by Hayley Todd
And two weeks had carved the path for a lot of change.
Santina Manor stayed busy these days. The house that had once stood more or less unoccupied for years was filled with life and energy. It suited the house well. The building was meant to house dozens and hadn’t in a lifetime. There were construction changes going on in the day room meant to equip the place as a real medical wing. That’s where my appointments were being held for the time being.
My father, Damien Lucius, had also beefed up security around the perimeter of the manor and its grounds. No one got in without security’s say so and no one got out without the same.
The humans’ attack had ripped through our limited defenses. It had put us on edge and had torn away whatever sense of safety we had garnished. Damien had been working on preparing Santina Manor as a fallback shelter but his designs hadn’t gotten far into implementation when his mansion was attacked.
We were figuring it out as we went now. It had its drawbacks but we were an adaptable people.
Or at least that’s what I tried to remind myself as we sat in the dining room discussing Evelyn Stark’s recently vacated Council seat.
I sat beside my father, less lady-like than I could’ve managed. I was leaned back a little, my palm pressed to my flat belly. There was no physical evidence of our little peanut so far but I had an unrelenting awareness of his or her presence.
Damien stood in front of his chair, occasionally his eyes slipped to me and my comfort activity but he mostly ignored me, making his statement to the other council members.
The French doors behind me swung open, cutting my father off mid-sentence. The room went still for a moment aside from the footsteps making their way toward me.
“Lords and Ladies of the Magick Council, presenting Lord Anton Lereaux,” one of the guards bellowed from the door. He was out of breath and I imagined he’d been chasing Anton all the way into the room. Anton had little patience for bureaucracy. That was fine because I didn’t have much for it either.
He drew up beside my chair before kneeling, taking my hand gently from its place on my belly and kissing my knuckles. “My Princess,” he greeted formally before bowing to my father, then the other council members, then sitting quietly beside me. As he settled in he spoke up once more. “I apologize for my tardiness. Where were we?” he asked.
My father slouched into his seat and I could see him trying to rid the tightness of exhaustion from his eyes. “We were discussing the open council seats and how to replace them,” Damien said.
As he described, there were two seats around the room that were unfilled. I was there as my father’s second and only had a seat due to worries about my predicament. There were seven other seats around the room. My father and Anton sat in two of them. Two of the other seats were vacant.
In the three remaining seats, Alicia Roth, Alexei Romanoff, and Aron Valencia were seated. All three of them looked tense and tired but aware.
My father stood at my side. “Now that we are all here, we have some things to discuss. We all know that Henrick Von Murg’s seat at the council has been overtaken by his son, Anton, who would like to vote to have the house’s name reformed under his previous alias, Lereaux. Anton,” he passed the conversation over to the man on my other side.
Anton stood and I took him in for several seconds. This didn’t look like the same Anton that I had met all those years ago. He was clean-shaven, his amber eyes sharp, and his auburn hair had been combed into a professional style atop his head. He wore a black suit that fit his forms in ways that had my mind spinning.
“Thank you all for hearing my case,” he said as an introduction. “We all know the disparity that my father let fall on this council. He had a twisted sense of valliance and I would like to bring our house into the council again anew. I would like Von Murg to be no more, replaced by the new and developing history of Lereaux, my mother’s name. I realize we will lose some of our traditionalism in eradicating the name but I hope this will guide us to new prosperity and unity.” He took a deep breath though he tried to make it appear nonchalant as he returned to his seat.
“Thank you, Lord Lereaux,” Damien replied, putting heavy emphasis on the new last name.
I watched Anton curiously. I hadn’t known that Lereaux had held any personal value to him. I had only assumed it was an alias.
“We will now vote on the house name change,” Damien introduced, “All of thee who agree, please say aye.”
There was a quick chorus of ayes around the room. Anton hadn’t gotten much push back. It was no wonder. Henrick has smeared the name and the pride of the Magick people. They had no desire to be restricted by those bounds placed on them under the name.
“It is decided,” my father said, nodding at Anton. Anton returned the gesture and seemed to relax a little.
I slipped my hand up and over the edge of Anton’s chair where he clasped my fingers without a word. He let me pull our conjoined hands into my lap and his thumb flickered over my belly. A chill ran down my spine at the touch.
“On to the more pressing issues of the council. Per Evelyn’s final wish and Kyra’s pursuing of the issue, we will now see the potential of having Evelyn’s half Magick son take her seat on the council.”
Evelyn’s son, Asher, watched quietly from the corner of the room. He had been present in all council dealings pursuant on the decision in this case. He was tense and I could see the tightness of his jaw.
Asher was a dark skinned man and in many ways, resembled his mother. He had piercing blue eyes that reflected on her abilities with water. He too was tall and thin with closely cropped hair. Asher remained silent at his post. He stood behind Evelyn’s vacant chair.
The council members rustled nervously at the introduction of this action. No mixed blood representative had ever been seated at the council. This would change history as we knew it.
“All those who affirm their belief in the allowance of mixed blood on the council, please say aye.”
I was surprised when the only person to stay silent was Aron Valencia, the representative from Italy.
“All those who disagree, say ‘nay’,” Damien commanded, watching Aron with narrowed eyes.
Aron lifted from his seat and leaned against the tabletop. “Nay,” he called defiantly.
Damien stared at him, showing no emotion on his face. In a battle of wills, my father were demolish him. “And what reasoning have you?” he asked.
Aron pouted and he looked like a petulant child. “Am I the only one interested in the purity of our race?” He made the mistake of swiveling his eyes toward me and my “impure” growing infant.
Anton was on his feet in a moment, stepping slightly in front of me so Aron couldn’t maintain eye contact. “We are currently in a bloody war with the humans of the world. I think it is long since time to let go of our pious principalities,” he hissed.
