A Child Among Us — Karen L. Abrahamson

Ambea, Sister-head of the Sisters of Flame, yearns to provide a viable clutch of eggs that will produce a great leader. If she fails, duty calls for her to step down. When her latest clutch begins to flicker and die, she must decide whether to go to her fate or use her herb magic to make her dream real. Can forbidden magic give her all she wants or must everyone she knows suffer the consequences?