydration had taken its toll on the residents of the Ashfen city, some died while others were on the brink of insanity. But in the castle, the miracle of birth was happening.
In the bath chamber, the big stone pool was full of water and a naked man was screaming his lungs out. The water sloshed around him and the room was filled with steam. Bella and Sela were on either side of the pool, holding him up while their mother was watching from the side.
“She is coming, Prince! Push harder!” Sela commanded.
Harder? Harder? He was squeezing his insides like a fucking lemon. How much harder could he push?
“Remember to keep your shapeshifted vagina in place or she might come out some other way,” Bella said, wiping the sweat off her brother’s forehead.
His hand was on her wrist, gripping it tightly. Vara was pushing down on his pelvis and he felt like his bones were going to crack. The monster was big.
Grunting, he pushed again, his body trembling.
“Get the fuck out already.” He screamed at his belly.
Teresa flinched at the sight of blood in the water but she didn’t intervene. Her son could do this.
Smoke came out of his vagina and the smell of burning flesh filled the room. This was the worst day of his life.
“Brother, her head is out! Just a little more,” Bella said, her voice soft and encouraging.
“Yank that fucker!”
Sela put her hands on the baby’s head and gently guided her out. A small cry was heard and the salamander baby was finally out. A small salamander with black scales and red eyes. She looked like a lizard.
Bella grabbed the baby and wrapped her in a towel.
Orias collapsed in the water, his body finally relaxing. The feeling of emptiness in his womb was strange, but deeply welcomed.
He panted and looked up at the baby in his sister’s arms. Vara was staring at him with those red eyes, her tail wagging behind her.
“Papa!”
Before anyone could react, the salamander shifted into a miniature version of Orias. Black hair and red eyes, but with a salamander tail. Not a copy—this was simply what she looked like. His daughter, wearing his face.
She pushed out of the towel and jumped onto her father’s chest, her momentum carrying him back into the water.
The girl giggled, her voice high-pitched and cute.
Sela laughed and Isabella smiled, leaning over the pool to look at the baby. Orias held his daughter like she was a bomb ready to explode, far away from him.
Reaching for his face, Vara kept saying, “Papa! Papa!”
He looked at her, his gaze softening before all the pain he went through came back and he flicked her forehead.
“That’s for being a little shit and making me suffer for a month.”
The girl pouted and tears welled up in her eyes. Bella took her from his arms and scolded him.
“Brother, what are you doing? She’s just a baby,” she said, rubbing the back of the girl.
Teresa and Sela laughed, the water around them cooling down.
“Baby? She’s the size of a toddler. Look at her teeth. She could bite my dick off,” he argued.
Sela nodded in agreement. “Prince is right. Salamander babies are born with all their teeth and they start biting everything. I suggest you put some distance between her and your dick, Prince.”
Bella rolled her eyes. The sound of the girl giggling filled the room as she transformed back to her lizard self. Her little black tail wagging happily.
Walking out of the pool, Orias dried himself with a towel and grabbed a pair of pants.
Looking at the salamander playing with Bella, he couldn’t help but smile. He was a father now. And a father puts their daughter to work.
“Alright, Vara, time to show me what you can do. Can you breathe fire?” He asked, getting the child’s attention.
The girl looked at him and opened her mouth, a puff of fire came out and she grinned.
“Good. Can you do more?”
Nodding, she took a deep breath and breathed out smoke before her body grew bigger, about three meters in height like a genuine Fire Salamander monster. Her size was half of the pool, her mouth open in a roar.
Everyone stared at her with mouths open.
Orias clapped his hands. He was a proud father of a weapon.
The salamander shrank back to her normal size and swam in the pool, her tail making waves. Isabella came to her brother and kissed his cheek.
“Congratulations brother. You did it.” Her voice was full of love.
Vara tackled Teresa, the woman catching her with a surprised yelp as Vara transformed back into a girl, hugging her grandma. Sela was still in the pool, her expression neutral.
“Vara come here.” He gestured to her.
The girl ran to him and hugged his waist. Picking her up, he held her in his arms and focused on her wrist. He checked the left one first. Nothing. Then the right one. Still nothing.
That was a big revelation. His daughter did not have a mana crystal yet she still used magic. A first in the world?
“Show me your magic again, Vara. I need to see something.” He told her.
She nodded and transformed into her salamander form, her body hot in his arms. Then she breathed fire. The flame came from her throat, a red flame.
“What are you using to produce the flame?”
Transforming back into her girl form, she looked at him with confusion.
“My tummy, papa.”
Tummy? Mana cores? He looked at his mother for answers. Teresa came closer and examined her granddaughter in his arms, touching her stomach.
Then she pulled away and shrugged. It was beyond her expertise and she said so.
The prince frowned. If there was no mana crystal, how did she use magic, more importantly would she suffer mana sickness if she overused it?
A tug on his shirt made him look down.
“Papa, I am hungry,” Vara whined.
He tilted his head.
“Okay? What do you want to eat?” He asked, raising a brow.
The girl smiled and put a finger in her mouth.
“Fire.”
“Fire?”
“Fire.”
What the fuck?
Bella walked to them and took the girl from his arms, her eyes narrowed.
“Ori, I don’t think we should let her eat fire. What if she burns herself?” She looked at her daughter worriedly.
Sela chuckled. “She’s not a demi-human, she is a true Fire Salamander and they eat fire.”
Well this got weird real fast. Sela grabbed a candle and handed it to Bella who stared at it with doubt before bringing the flame to Vara’s lips.
The child blew it out.
“Papa’s fire! I want papa’s fire!”
Everyone in the room looked at Orias who blinked. “What? I am not a fucking candlestick. What do you mean?”
The girl whined and lunged for him, her teeth sharp, biting his neck. A spark appeared on her tongue and then a small flame.
“Fire! Give me fire!” She yelled, biting his skin.
Orias pried her off him and looked at his neck, blood trickled down his skin. This little demon.
“How? How do I give you my fire?” He asked, trying to be patient.
Biting her lip, Vara pointed at his wrist before grabbing his hand and opening her mouth. She bit into his crystal. Sparks flew everywhere.
“Ah! Ow! Stop that!” He tried to pull away but she was stronger than he thought.
Her mouth glowed orange and a feeling of something flowing out of his crystal into her mouth made him freeze.
After a few seconds, Vara let go and licked her lips, her expression blissful.
“Brother why are you hard right now?” Isabella pointed to his pants.
Looking down he saw the tent in his pants. It was a biological reaction to the weird fucking sensation and the realization that came with it. Holding out his palm, a fireball appeared.
A grin spread across his face.
He could use fire magic now—of course he was hard.