Chapter 37: The Luna's Gambit

The meditation chamber had been hastily converted into a ritual space, candles arranged in precise patterns while Mira fought through increasingly intense contractions. Elder Sage worked frantically with the ancient texts, searching for precedents that might allow what they were attempting.

"There's no record of a Luna projecting during active labor," she muttered, her weathered fingers tracing passages in the Charter. "The magical strain alone could kill both mother and child."

"Then we make new precedent," Mira said through gritted teeth, another contraction making silver light flicker around her. "Those girls don't have time for us to find a safer option."

Healer Thorne hovered anxiously with his supplies. "Luna, your body is trying to deliver this baby. Fighting against it while channeling power..."

"Could tear me apart, I know," Mira finished. "But leaving Vera's granddaughters in Garrett's hands guarantees they'll face something worse than death. They'll become his weapons against every Luna family."

Lucian knelt beside her chair, his face etched with worry and admiration. "Tell me what you need."

"Kane's strike team in position," she said, breathing carefully through another wave of pain. "Lyra ready to guide the projection. And you—" She gripped his hand as the contraction peaked. "You need to anchor me. The bond between us is the only thing strong enough to pull me back if I go too deep."

"The risks—" he started.

"Are worth it," she cut him off. "Our child deserves to be born into a world where Luna families are free."

Kane entered with his tactical report. "My teams are moving into position. We'll have the ravine secured within the hour, but Garrett's doubled his perimeter guards. If this projection fails..."

"It won't," Mira said with fierce determination, though sweat beaded her forehead as another contraction began building. "How long until the emergency Assembly?"

"Six hours," Elder Sage reported grimly. "Dawn approaches fast."

Lyra positioned herself at Mira's side, her own infant sleeping peacefully despite the tension. "The projection will be different this time. You're not just extending consciousness—you're splitting it while your body labors. The strain could fragment your awareness permanently."

"Then keep me focused," Mira said, silver light beginning to gather more intensely around her. "Remind me who I am, what I'm fighting for."

The next contraction hit with devastating force, and Mira felt her consciousness suddenly expand beyond the confines of the chamber. But instead of the controlled projection she'd managed before, this felt wild, chaotic—her awareness scattered across multiple territories simultaneously.

She could sense every Luna family within hundreds of miles, their fear and hope creating a web of silver threads that connected them all. The Shadowmere grandmother's prayer for safety. The hidden children learning to suppress their gifts. Alpha Vera's rage and desperation as she prepared for war.

And at Thornfield Valley, she found them—two young girls huddled together in a guarded pavilion, their newly awakened Luna power making them shine like beacons in her magical sight.

"I see them," she gasped, her physical body wracked with another contraction while her projected consciousness soared toward the valley. "They're terrified, but alive. And their power... it's stronger than anyone realized."

Through the projection, she could hear Garrett addressing his assembled forces. "The Luna threat has escalated beyond our predictions. Emergency protocols are now in effect. Any resistance to Assembly authority will be met with immediate force."

Mira pushed her consciousness closer, trying to reach the girls directly. But as she did, she felt something alarming—the labor was accelerating, her body responding to the magical strain by trying to expel the baby immediately.

"Mira!" Lucian's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Your vital signs are spiking!"

She fought to maintain the projection while another massive contraction tore through her. The silver light around her physical form blazed brighter, and she felt the baby shift, beginning its descent toward birth.

"The girls," she managed to say. "I need to reach them before—"

Her consciousness suddenly snapped back to her body as the most intense contraction yet overwhelmed her magical focus. She found herself surrounded by concerned faces, her body demanding immediate attention.

"The baby's coming," Thorne announced urgently. "Now. We need to get her to the birthing chamber immediately."

"No," Mira said desperately, trying to push herself upright. "The rescue—the projection—"

"The projection failed," Kane said grimly. "My teams are in position, but without your guidance, we're going in blind."

Another contraction hit, and Mira felt the baby crowning. There was no stopping this now—her child had chosen this moment to enter the world, right in the middle of the most critical operation of the Luna Network's existence.

"Then we adapt," she said through the pain, her Luna power flaring with maternal determination. "If I can't project to them, we bring them to me. Kane, execute the rescue. Lyra, prepare the Unity Gathering ritual. Elder Sage—" She gripped the old woman's hand as another wave of labor overwhelmed her. "Be ready to invoke the ancient rights the moment those girls are safe."

As Healer Thorne worked frantically to manage the premature birth while the war council coordinated a desperate rescue mission, Mira realized that her child had chosen the perfect moment to arrive. The revolution needed a Luna born in the crucible of battle, and that was exactly what they were about to get.

The next contraction brought with it not just pain, but power—and the absolute certainty that everything was about to change.