Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

MOIRA

" S ee that the bars are reinforced . . . twice." I stood in the dungeon for the second time in my whole life. It had not improved in two hundred years. It was damp, dark, and ominous. I held the hem of my dress up off the floor just in case the blood and muck here decided to seep into the material. The workers moved diligently about the cell as I directed them. "Remove anything not bolted into the floors or walls."When they all looked at me nervously, I lifted my chin. "If you don't want to be here when it arrives, I suggest you make haste."

They all scurried around the cell as I looked on. I checked every corner, anything that could possibly be used as a weapon. Once they were finished, I let them hurry away. It would come out eventually about Grayson, but I wanted to protect him for just a moment longer before the vampire world found out. I stood there for a moment wondering if I should have some kind of blinds hung outside his cell to block him from view.

I felt him behind me first, then I heard the deep rumble of his voice. "Moira, what are you doing here?"

"They're bringing Grayson home." I motioned to the cell. "I'm preparing for his arrival."

"We could have others attend to this. I'm not sure . . . I'm not sure you want to see this." Titus placed his arms on my shoulders, and I found myself leaning back into him. I knew I shouldn't, I knew it was wrong, I knew it crossed a line that should never be crossed, but I needed his support now more than ever, especially when Grayson was coming home. I hadn't ever been this nervous for him aside from the day he was born.

"I brought him into this world, and while I have a breath to draw, I will remain with him in it." The cell looked bleak but I'd rather him be here than anywhere else.

"Then I will be here with you every step of the way.""The kingdom needs you right now and until something can be done about Grayson's curse, I fear you being here might consume your time and draw unnecessary attention." I reached up about to place my hand over his, but it'd be too much. Being this close was too much. I dropped my hands and folded them in front of me as a reminder to never touch him.

His grasp slipped from my shoulders, and he took a step back. "I will always be here for him . . . always."

"As you always have been." I tried to reassure him, but the truth was I needed him away from this dungeon.

"If you need me, you'll call for me?" His voice was soft and rumbling as he spoke.

"Of course." But I wouldn't call for him. In this moment Titus felt like someone else I needed to protect.

He slipped away, leaving me there. He would always be here for Grayson. And for me it was forever at a perfect distance . . .

200 Years Ago

"No, not again! NOOOOOOOOO." The pain hit me in waves. It started off slow, just a small ache, then it built, my muscles contracting until the pressure was so intense I thought my bones would break.

"Can you not do something?" Titus snapped to the midwife.

"Your Highness, we are doing all that we can." She hovered over my body with a wet rag in hand. She dabbed it over my head, trying to stop the sweat from rolling into my eyes.

"Thank you, Sarah." I let my head fall back into the pillows. The room felt oppressively hot and I wanted the plush blankets gone from my bed.

"Yes, thank you, Sarah, for doing nothing." Titus paced back and forth beside me.

"Brother, perhaps you should step out of the room for a moment," Graymont offered as he sat in the chair up by my head. "Find your calm."

"You find your bloody calm," he snapped back.

I'd never seen Titus like this before. His hair was wild and untamed, his jacket lay on a chair across the room, and he stood by me with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows like he himself would be catching the child. Just as I was about to tell him to sit down, another contraction hit. The child was going to render me in two. I threw my head back and a scream ripped from my throat. My back arched of its own accord, and I twisted to the side, fighting to keep myself on the bed. The pain only rose—it never peaked, it never dropped off, it never ended.

My breath left me and all I could feel was the pressure racking my whole body.

Graymont jumped to his feet. "She is not supposed to look like that."

Titus leaned over the bed and wrapped his hands around my upper arms. "Breathe, MOIRA!"

He shook me and I sucked in a gasping breath so hard it hurt my throat. Tears rolled from my eyes and down my cheeks as the contraction subsided. "It was," I fought to breathe, "too much."

The two midwives huddled together, whispering on the other side of the room. Sarah and Anne were mirrors of each other, both with mousy brown hair, brown eyes, and pasty skin. In my pain-induced mind, I could hardly tell one from the other. I tried to motion toward them, but my arms were too heavy for the effort.

"Her lips are blue," Graymont snapped while motioning to me.

"I bloody well see they're blue!" Titus growled.

"DO SOMETHING," Graymont bellowed back at him.

I sucked in another breath. "Dying."

"You're not dying." Titus slashed his hand through the air. "I refuse to believe this. You are the strongest female I know."

But he was wrong. I did feel like I was dying and taking the child in my belly with me. I crooked my fingers at the midwives, summoning them to my bedside. When they glided over to us, they couldn't look Titus in the eye. My throat was dry from my screams, and I found my strength waning. "Tell him."

My voice sounded weak even to myself. Sarah cleared her throat. "She is dying, my lord."

"What?" He ran his hands through his hair and tugged at the strands. "NO! How do we fix this?"

Sarah glanced toward Anna, and she motioned toward me, encouraging Sarah to speak. "You've got to lessen some of the baby's blood in her body, my lord."

"Graymont, you must bite her," Titus ordered.

Graymont pressed his lips together and gave him a tight-lipped nod. "Very well. I'll so it."

