Genesis

by Willow-Pea

Sequel to Exodus. Deidre 1st-person. Carpathians begin to gather as Deidre and Tienn brace themselves for the birth of their daughter.

The Dark series and its characters are the property of Christine Feehan. I was sort of taken off-guard by the positive response to Exodus, and to be honest I wasn't really planning on writing a sequel, since that story was more or less my own plea to Christine to give Deidre and Tienn a happy resolution (and I don't even know if she reads fanfics). But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to finish my fanfic, because Exodus seems like it ended on a cliffhanger. So I hope you enjoy this.

Genesis

I pressed a hand over my swollen belly. "Something's wrong."

"Sívamet?" at once Tienn was at my side, coaxing me to lie on my back on the bed as his hands cradled my stomach. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, Tienn. But it isn't good." I felt so uncomfortable. Heat radiated from my womb, and I felt nauseas. There were soft ripples of pain, but that wasn't what bothered me. Fear gripped me in a vice and I couldn't breathe. I wanted…oh, I don't know. But something wasn't right.

"Deidre, please do not fear." Tienn's soothing voice washed over me and I tried to bask in the comfort. It was very difficult to do so. "Our daughter seems to be fine."

"Something's wrong, Tienn," I gritted out, digging my fingernails into the blanket. "I just know it."

"Shh." Tienn massaged his hand over my stomach. "Don't be frightened, päläfertiil. Our child is fine. Her heart rate still doesn't seem as strong as other children, but I can feel her spirit quite strongly."

"Something is wrong, Tienn!" I repeated harshly. "I've lost enough babies to know when something is wrong with them!"

Pain. My words cut right through him and I immediately felt guilty. "Kaca, I'm sorry—"

Before I could finish, Gregori materialized into the room, his silver eyes flashing. Not far behind him was Ivory Malinov, her eyes immediately finding mine and then fixing upon my stomach. "What's going on?" I knew that Tienn must have summoned both of them for help.

"Deidre thinks something is wrong with the baby," Tienn said. He leaned away from me to give Gregori and Ivory room to examine me, but he didn't move away completely. "I found nothing wrong, but could you examine her too?"

"Absolutely." Gregori didn't waste time. He became a being of light and quickly moved inside of me, inside of my large womb to examine my daughter. My heart rate was accelerating and I gripped Tienn's hand tightly. I could almost feel him wrap around my baby, looking for anything that might threaten her precious life.

After several minutes, Gregori reemerged. "She's reacting negatively to your panic, Deidre, but other than that I have found nothing wrong with your daughter."

It was what I needed to hear from the Dark One and our most powerful healer. Still, his words gave me no comfort for some reason. "A-Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure she's all right?"

"Do you want me to check her for more of those microbes?" Ivory asked.

I quickly nodded, and I watched her as she entered my body, entered my daughter's body. While she did this, Razvan materialized into the room, reaching for Ivory to keep her steady. Tienn didn't flinch at his arrival, and he held none of the hostility towards the lost Dragonseeker he once did. Still, I was still wary of them both and I kept my eyes on them the entire time.

Ivory returned after several minutes, though she swayed where she stood. "She is clean," she told me, clearly embarrassed at showing such weakness, but Razvan still pulled her close.

"Deidre, you need to calm down." It was a clear admonishment, but Gregori kept his tone gentle. "We have found nothing wrong with her. I swear this to you. But if you continue to panic and carry on like this then it will put strain on her."

"Here," Tienn said suddenly. At once he was in my mind, overpowering me with love and comfort. It was strong enough to erase my panic and put me at ease. "I should've done this sooner, but I didn't know if there really was something wrong with our child."

"Your daughter is fine," Gregori assured me. "You're very close to your due date, but she's doing fine. You need to relax more Deidre. I made a promise to you to keep your child save and alive, and I intend to do so. I just need you to trust in me, and in Shea and Francesca."

"And me," Ivory volunteered, snapping to attention. "I will work very hard to keep your daughter alive, Deidre, but you have to do your part as well."

I jerked a nod. The ripples of pain were still there, but I didn't panic this time. "I'll trust you, Gregori. And of course you too, Ivory. I'll try to trust you. I just…" I trailed off, unable to continue.

"It's just that I couldn't save your previous babies," Gregori finished for me. He revealed nothing on his face. "That's not going to happen again."

"Thank you, both," Tienn said, looking at both Gregori and Ivory. "I shall continue to watch over Deidre until the time comes for our child to be born."

