Chapter 1

I cradled my newborn son in my arms as I listened to Gwendoline and Geo conversing in low tones on the front porch.  True to my promise to Gwendoline and my grandparents, I’d spent the remaining months of my pregnancy focusing on doing what was needed to assure a healthy baby, adjusting to being a vampire, and learning all I could about the responsibilities of being a Verso Witch, while Gwendoline determined ways to get around the magical block the vampirism created.  It was this block that made me realize and understand why Geo wasn’t as adept to magic as someone born of two magical parents should be.

Although they kept close contact with Gwendoline as to my health, wellbeing, and progress with both my adjustment from humanity to vampirism and lessons in witchcraft, Geo and Luthias respectfully kept their distance from me. They stayed close by for the delivery, but didn’t attend. This was something I was grateful for.  I’d tasted what it felt like to be on display on my wedding night with Charles when he practiced the archaic custom royals did of having the consummation of their marriage witnessed. Having two brothers who vied for my love and affection watching me give birth while my modesty was tossed to the wind wasn’t top on my list of things to do.

 The fact that a vampire’s birthing is just as dangerous to the vampire mother as a human’s birthing is to the human mother was kept from me until after the ordeal was over.  I had it in my head that, because I was a vampire, I’d simply heal should anything go awry. I didn’t take into consideration that the babe I was birthing was also a vampire and, when vampires wound vampires it isn’t always that easy to heal from those wounds. Vampires only heal well from wounds inflicted by beings that aren’t supernatural; such as humans.  That, and the fact that they have incredible longevity of life, is probably why humans consider vampires to be immortal. In fact, depending upon the wound a vampire inflicts upon another vampire, it could potentially kill them.  I should have remembered that from the suffering Luthias endured after battling Charles’s army, but I didn’t.

I felt incredibly fortunate to have at my disposal the magical and herbal talents of both my mentor, Gwendoline, and my grandmother, Millie. They’d taken the time to study up on delivering vampire babies.  Their complete inventory of “what if” remedies were close on hand.  When my son started to deliver breach, they quickly remedied the situation and delivered him with not so much as a hitch. Even the most experienced midwife would have been hard pressed to catch on that neither of these women had much exposure, if any, to delivering babies - human or vampire.

Now, the father of the beautiful little creature I cradled so lovingly to my breast was about to see him for the first time. 

Remembering the tale Gwendoline told me of how Geo lost his wife and children prior to becoming a vampire, I could only imagine the myriad of emotions running through him as he stood in the doorway looking at us. I let my eyes drink in every inch of him.  Our separation hadn’t been long, but it was long enough for me to look at him as if for the first time.  His tall, muscular physique filled the doorway as he leaned against its frame and fidgeted with a loose nail that was attempting to back its way out of the smooth, polished wood.  His jet-black hair glistened beneath the rays of light that filtered through the multi-paned window near the door. I found the combination of his Tom Jones style queue, form fitting faded jeans, and a black and white tee shirt irresistibly sexy.  I couldn’t help shudder with longing. 

“Are you cold?” he asked with concern as he straightened his body.

“Are you just going to stand in the doorway and fidget?” I asked with amusement.

“I’m waiting for an invitation to enter,” he replied.

“Since when does a father need an invitation to see his own son?” I asked with sweet delight. 

His whole demeanor softened as he moved toward us with agile swiftness. When he stopped just inches away, I filled my lungs with his rich musky scent.  His brown, doe-like eyes were moist as they slowly took in the sight of mother and son.

“This is a day I never thought I would see,” he whispered.

“Would you like to hold him?” I asked as I extended my bundle of joy toward him. When he hesitated, I nodded confidently and continued to extend our son toward him until he positioned his trembling hands and arms in a manner that would allow me to gently place our baby down into the nook he’d created. “I’m fairly confident he won’t break.”

“This feels like a dream,” Geo said in a tone that was barely audible as he stroked our newborn’s tiny cheek with his strong finger.

“I’m still getting used to it myself,” I said. “Everything that’s happened since I met up with you on the road that day seems like a dream to me at times.”

