"Five days?!" I shrieked.

I didn’t even have time to process the words before a wave of pure, hormonal panic crashed over me. I burst into tears, the kind of messy, ugly sobbing that makes your nose turn bright red and your chest heave.

"I haven’t finished the drainage blueprints!" I wailed into my hands. "The marketplace is a construction zone! The palace still smells like wet limestone! And I look like... like a sick whale!"

Thalor looked absolutely terrified. He hovered over me, his hands fluttering as he tried to figure out where to touch without making it worse. "No, no, Arinya! My father doesn’t care about the stone! He’s coming because he’s ecstatic! He thinks you’re a goddess for carrying a sea-heir on land!"

"I don’t feel like a goddess!" I barked through a sob, then immediately gagged because the smell of the forest breeze coming through the window suddenly felt ’too green’. "I feel like a science experiment gone wrong!"

Damar walked in right then, carrying a fresh bowl of those translucent sea berries Thalor had brought in.

Thalor must have stopped at the kitchen first with the berries before coming to break the news to me.

Damar took one look at me sobbing, and Thalor looked like he’d accidentally started a war, and he just sighed, setting the bowl down on the bedside table.

"The Fish-King is coming early, I hear?" Damar asked, his voice surprisingly calm.

"Five days," I sniffled, reaching out to grab a berry. The moment the salty-sweet juice hit my tongue, my stomach settled just enough for me to stop crying.

"Actually," Damar said, leaning against the bedpost and looking at Thalor with a calculating glint in his eye, "this is perfect."

I stopped mid-chew. "How is this perfect? I’m a mess, Damar!"

"Because we’re short on labor," Damar explained, his brain already sketching out a new schedule. "If the King is bringing a full delegation, he’s bringing merman builders and soldiers. They can handle the underwater stone-work for the nursery pool ten times faster than the beavers. And the wall? If they want their grandchild safe, they can help us finish the expansion."

I blinked, wiping a stray tear. My ’Queen’ brain finally started to override the ’Pregnant and Grumpy’ brain. He was right.

They were originally coming as support, but knowing that I was pregnant for the prince, they will be even more energetic when building the walls.

"And the treasures," I added, my voice getting stronger. "Thalor, you said they were bringing tributes. Pearls, rare stones, sea-glass... that’s our first major injection of high-value goods for the marketplace. We can use those to set the trade value for the tokens."

"Exactly," Damar nodded. He looked at Thalor. "Tell your father to bring his best. If he wants to see his grand heir, he’s going to have to earn it."

I took a deep breath and sat up straight, ignoring the dull ache in my lower back.

"Alright. Change of plans again. If they’re coming in five days, we stop worrying about ’looking’ ready and focus on being functional. Thalor, send word back to the sea. Tell them the Land Mother welcomes them, but tell him to bring his best stone-shapers and the ones who know how to move water. If he wants to see his grand-baby, he’s going to help me build the best nursery in the world."

I’ve already built the best nursery this world has to offer, but let’s raise the standards a little higher, shall we? Hehe.

​I took a deep breath, my brain already moving a mile a minute. "We’re short on hands, and the clock is ticking. If the mer-folk are coming, they aren’t just guests—they’re the new construction crew."

​Thalor looked relieved that I wasn’t screaming anymore. He gave a quick, grateful bow. "I will send a message to the shore immediately. They will be honored to work for the Land Mother." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

​"Good," I muttered, grabbing another sea berry. "Now, someone get me a flat stone and some charcoal. I’ve got new plans to draw, and only five days to get this place ready for a King."

​I leaned back against the furs, feeling a tiny flutter in my belly. Whether it was the babies or just the fish I’d eaten, I didn’t know. But for the first time in three days, I felt like I was back in control.

​"Thirty-two days," I whispered to my stomach. "You’d better stay put while I fix this house up for your grandpa."

...

I was sitting on a low fur-covered bench in the main hall, trying to sketch out the new drainage pipes on a flat piece of slate, when I felt a tiny, insistent tug on my skirt.

I looked down and saw Lyra. She crawled, which she was most confident in since walking still made her tumble, and she hated hassles.

Her silver hair was caught in a small braid that Talia must have done, and her little tiger ears flicked as she stared at me.

"Hey, princess," I whispered, reaching down to pull her onto my lap.

Lyra didn’t try to snatch my charcoal or pull on my hair as the other two would do. Instead, she stood between my knees and tilted her head, those emerald eyes scanning my midsection with a seriousness that was almost spooky.

With a slow, deliberate movement, she reached out her small, pale hand and pressed it firmly against the swell of my belly.

I held my breath. Lyra was the observant one, the one who noticed everything. She kept her palm there for a long moment, her expression focused, and then her eyes widened. A soft, knowing smile lit up her face.

She patted the bump gently, then looked up at me and let out a soft, huffy little chirp of approval.

"Baby," she whispered. It was barely a sound, but the recognition in her green eyes was unmistakable, and I covered my mouth.

She... she just said baby with no mistakes.