"Don't hesitate to call for me with concerns, even if it's something like this. I want to be on hand immediately if something truly is wrong with the baby." Without another word Gregori was gone from the room.

Ivory snorted slightly. "He likes to think he holds the whole world in the palm of his hand, doesn't he?" but she gave me a gentle look. There was some hardness behind her eyes; I knew she didn't like or trust me or any of the other ancient Carpathians. She'd suffered so much, as had Razvan, and the mistakes of other ancients had poisoned her inclinations somewhat. Despite this though, she was working hard to help me without complaint or asking anything in return.

Tienn stretched out beside me, curling his body around me. "Do you hear that, Deidre? She's all right. Our baby's doing fine, and she's just about ready to come out and greet the world."

"I know." I tried not to sound pessimistic, but it still leaked out of me. "I just hope she can survive long enough to enjoy the world…"

"She will, sívamet. She will live and thrive, even if I have to order her to live."

My chest burned with pain, but this time it wasn't worry over my child. "Tienn. What I said before…I shouldn't have said it."

"You're worried, Deidre, and rightfully so. I know you only spoke in anger."

"Sometimes I forget that I'm not alone in this. It hasn't just been me who has lost our children; you have lost them too. You grieve for them just as fiercely as I do, and you worry over our new daughter just as much as I do. I have no right to vent my anger upon you when your pain is no less than mine."

"Sívamet…" Tienn feathered my cheeks, my face with soft kisses. "I'm all right. I have felt a lot of strain and stress, but in the end I can carry the burden because of you. I love you, Deidre. You are my heart and soul and I feel great shame that I have been unable to help you all these years." The tone of his voice changed slightly, and I could hear the sorrow he's suppressed for so long. "Our children…it has shamed me that I couldn't keep any of them alive, that I couldn't help you in any way. I know you've felt inadequate these years because of our losses, but I feel unworthy of you for being here, being your lifemate and your support, and I couldn't save any of them. Not a single one."

"Tienn…" I clung to him for dear life. "You're not unworthy of me. I could've never gotten through all of this if you weren't by my side. I love you, and I'm honored that I carry your child."

"You've carried all of my children, Deidre. I have failed you and I have failed them, but I will not fail you this time. Or our daughter." He leaned back away from me, but he moved down my body to my stomach, rubbing a hand over it. "Do you hear me in there, csitri? As your father, when the time comes for you to be born I order you to fight. Fight for your life and fight for yourself. You have been given life; it's the most precious gift in existence. You are not allowed to waste it by dying needlessly." He kissed my swollen stomach very gently. "We'll be here waiting for you. Don't disappoint us."

___

"Ai Emä Maγe, Me sívadbin lańaak. Me andak arwadet emänked és me kaŋank, o Põhi és Lõuna, Ida és Lääs. Pide és aldyn és myös belső."

The song to heal the Earth. It was a beautiful song, one I hadn't heard in hundreds of years. And seeing the women singing the song, dancing each beat right above me gave me many reassurances.

I just wanted my daughter to live.

"Deidre." Francesca reached out and pressed a hand to my stomach. "Do not distress. Remember, your child can feel it and react to it. If you believe something is wrong, she will believe it and panic. Just relax." She took several deep breaths, directing me to take them with her.

"Everything will be all right." Shea leaned over to smile down at me. "We've examined both Tienn and you, and both of you are fine." She didn't need to add though, about the microorganism that was causing miscarriages and the extinction of our race. Both Lara and Ivory had examined both Tienn and I very closely and found the both of us infected. Nobody in the past had bothered to examine me, mostly in part because nobody, including myself expected me to conceive again. But we were both infected, although Tienn more horrendously than I was, and yet by some miracle we still conceived a daughter. Ivory had cast her wonderful spell, despite the debilitating toll it would have on her body, to completely cleanse my daughter while she was in the womb still. She was so small though, despite the success of the spell and even at her development age, and she had never complained when my body attacked her. She hung on in silence, determined to live. I would keep her, no matter what it took.

"We both will päläfertiil." All at once Tienn was there in my mind, overflowing me with love and comfort. He was elsewhere meeting with the men, trying to discuss the proper precautions in terms of the birthing chamber. There were just too many complications that arose from the past several births, even if the babies turned out healthy, that nobody wanted to take any chances with a pregnant ancient like me. I didn't mind that I was one of the oldest women there, but it also meant the risk of complications, both from our enemies and from me, were going to be very high.