“Not a nightmare?” he asked without looking up at me.

“Some of it,” I replied with a shrug as I crossed the room and eased myself onto the sofa, “but most of it is like a wonderful dream come true.”

“I love you,” he said as he raised those beautiful eyes in my direction.

“As well you should,” I said in a tone that hinted of teasing.  “You did knock me up, after all.”

He threw his head back in full laughter before raising the baby so their cheeks connected.

“I certainly did that,” he said lightly.

“They’re insisting I take my time and go through with this courting thing,” I whined.

“Courting and other things can wait, young lady,” announced my grandfather as he strode into the room with such a regal flair that anyone who didn’t know who was who would have guessed he was the king of Verso instead of Geo.  “It hasn’t been twenty-four hours since you delivered and here you are gallivanting all over the place.  Back to bed with you.”

“I feel fine,” I objected.  “I’m just a little sore, that’s all.”

“You haven’t healed yet?” Geo asked with concern.

“We have things under control,” Gwendoline piped in as she approached Geo with her arms extended.  “‘Tis time to put both mother and son back to bed where they belong.”

“Why hasn’t she healed?” Geo demanded as he relinquished our son to his mother and strode over to my side.  He kneeled before me and searched my face with concern, “What’s hurting? Do you need a doctor?  Should I fetch your Uncle Milton?”

“Well, I never,” Gwendoline clucked as she strode from the room with my baby in her arms.

“That wasn’t very nice,” I murmured.

“Nice be damned,” Geo said.  “I love my mother as you well know, but if a doctor is in order then we need to send for one. What hurts?”

I looked at my grandfather uncomfortably before saying, “The usual.”

“You should have healed by now,” Geo insisted as he repositioned himself on the cushion next to me. When I flinched as his weight jostled me a bit, he growled, “I’m getting your uncle.”

“If you want to get my brother for the sake of a family reunion, then by all means go fetch him,” my grandfather said gruffly. “As for my granddaughter’s health and well-being... she’s in the finest hands she could be in right here and now.  She will be well enough in a day or two.  Remember that she gave birth to a vampire, not a human. There is no need to insult your mother and my wife in such a way.”

“He’s just worried,” I said as I placed the palm of my hand on Geo’s cheek. “He didn’t mean to insult anyone.”

“I did not…,” Geo said quickly as he pulled my hands to his lips and kissed it gently before releasing it slowly. “It’s just... I can’t lose her.”

“Do I need to point out you can’t lose someone you don’t have?” my grandfather said callously. At the sound of my shocked gasp he added, “I’m not trying to be cruel. I’m just keeping things in the right perspective.  I was serious when I said you and your brother must court our girl for a respectable period of time to give her a fair and honest opportunity to get to know you. Then, and only then, will she choose.  The minute I think things are being done otherwise, I will scrap the whole idea and pick the husband for her myself.” He turned and looked Geo straight in the eyes, “I can’t guarantee I’d pick either one of you.”

“Grandfather!” I gasped with both surprise and mortification.

He either forgot that Geo was a vampire king of a nation and I was a vampire queen of two nations and he held no authority over either of us, or he just didn’t care.  I opted for the latter.  My grandfather was older than Geo and quite magical. He’d lost a considerable amount of his magic to my mother when she siphoned it from him on the sly, but it all returned to him upon her death.  I reckoned he took that, plus the fact that I was still his granddaughter, and decided it gave him the right to pull rank.

“Listen to me fully before you protest,” he said while looking directly at me. “Both this young man and his brother were raised in a time when women were handled far more delicately than they are today. Free love wasn’t accepted.  Those caught attempting it were punished.  Yet, these two brothers seemed to feel it was alright to seize the opportunity to take you to their bed only minutes after meeting you.”

“I initiated it...” I began.

“It does not matter who initiated it,” he practically snapped. “Both of them knew better.  They were aware of the sheltered life you led with your grandmother and me in that isolated and barren land, yet they took you to their bed anyway.  One went so far as to impregnate you.”

“Stop,” I begged.