I couldn’t help but stare at the long length of his shoulder as he stood before me. Anton could be goofy and arrogant but power suited him.
“Those of mixed blood have mixed loyalties. How can we trust them to lead our people?”
Anton’s hands were balled into fists. It was my father who reached over and pressed a restraining hand against Anton’s chest. His hands shook as he slipped into his seat again, moving till he still blocked Aron’s gaze.
“Right now, we need stability amongst our own people so that we may end this trivial fighting. Our own princess was raised in a community of humans and she serves as a Magick representative more valiantly than most others.” Damien sat back in his seat, his fingers steepled before him on the table. He refused to turn his head to me as he spoke but I knew what argument was coming nonetheless.
“Yes, she was raised amongst humans and her first actions as princess were to deny an arrangement meant for the prosperity of our people and sleep with a mixed breed so our next generation might be diluted with non-Magick blood.” Despite Anton’s shielding, Aron leaned forward, glaring down at my bell
y. The baby’s presence wasn’t even obvious yet and already, he or she had enemies.
I didn’t think he realized it at first but a low rumble came from Anton’s chest. Though Magicks were sophisticated in most ways, we were vampires and animalistic too. Some of us fought that primal nature more than others. Anger had a way of drawing out the worst in our people.
“The child you speak of,” my father hissed, “will be your future leader. Tread lightly. On the matter at hand, I propose that we explore Asher’s entrance on a trial basis with further meetings in the future to discuss its progress. Is this agreeable Lord Valencia?”
Aron’s face was white. I saw that the gravity of his words had finally seeped into him. He realized he had overstepped his bounds. The heir’s existence was undeniable. There was no more discussion on his or her creation. It had already happened.
The man sat down, defeated and nodded.
My father sighed, glancing briefly at me. My cheeks went warm with all of the sideways glances. I couldn’t help the protective hand that went to my belly.
“And the last issue at hand is the final seat, vacated by the untimely death of Lord Austin Wells. Have you any propositions on the occupant?”
Lady Alicia Roth fidgeted in her seat but didn’t speak. She was a petite thing with fiery red hair and clear emerald eyes. She seemed like she wanted to speak but didn’t.
“Lady Roth, do you have a suggestion?” My father asked without delay. He had been watching the woman too.
She sat a little straighter and chewed on her bottom lip before she finally spoke. “Due to her closeness with the council, I would like to nominate Miss Gabrielle Santina. As your wife, Naomi Lucius is incapable of holding her own seat on the council. I believe Miss Santina provides a viable alternative option.”
The room hushed as everyone considered. I was surprised. I hadn’t expected that.
Aron huffed a rough laugh. “Of course!” he exclaimed. “Replace the position with the mother of a batshit crazy Magick and a forcibly turned Vampyre. That fits in with the culture sacrificing mentality around here.”
My father speared the man with a gaze that made him snap his mouth closed so hard that his teeth clicked together. “This would also be on a trial basis,” he explained.
Aron’s jaw clenched but he sat back in his seat without objection. “How say you?” My father asked, glancing around the room. Alexei, Anton, and Alicia were quick with their “yays”. After several long breaths Aron sighed and agreed.
“Alright, this concludes this meeting of the Magick Council. Thank you all for attending. Asher Flynn and Gabrielle Santina will be placed in their positions on a trial basis with close supervision and Anton Lereaux will lead his house under the new name Lereaux with changes to take place immediately.” Damien wasted no time and hurled himself from his chair, making his way quickly from the room.
Anton watched him retreat but leaned down, offering his hand. I took it and he hefted me gently from my seat. “I believe you have an appointment to make,” he said with a smile.
I nodded to him, feeling my stomach swell with anxiety. This would be my first appointment and I was eager to see my little peanut but also terrified. Tensions were high already in our world and this child would only provide more fodder to the purists.
Anton led me from the room with one hand, sparing no time or attention to the tensions of the room we left. He took me down the hall and into the day room.
The inside of the room had changed dramatically. It was covered in large metal plating that had been installed like temporary walls dividing the room into private sections. Anton and I made our way to a room at the very back that had been specifically set up for me.
Vampire pregnancies were infrequent considering our long lives. They required perfect circumstances for the child to be formed and grow. There usually had to be blood sharing between the mother and father and I still wasn’t sure how we would approach that.
Anton, Carson—my child’s father—and myself shared an unprecedented imprint. An imprint was a mystical connection shared between lovers. The forming of our imprint had been under peculiar circumstances and it had left us with three imprint members instead of two.
Anton had been feeding me but we weren’t certain that it could take the place of the father’s blood. I hoped endlessly that it would since I wasn’t even sure where Carson was. I’d received flowers while I was in recovery from Carson’s father, Augustus Caraelius. But there, at the bottom of the card, was a familiar steady hand and it’s words had told me that I was with child before it had ever been confirmed.
A Magick woman in scrubs met us outside of the rooms followed on her heels by a younger woman also in scrubs. “Good evening, Princess,” the doctor greet, bowing toward me. She had a clipboard tucked under her arm and a stethoscope hanging from her neck.
“Hello, doctor,” I replied with a smile.
The Magick woman stepped back and gestured to the nearest door. Anton led me inside, helping me into the bed at the center of the room. He started to step away before I caught his hand. He looked down at me and his eyes spoke volumes. His gaze was soft.
The doctor made her way to a countertop in the corner of the room and washed her hands in the sink there. She drew a pair of gloves from a drawer there and pulled them on.
When she turned to us, my stomach sank. I had never felt more awkward and out of place as I did right then.
The doctor wheeled a stool over and took a seat beside the foot of the bed.
“Alright, Princess, how far along do you believe you are?” she asked. Despite her kindness, I could tell she had rephrased the question at the last moment as her eyes swiveled to Anton before she spoke.