My pregnancy worried me terribly, but Tienn never wavered. Still, this was the happiest I'd been in a long time and that gave Tienn some relief as to not shadow me every moment. "She's just about ready to come into the world and we both will be there to greet her and love her." at once he faded slightly from my mind, but never completely.

The song finished and I instinctively relaxed into the soil, my body feeling so alive even as I tried to keep calm. I loved the feel of the fresh soil all around my body, curling around me almost like a womb. It seemed to shield my body in the same way I shielded my daughter.

Someone knelt down next to me and my eyes flew open. I managed a smile up at the woman who stared down at me with kind but sad eyes. "Hello, Celeste."

"Hello," she greeted me kindly. Her fingers all but gripped the fresh soil. "This is amazing, isn't it? For so long we had no one to rely on but Gregori and human midwives. But now…now we have natural healers, and earth healers, and…" She raised a hand, watching the pure soil slip from between her fingers. A sob tore from her throat. "Oh, Deidre. You have no idea what this means to us."

"I know." I reached up and took hold of her other hand. "I'm very stressed right now, and it's difficult to have faith. But I can feel that my child is a fighter. And I will fight for her in order to make her live. You, too…" I swallowed before I continued. "I'm positive everything will work for you too, Celeste."

"…Perhaps," she answered me after a long moment. The last of the soil fell back to the ground. "It's too soon for me, though, to try. My heart still hasn't recovered from my last child." She took a deep breath and let it out shortly. "I would've had a girl, Deidre, just like you're having one now."

"I'm so sorry, Celeste." Tears burned my eyes, saddened by her grief. It'd been so long since I could feel grief for anyone else other than myself, and I knew my unborn child had a lot to do with it. The other women conversed around Celeste, comforting her and gently directing her away. I knew they wanted to give her genuine comfort, but I had a sensing feeling they were mostly trying to get her away as to not stress me.

Another woman took a seat beside me. I knew here as Desari Savage, of the Daratrazanoff blood and lifemate to Julian Savage. "Deidre, I hope this news will comfort you. Hector has arrived in the country."

I stilled suddenly. "He didn't come alone?"

Desari smiled down at me. "Of course not. He brought Penny…and he brought Grace."

I relaxed and little and my smile widened. "I see…"

Grace. I had only known her as some psychic child who had enough insight to sense I was pregnant when no one else, including myself, noticed. I didn't know the extent of her power, but when asked how she knew I was pregnant, Grace's answer was very frank.

"She had two heartbeats. Nobody has two heartbeats, so I knew one of them was the baby."

In time I grew to know more about Grace McCormick and her older sister Penny. Both of their lives were wrought with heartache and pain. And yet through everything they stuck together. Born of two psychic parents, their whole family had been on the infamous list put together by the Morrison Research Center. Though neither of their parents was alive, both of them managed to elude the society for eight years. There was an eighteen year age gap between Penny and Grace, and I knew it wasn't common amongst humans for children to be born so far apart. From my understanding, Penny had literally raised Grace from birth and yet Grace always carried enough foresight to know that the woman who raised her was her sister and not a parent.

And so they both would here. I was happy to hear it. Penny was a lot more extroverted than Grace, but there was always a great sense of awareness around Grace, and she always spoke truthfully. Something also uncommon in a child.

"…I would say you have any day now," Francesca said finally, lifting her hand from my stomach. She looked to Shea. "Two or three weeks?"

Shea nodded. "Two weeks at the very most. Now…Deidre, it's up to both Tienn and you to keep yourself in peak health and to stay positive. We'll do everything in our power to make this birth as smooth and comfortable as possible for you."

___

The first contractions hit me went I went to ground. Maybe I was too deeply asleep, but I didn't feel the first few. But Tienn felt them, and before I was fully awake he'd pulled me from the earth and was taking me into the village.

I blinked, clearing my vision in confusion. "Tienn, what—" another contraction hit me and this time I felt it. I groaned in pain and clutched at his shoulders.

"You're in labor, päläfertiil," he confirmed softly. "You slept through several of the contractions and so that worried me greatly. But everyone is gathering inside the inn, so I felt it best we head there first." I didn't realize how close we were to the village until we were standing right outside the village. Tienn looked down at me. "Are you able to walk, even to keep up pretenses?" he looked very tense and uncertain. I knew if I wasn't comfortable walking he would simply carry me inside, damn everyone else.

But I knew I couldn't let on to prying eyes that my daughter was ready to be born. I nodded stiffly and bit back a hiss of pain as another contraction hit. "Just in and out, right Tienn?"

