“The orders are to take Suri alive, and then, we’ll have to figure it out. Kill him somewhere safe.” Zane’s hand trembled.
Janie straightened up. “A month?”
Dage and Zane shared a look.
God. “Kane finished mapping the virus’s path.” Janie slid a comforting hand over her belly, her heart cracking. “Two months is what you have left.”
“Maybe less.” The king leaned heavily on his cane; silver had overcome the black in his hair. “We’ve received the first reports of vampires succumbing to comas this week. We’re not far behind.”
“No.” Janie struggled to her feet. “Let me talk to Kalin again. Please.”
Dage sighed. “We’ve talked to Kalin until we’re blue in the face. We’ve tortured him. We’ve even tried to bribe him. The bastard is telling the truth. There’s no cure.”
Janie stood tall, mentally telling fear to fuck off. “Then we contact his people again.”
“Already have,” Zane said wearily. “Dayne has taken over as leader, and if you ask me, he doesn’t want Kalin back. If he wanted to save his cousin, he would’ve mounted an attack by now.”
“So what the hell do we do with Kalin?” Janie asked.
Dage’s weathered face tightened. “He dies before we do.”
Zane nodded. “I won’t leave him here to be a threat to you or my child.”
“I’m not giving up,” Janie said, her heart thundering. The men in her life couldn’t leave her alone—she needed her family. Her son deserved to know these incredible people.
“Neither are we, sweetheart. But we have to be proactive.” Dage tugged a folded piece of paper from his back pocket to hand it to Janie. “I had a vision.”
Janie slowly unfolded the paper to see a drawing of a handsome, sixteen-year-old male vampire. Make that a vampire-demon. “This is our son?”
“Yes.” Dage tapped the kid’s chin. “Stubborn chin.”
Zane leaned around to see. “He has my good looks.”
“Definitely.” Janie’s lips trembled when she smiled. “So this is the guy inside me?”
“Chances are,” Dage said. “He’s definitely from the two of you.”
“But maybe it’s notthisbaby.” Janie’s teeth clenched as she scrambled to find hope. “This could be our third son. Heck, our eighth son. We’re going to cure this virus, and Zane is going to give me a barrel of sons.”
Zane lifted an eyebrow. “Eight kids?”
“Yes.” She reached up and kissed his chin. “I’m going back to work.”
Dage reached for her and enveloped her in a hug. “I’m not saying good-bye. Just that I love you and I’m proud of you.” He nodded at Zane. “And I’m so pleased you’ve found your mate.”
Janie swallowed past a huge lump in her throat. “I love you, too.”
The words were soft, but they really did feel like good-bye.
Month 6: Talen
Janie rubbed her aching belly and knocked on her parents’ home, a plate warming her hands. The wind bustled around her, and she shivered.
Her father answered, a smile splitting his face. The sight of his pale skin threw her, as did the lightening of his warm golden eyes. It was as if the gold wasn’t strong enough to stay.
She held out the plate. “I made your favorite cookies.”
“Chocolate chip?” He drew her inside and led her to the kitchen before accepting the treats.
