Fifty-Six
VIVI
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
It’s been seven months since Jacques and Tatiana passed on. Jacques was executed for treason, and Tatiana met the sun of her own accord. No one was sad that they were gone, not even Sophie, and they were her parents. I don’t think I’d shed a tear if my mother died either.
But despite the war being over and our enemies finally defeated, we haven’t lived life in bliss all these months. Manu, Karl, Cheryl, and Ronan haven’t returned from Ellnesari, and each day that passes without any news makes it harder to believe they’ll ever return. Solomon, the High Witch, and even the Warlocks of Ivern have been looking for another way to open a portal, but with my pregnancy, I wouldn’t be able to go or even assist with a spell like before.
Rikkon and I have been visiting King Raphael every couple of days for the past seven months to donate our blood. Rikkon has also been using his healing powers in an attempt to buy the king more time, but we can’t cure him. My theory is that because the portals to Ellnesari remain shut, we can’t draw power from ourland, and our innate magic isn’t enough. At least whenever he drinks our blood, he regains lucidity, even if only for a few hours.
I’m getting ready to head out to the king’s house when Lucca walks into the room. He hugs me from behind, placing his hands over my huge belly, and kisses my shoulder. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi. I’ll be ready in a minute.”
The baby kicks, and Lucca turns me around so he can look at what the little rascal is doing. “Holy smokes. I think I saw the shape of the baby’s foot.”
We decided not to find out the gender of our baby, so we just say Baby Gael or Baby Della Morte, depending on who’s talking. If we were in Ellnesari, the baby would take my family name, but here, it’d be Della Morte. I’m fine with either option, or a hyphenated version. We haven’t decided yet. Our baby is a miracle, and all that matters to us is that he or she is healthy.
“Baby Gael has been busy tonight,” I say.
Lucca drops into a crouch and kisses my belly. “Hey, little one. I know you can’t wait to meet us, but you gotta stay in mommy’s belly a while longer, okay?”
Seeing Lucca, my beautiful and fierce vampire warrior, turn into mush makes me love him even more. And to think I was once terrified to be in his presence.
He looks up and smiles. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy.” As soon as I make the confession, I feel guilty, and my contentment wanes.
Lucca unfurls from his crouch and caresses my face with his knuckles. “You’re allowed to be happy, my love. We both are.”
“I know. But it feels wrong when we’re missing part of our family, and your uncle barely has any good days now.”
Tears gather in Lucca’s eyes, but he takes a deep breath, and I can see the resolve in him to not allow them to shed. I get it. If we fall into despair, we might never claw our way out.
Someone knocks on the door, and then Gerard speaks. “Master Lucca, I have Mauricio on the phone. It’s urgent.”
In the blink of an eye, Lucca has the door open. “What’s the message?”
Gerard’s face tells me exactly what the news is. “The king has made the decision. He’s ready to go.”
“No…” Lucca braces his hand against the doorframe.
I touch his back, trying to give him support, but there isn’t much I can do. We all knew this was coming. King Raphael had made it clear. If we couldn’t find a cure and the disease progressed to the point that he was more raging beast than vampire, Lucca had to let him go.
“I’m sorry, Master Lucca.” Gerard bows his head.
“I’m not ready to lose him,” Lucca replies through a choke.
I pull him into an embrace, and he hides his face in the crook of my neck. “I’m not ready, Vivi.”
“I know, none of us are. But we need to respect his wishes. He’s in a lot of pain, Luc.”
Lucca doesn’t reply, but he hugs me tighter, his body shaking. He’s crying, and the only reason I’m not crying too is because I have to be his solid rock now. He needs me.
“Rikkon is waiting downstairs,” Gerard adds.
“Thank you, Gerard. We’ll be right down,” I say.