"Absolutely." He carefully set me on my feet, but I still leaned on him heavily as we hurried inside. The inn was very overcrowded, flooded with people talking loudly and laughing loudly. I felt nauseas, from the pain and from being in such close quarters to other people. Tienn held me closer to him as he parted the crowd of humans with a gesture and pulled me into the dining room. Nearly every table was packed with Carpathians and allies of varying species. All of them were here to make my daughter's birth as little complicated as possible. All of them were going to fight to make sure she lived…it warmed my heart that they would come all this way, halfway across the world for several of them, to save my daughter.

Heads turned even before we passed the archway. Francesca and Shea spotted us and rushed over to us in a blur of speed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some of the Dragonseeker women take notice as well, and other people, male and female, claimed and unclaimed, were rising to their feet. They all knew I was ready to give birth…and they all probably knew my daughter was ready, too.

Still, even though Francesca and Shea were the first to act, it was Gregori who materialized in front of me. "It is time?" he asked us neutrally.

"Yes," Tienn said, tightening his grip on me. "The contractions started five hours ago."

Gregori narrowed his silver eyes at Tienn. "And why do you choose now to bring this to our attention?"

"Gregori, the sun was still out five hours ago," Savannah pointed out, coming up to stand beside her lifemate.

Something flickered in Gregori's eyes and Tienn snorted slightly, but he waved a dismissive hand. "No matter, we need to go. Now."

A shield was cast out over the unaware humans of the inn and we took our leave. Tienn held me tightly to him as we took to the air, surrounded by an army of Carpathians, guarding us closely as we hurried to the cave designated as the birthing chamber. The contractions were becoming more and more unbearable and I clung to Tienn tightly, trying not to cry out in pain and panic.

"Over here!" Francesca directed us, motioning over to a designated patch of dirt. Tienn scooped me up into my arms and carefully laid me down, cradling the upper portion of my body in his arms as Gregori, Shea, and Francesca took position around us. The cavern filled up quickly with dozens of Carpathians and our human allies, many of them already taking up the song of healing.

Razvan was there suddenly, and he drew a very wide circle around the five of us. Four of the Dragonseeker women, Syndil, Skyler, Lara, and Natalya took four-corner positions around us just inside the circle as Ivory began to pace the circumference of the circle, drawing her dagger slowly as she moved.

Shea put a hand to my stomach and smiled at me lightly. "Your daughter is ready to greet us, Deidre? Are you ready?"

I jerked out a nod. "Please…just keep her safe!"

"It is time!" Gregori announced. All around us all those that filled the cavern were picking up with the singing, voices echoing in unison. The Dragonseeker women began picking up song and dance around us, purifying and enriching the earth as much as it could be.

"Tienn…" I dug my fingers into his sleeve as each wave of pain overtook me. "Make me a promise…you'll save her no matter what!"

"Sívamet…" Tienn buried his face into my scalp. "It will never come to that."

"Promise me you'll save her over me!" I cried, and wailed with pain as another contraction hit me. She was ready. But I was so afraid…

"Deidre—"

"I won't survive if I lose this one!" I shook my head furiously. "Never again! I can never bear with losing another child! Promise me if you have to choose, you'll choose her!"

"Deidre." Gregori spoke before Tienn could, and I could feel his distress beating at me. "We will not lose you under any circumstances." He suddenly gave Tienn a hard look.

Tienn shivered visibly and kissed my hair. "Deidre, my love and my life. I do not give you orders, but I order you not to give up. We will fight, päläfertiil, and so will our daughter. I won't tolerate failure from either of you. So fight!"

The fury and grief behind his voice was so profound that I was taken aback. I couldn't concentrate on the words, as the pain became more severe. It was a long time before I had a short reprieve from it all, and I could respond to Tienn. "I will try, Tienn. I love you with all my heart, and I will try."

Tienn sighed, but it sounded like a choked expulsion of air. "Thank you, sívamet. I love you too, and I want both of you here with me. Our daughter and you."

Our daughter and we had been cleansed of microbes several times over the past few months, and so the danger to us wasn't as strong as it had been for Savannah. Everyone crowded around us closely, watching for signs of enemies, and Ivory was on alert, watching me carefully and watching for my daughter.

I was touched by the amount of trouble everyone was going to, but on some levels I felt it was unnecessary. I was an ancient after all, and my chances were already slim. I probably had a pretty low priority on Xavier's list, not like Savannah or Raven or really anyone else.

Or…at least that was what I thought.