His fingers were soft and gentle as he took my arm in his hand and turned it over, exposing my wrist to him. "I'll try to be gentle, Moira."

"Please just do it." My words were light and breathy.

I fought to stay conscious as black dots swarmed my vision. Graymont drew his lips back from his fangs and struck quickly. I barely felt the pain. It was nothing compared to having my insides torn out. Yet when he pulled away, I still felt just as weak.

Fighting was futile. I would die on this night. I was sure of it.

Titus turned toward the midwives, his eyes wide with panic. "IT'S NOT WORKING."

"It's got to be you, my lord," Sarah implored. "You must do it yourself. The baby comes soon, and only your blood magic can match the baby's in strength."

He shook his head. "I cannot."

I reached out toward him, and he dropped to his knees beside the bed and took my hand. He pressed a feather-light kiss on my knuckles. I would ask him for the things I swore I would not. I would ask him to bite me. I would ask him to love me. I would ask him to love us . "My lord, please, do it now or your son will die."

Another wave of contractions started, this one worse than the last. My muscles tightened and I held on to his hand, squeezing it as hard as I could. Titus let out a roar and turned my wrist over. His teeth sank into my skin, and with that first deep draw came relief. Power surged through my body and the pain lessened to a manageable point. His blood magic flowed through my body taking some of the power from the child so I could manage this delivery.

"Well done, Your Highness," Sarah encouraged him as she bent down between my legs. "Baby's coming."

He pulled his teeth from my skin, and I shot up to a sitting position, feeling the need to bear down.

Titus never let go of my hand. "I'm with Moira and him, for always. You can do it, love."

Graymont took my other hand. "You're doing great!"

I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could, forcing him down. When I felt the baby free of my body, I sagged back on the bed and sucked in deep breaths. I'd done it. "Why isn't he crying?"

A moment later, there was a light smack and the first cry of my son, my beautiful son. Anna stayed with me, helping me to finish the last steps of delivery and clean up. Graymont shoved more pillows behind my head, helping me sit up. Titus rose to his feet as he stared at the little wailing bundle in Sarah's arms.

"Go check on him, my lord."

When he got to Sarah, she handed him over to Titus, and I'd never seen the King smile so much as I did the moment he saw his son. His hands looked too big as he awkwardly held him to his chest. He swayed back and forth, rocking him. Unshed tears gathered in his eyes. "I don't believe I've ever seen anything so perfect as our son."

"Nor I." Tears poured over my cheeks and I would forever remember the sight of him holding that tiny bundle.

Graymont leaned over me and placed a kiss on my cheek. "Well done, sister."

Titus bounced gently and lowered his voice. He ran the tip of his finger over the baby's cheek gently stroking him. "And what are we to name you, little one?"

"I love you, Titus . . ." In that moment, I broke my promise to Titus. I promised not to love him out loud. I told myself I would love him enough for both of us. Now I would love him enough for all three of us. My new, perfect family.

Titus looked up at me and met my eye with a tear-filled gaze. "I love you too, Moira.

A sharp gasp escaped Graymont's lips. "Brother, no."

Titus' head snapped to Graymont, and he took one last look at the baby and handed him to his brother. "Take the baby."

I sat up straighter. "What's happening?"

Titus backed away from me, from us. He shook his head and dropped his gaze to the ground. "No, no."

"Hold on, Brother." Graymont held the baby with one hand while he drew his sword with the other. "Fight this."

Panic and fear rose in my body. I wanted to get up to run to Titus, but I couldn't move. My body was still broken from the birth. "My lord, what is the matter?"

Titus' body shuddered from head to toe, and a growl rumbled deep in his chest. Gone were the dark eyes with mahogany flecks in them. Now his eyes were ruined by red veins that forked out over the whites of his eyes. Dark circles surrounded them, and his skin paled till it was nearly blue. His fangs descended down past his lips. He ran his tongue over the tip of one and smirked at me. I didn't know what was happening to him, but he grew bigger, his muscles more well-defined. His white shirt tore from his body as he growled once more and bent to lunge . . . for me.

The two midwives jumped into his path, taking the brunt of his strength. He slashed out with his claws, cutting their necks wide open and nearly decapitating them both. Blood sprayed across his body and over the room from their jugulars. I screamed as their bodies hit the ground.

Graymont shoved the baby into my arms and turned to face his brother."Alright then."

He leapt across the room and dove for his brother, tackling him to the ground as tears streamed down my face and I held the baby close, praying that the King, his father, my husband, wouldn't kill us both.

A glowing blue light drew me from my memories. I quickly swiped at the tears on my cheeks and turned toward it. I did as I always had done for two hundred years: I hid my feelings, made my face placid, and carried on no matter how much I wanted to die.

Piper walked through the portal first and hurried toward me. She was radiant with excitement. "We've got it this time, Moria. I swear he's coming home today. I can feel it."

I forced a smile on my face. "This is excellent, dear. And what of the curse?"

"We're on it." She motioned toward the portal as more people walked through. "One step at a time."

"Indeed . . . one step at a time." It is what I'd told myself for the last two hundred years.