Fulfilling Fate

I paced the office, wincing with each lightning flash outside the window. Lebanon had sent me here to wait for any other news. I wanted to be with my mother and sister but they were being briefed by Lebanon about the goddesses know what.

The door opened and I gave Zion permission to enter. He stopped my pacing and kissed me.

“Calm yourself, love,” he said, rubbing my arms.

I puffed out my cheeks. “Why are things moving so slow?” I complained as he rifled through my desk for paper and a quill. “We’re in the middle of a war and people are on their way to attack us! We should be doing something!”

He smiled at my impatience. “We are; I promise. You’ll be told about what your part is. For now, though, we need to focus on the trip to the north.”

“Why? We already know they’re on their way and-.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” he interrupted and I stared. “Sit with me.” I obeyed and sat on the desk while he sat in the chair. “We know that someone is coming but the letter didn’t have a signature. It’s my suspicion that it’s a standalone group. There are many out there,” he added when I looked surprised. “You and I will be making the trip while my parents stay here to protect the village.”

I bit my lip. “What about my mother and sister?”

“They’ll be here under my father’s constant supervision,” he said, holding my hand. “We won’t let anything happen to them. Once we have everything figured out up north, we’ll use one of the paintings to come back. I don’t want to be gone for long.”

“Neither do I. What’s wrong?” I asked and he stared, pausing as he wrote something down.

“You just said it yourself: we’re at war.”

I shook my head and ran my fingers through his hair. He sighed and closed his eyes. He put his head in my lap.

“There’s something else,” I said. “Tell me.”

“It’s Tomas,” he mumbled, rubbing the outside of my thigh with his thumb. “The fact that he succumbed in battle…. It worries me that this group is stronger than the actual armies.”

“Will Lebanon be able to protect everyone while we’re gone?” I asked nervously.

“Tomas will be better by then,” he said. “He’ll be able to protect them with my father. My mother has been ordered to stay in our bedroom with your mother and sister, though. She’s not happy.”

We both laughed. Someone knocked and I hopped off the desk. I opened the door and smiled at Ilya. He gestured with his head at the door.

“He’s asking for both of you,” he said and I looked at Zion in surprise.

We crossed to his office and pulled the candlestick. We waited then walked down quickly. I was worried that he wasn’t really going to be okay but, when we walked in, he was sitting up. He was rotating his shoulder, grimacing a few times. He stopped when he saw us. Zion put his arm around me protectively and Tomas shook his head.

“Relax,” he said. “I know I crossed the line.” He eyed me. “If only I saw you first,” he muttered. “I knew there was something different about you. You’re a witch; of course.” He paused and I moved closer to Zion. “I’m….”

The air got awkward and I glanced at Zion, understanding what he was about to say. Zion didn’t seem to pick up on it, though, for he looked confused. Tomas shifted on the table and glared at the floor. He took a deep breath but still couldn’t manage it. I giggled.

“Shut up,” he snapped but it just made me laugh more.

“What’s so funny?” Zion asked.

I just shook my head and waited.

“Goddesses, you’re a bitch,” Tomas complained and I rolled my eyes. I stopped Zion from speaking in my defense. “I’m sorry.”

Tomas said it in such a rush that I didn’t hear him right at first. Zion’s jaw dropped as he stared at his older brother. Tomas was still glaring at the floor but he looked less uncomfortable. When the silence stretched too long, I stepped on Zion’s foot.

“You’re apologizing?” he asked and I rolled my eyes again.

“The right response is thank you,” I said.

“Right.”

Tomas sighed heavily. “I almost died. If you two hadn’t helped me, I would’ve. We all know that Heather and her bitch can’t get pregnant so you two would’ve had to take up after me.”

I almost told him about Gerard but stopped myself. He had slipped out before Tomas woke up and I was anxious to hear if it had worked. I was caught up in my thoughts and ignored Tomas’ insult.

“I didn’t realize how… how much of an ass I’ve been until I saw you bandaging my wounds,” Tomas continued. “Those bites weren’t bad enough but, for some reason, you were still worried about me. I couldn’t understand why. I’ve been rude and tried to….”

“You don’t need to explain,” I interrupted. “We can just let bygones be bygones.”

Tomas scoffed and finally looked at me. “You may be married to him, but you obviously don’t know Zion very well. We’ll always fight over you. But just know that… that I understand everything now.” He slid off the table and I instinctively stepped away from him. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“For what?” I asked.

He arched a brow and looked at Zion. “You didn’t tell her?”

Zion looked uncomfortable and shuffled his feet. I narrowed my eyes and Tomas cleared his throat, slipping up the stairs. I stopped Zion from leaving.

“What didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“Let’s go upstairs and-.”

“Zion Dragomir, you answer me right now,” I snapped and he cleared his throat.

“I thought you’d pick up on it by now,” he mumbled.

“Picked up on what?”

His eyes were nervous as he took a deep breath. Slowly, as if he didn’t know if he should, he put his hand on my stomach. I was confused for a few moments until it hit me.

“No,” I breathed, stumbling back. “No way. Not possible.”

“We’re pretty certain,” he muttered. “What is it?”

“I can’t have children, Zion,” I said and he stared at me in shock. I put my hands on my stomach, feeling like crying. “When I was a kid after my father passed, I was taken to a doctor. We all were just in case.” I gulped. “He did some looking and said that I couldn’t. Izzy can, but I can’t. This can’t be.”

Zion looked confused. “I don’t know, Avi. You’re different, even for a vampire. It’s entirely possible that, when I turned you, you were cured of whatever stopped you. Look, we don’t need to worry about this for a while, okay, so stop panicking.”

“Are you kidding me!?” I cried, my voice echoing. “I might have a tiny life inside of me right now, Zion! How could I not panic!?”

He sighed and embraced me. “We’ll figure it out, okay? Just take a few deep breaths or you’ll just hurt yourself. And keep this between us, please. With Heather and Kassandra trying to get pregnant, I don’t want to upset them if it doesn’t work.”

I sniffled. “Figures that we’d all get pregnant at the same time,” I grumbled and he laughed a little. “How did Tomas know?”

“He picks up on this kind of thing,” he said. “I’m not sure how but there are a lot of things he has an insight on. I started to suspect when you kept feeding from me. It was uncommon but my father said that’s what my mother did when she got pregnant.” He pulled out of the hug slightly and rubbed his cheek against mine, making me giggle just like always. “Come on. Let’s go talk to Heather and Kassandra. I’m curious.”

I nodded and we went back upstairs. Tomas was sitting at Zion’s desk, frowning over some papers. I briefly caught a glimpse of a map as we left.

Heather and Kassandra were sitting in the living area. The look on their faces gave us the answer and I hugged Kassandra.

“Congratulations,” I said and she beamed at me.

Heather was smiling but I could tell it was forced. I hugged her.

“Meet me in the study this evening after dinner,” I whispered and she nodded.