He turned to Geo and boldly continued, “Now I ask you, Geo, how would you feel if it was I who imposed upon your innocent ward in such a way?”

Geo looked at the floor while slowly shaking his head, but said nothing.

“I’d be furious,” Luthias said as he stood in the doorway. “You have every right to be so, sir.  Our behavior was inexcusable.”

I sucked in my breath at the sight of Luthias’s lean, muscular frame filling the same doorway Geo had just stood in. He’d abandoned his traditional sport coat and was wearing a designer polo shirt and silk slacks that draped perfectly over his trim, well-formed thighs. Sunlight bounced off his light hair, creating a halo effect.  He stood at his full height with his hands in his pockets, while devouring me with his rich blue eyes.  Shivers of desire traveled the length of my body until they settled in my most intimate parts and proceeded to torture me. 

Although Geo was dark and Luthias was light, Luthias’s looks and charisma rivaled Geo in every way.  Being privy to Gwendoline’s secret that she was the birth mother of them both, and that they were brothers with different fathers instead of cousins, helped me to see the little hints of close genetic resemblance that others might miss because of their difference in coloring.  They were of equal height and build; the exception being Geo’s shoulders were a little broader. Most of the time Luthias camouflaged his perfect physique with sport coats and loose-fitting pants.  On the rare occasions when he dressed in more form fitting attire -or during our intimate times- it was clear to see his build rivaled Geo’s in perfection. 

Both brothers sported large eyes that were set perfectly on their distinctively masculine faces; although Geo’s were an alluring, doe-like brown and Luthias’s were a rich, seductive blue.  They shared the same straight, Anglo nose that was in perfect proportion to their squared chins and lips that were far too similar to deny the gene pool they shared.

My reaction to seeing Luthias after our separation left me unsettled.  It was Geo who I should have responded to in that way.  I reasoned it was because I was more concerned with uniting Geo with his son than I was with his looks; although I did drink him in to the fullest with my eyes upon seeing him.  Even so, any type of reaction to Luthias -other than that of brother and sister- was unacceptable.  I needed to reprogram myself and do it quickly.

“I agree,” Gwendoline added as she returned from putting my son down to sleep.  She moved behind Luthias, placed her hands on either side of his waist, and gently guided him through the door so that she could also enter. “What’s done is done, Arthur.  There’s no sense in dwelling on it.”

“I’m not dwelling on it, Gwen.  What I’m doing is explaining my position,” my grandfather said briskly.

“As ye have done so many times before,” Gwendoline said with a roll of her eyes.

“I’m within my rights to demand respect and consideration for my granddaughter,” he insisted.

“What’s going on in here?” my grandmother asked in a sweet, soothing tone while she sauntered into the room.

As she stood next to Gwendoline, I took a moment to compare the two old friends.  They were clearly beauties in their youth. Both were magical beings and about the same age.  In their early years, both had vied for my grandfather’s attention, but that’s where the similarities ended.  Where Gwendoline was a fastidiously put together woman, my grandmother was anything but.  Her slender body was an easy five inches taller than Gwendoline’s petite frame.  Her long, platinum-grey hair cascaded wild and free down her back in stark contrast to the neat and tidy, braided upsweep Gwendoline sported.  While Gwendoline could be found wearing well pressed slacks and a crisp clean shirt most of the time, my grandmother, favored long, loose cotton shifts that allowed her freedom while keeping her cool.  Even though the climate in Verso was moister and cooler than our home in the nuclear scarred and desolate land and loose-fitting clothing that allowed air flow was no longer necessary, she didn’t bother to shift her wardrobe to accommodate the change in climate. 

“No one is negating that fact, my dear,” my grandmother said soothingly after they filled her in on what conversation she missed.  “We are all in agreement that things were handled poorly in the past and need to be shifted.  Therefore, there truly is no need to convince us further.”

“Quite right,” Gwendoline said with a smile that spoke of how she may have used it to manipulate the opposite sex in her younger, more handsome years. “Besides, my boys have something far more pressing to focus on,” she turned to me and added, “as do ye.”