“Mathew Junior didn’t have one?” I frowned, remembering her oldest son, but she shook her head.
“Junior is the exception. He takes after his father,” Dante reminded. “He’s not a Vampire, he’s a Nyvith,”
“Right. The Vampire Slayer…” The memory of the first time I ever met her and her family as a child returned.
The Nyvith were an ancient race created by four out of five rulers from the most magical races to exist. The Countess’s father, as the leader of the Vampires, The Wolf Prince and leader of my race back then, the High Priestess of the Witches, and a Mighty Fae King.
Apparently, the Dragon Shifters were busy that day… or anti-social.
The mixing of their blood and magic gifted the Nyvith with powers from each of their races, making them the best weapon against the evil taking over the Vampire race on Earth. Becauseof this, the first child of a Nyvith was always male and a Nyvith, regardless of the mother’s race. That made Mathew Junior just like his father, while Constantin inherited theDeamhanrace.
A little misogynistic for my taste, considering my race was mostly matriarchal—although there had been a few Moon Princes along the way. Our deity was the Moon Goddess, our first Wolf Shifter was a female, and my mother was the current queen, but who was I to judge?
“Except, the Vampir cocoons only occur when Dariah’s blood is directly given by her or passed down,” André clarified.
She gave us a one-shoulder shrug. “This new generation I’ve created is…superior, but also everchanging.”
It made perfect sense. The Viscountess had been turned by Count Alekxandru Dracul, Countess Dariah’s father, using her purest blood… because his daughter was still a child. Anastasia then passed it on to Natasha by inheritance.
In a way, our mate was a direct descendant, the very reason she was so powerful and carried the power Countess Dariah’s mother once wielded.
“What else should we expect from the blue fire?” I pressed, briefly dragging my gaze away from our still unconscious mate, wanting to know the obstacles we might face in protecting her.
“Do we need to protect her from herself as well?”I sent into our shadow link.
“I sincerely hope not,”André’s words sent dread through our minds.
Countess Dariah’s gaze filled with sadness.
“My mother died when I was born, so the knowledge I have is limited to what she shared with my father or what he learned with her. No otherDeamhanhad ever wielded the gift of theEternal Blazebefore her. It is the reason she was meant to take the throne, but to do so, she had to kill her siblings. She couldn’t bring herself to do it, which prompted her escape. I alsoknow that it is a self-fueling force, yet it can be controlled by its wielder…”
Her gaze focused on our mate.
“It can also obliterate anything and anyone who stands in its way if left untamed.”
“How does Natasha have theEternal Blazeif Vampire powers never repeat?”
“The gift always evolves,” she answered Dante. “It’s how I can see a person’s most treasured memory with a taste of their blood. How Georgette can extract information from a person’s memories by simply touching their temple, or how Sebastian can alter someone’s thoughts and desires after a single kiss. They are all born from the same power, mind manipulation, yet each is very different, yah? They are variations of the original gift.”
André nodded in confirmation while Dante and I processed the information. “Unfortunately, there’s no way to know how close or far this variant is from your mother’s gift yet.”
“She has wings made of pure, lethal fire instead of a leathery membrane like yours, or even feathers,” I growled. “I’d say it’s already obvious how different it is.”
“Well, if there is anything else, it will manifest when she awakes,” the Countess assured just as the blue fire fully disappeared, taking with it Natasha’s wings.
Her lips parted to elicit a painful whimper, and I watched, enthralled, as tiny flames swiftly encircled Dante’s Starburst on her neck, creating a perfect outline. The fire lines began to sway, following an invisible path, lifting and falling along her skin until their creation was obvious…
André’s Sunburst.
“And so, it is done,” Dante smirked, glancing at André to find satisfaction and relief in his eyes, though concern for her tainted it.
Natasha stirred, and Dante’s shadows swirled at attention immediately, filled with protective magic. Standing to my full height, I centered all power in my thigh muscles, anchoring myself for the blazing wave that might just wipe me out of existence. André spread his wings and anchored himself too, ready to restrain our mate if needed.
The Countess straightened, feathered wings expanding again as she reclaimed her place between us and the bed, ready to shield us from whatever might come next.
A dainty yawn ruptured the silence, our mate’s back lazily arching while she stretched the sleep out of her being.
Natasha’s eyelids slowly fluttered open.