We kept it up, the Dragonseekers singing to the earth and the Carpathians singing to me and Ivory on alert. So when a flash of light ripped through the cavern and a loud, ringing noise rattled in our ears, it took everyone off-guard. It flew high over everyone's heads and slammed into the cavern floor, five feet away from me and within the circle Razvan had drawn!

"They're here!" Mikhail shouted, waving an arm. "Some of you, after them!"

Warriors broke from the group and flew down the passage of the cave with lightning speed. Confusion fell over everyone and the singing stopped. The Dragonseekers stared stunned at the sizzling crack in the circle in between them.

Ivory walked down and knelt down, boldly waving a hand at the smoke. "This is dark arts obviously, but they missed Deidre. Such careful aim and to miss?!"

"The quadrangular circle isn't strong enough!" Syndil announced ominously. "Just by the power of us four isn't enough!"

"But the Aunts aren't ready!" Lara cried, fear in her face. "They don't have the strength to aid in this ceremony!"

"Maybe we don't need six," Skyler said thoughtfully. "Would a pentacle work? Ivory can join us, right?"

"Ivory will be needed if the child is dying," Syndil said. "The pentacle might work if we had more than the four of us with experience in thi—"

"Colby!" Natalya shouted suddenly. She twisted her head towards the crowd of Carpathians. "Colby, come here!"

Murmurs broke out over the crowd and several parted as a young woman with auburn hair and green eyes stepped forward, a De la Cruz brother at her side. "Natalya, I don't know what kind of help I'll be. I've never done this before—"

"You're a Dragonseeker," Syndil said, motioning the other woman forward. "It will come naturally to you."

"But I honestly have no idea about any of this," Colby said, waving a hand to the circle. She looked at me shyly. "I'm sorry, but I think it's better I don't dabble in stuff I know nothing about."

"Relax." Razvan approached her calmly. Colby looked at her biological father warily and her lifemate took a step forward, but Razvan raised his hand. "Don't worry about a thing. You have the blood in you; it's part of your instincts. Think of the innocent child waiting to be born, and of the evil that dares threaten her. That alone should help guide you."

Colby looked at him for a long moment and then looked at me. "I—"

Suddenly she reeled back and grabbed her head. "Ah! W-What the?!"

"Colby!" her lifemate grabbed her hands. "What's wrong?! Are you in pain?!"

"N-No, Rafael. I-I'm just…"

"The Aunts," Lara supplied proudly, smiling a little at her half-sister. "They're showing you what to do."

I would prefer if she had no experience and no confidence that she stand aside, but this might be the risk I had to take. "I trust my child to you. Help me if you can…" another contraction hit and I leaned into Tienn. He whispered soothingly to me, flooding me with his love and trying to take away as much pain as possible.

Colby lowered her hands and looked at everyone. "Yes, I…" She looked at Ivory. "Do you want me to step in, or…?"

"We'll go through the motions again," Syndil said. "We'll shift our positions subtly so we can accommodate you without disrupting a balance. Are you ready?"

Rafael leaned down to whisper something in Colby's ear. She nodded and smiled at him before she reluctantly stepped forward. "Anytime."

They began again as though they hadn't ended. The singing began to pick up around us again and the healers focused on me. The Dragonseekers took up the dancing and began to sidestep, as though dancing in a circle. But they were creating an opening for Colby to come in. Colby watching all of this closely, and her expression looked dazed. She was focusing on what the lost Dragonseeker women; Branislava and Tatijana were telling her. Slowly, she began to move. Her movements and singing were awkward, but she mirrored the motions of her brethren and took her place inside the circle. They took positions on five corners of us, forming a pentacle as they sang.

Ivory was looking at the crack in the ground made by the dark magic. She slowly rose to her feet and began taking up a dance of her own. She chanted aloud, twirling her dagger as she stepped around the hole. It wasn't her precious healing song, but it was one definitely made to expunge evil. I didn't know what this hole detailed for us, but I knew it couldn't possibly be good.

Suddenly, it cracked violently, the hole opening over a foot wide. The Dragonseekers faltered, as did the healers, but Ivory kept her focus, trying to exercise the evil.

She didn't lose her focus until a small pink hand came over the side of the hole, tiny fingers moving over the ground. Another hand emerged, this one just as small. Then, two puffy arms. And then…a head.

A baby's head. A beautiful, happy baby that laughed loudly as he crawled naked from the hole.

Ivory stilled, and gaped at this. Everyone stopped, except for a few hunters who kept up the healing chant. The baby giggled and gurgled happily as he crawled across the floor, circling the circle with circles of his own.

From the hole, more tiny hands started to emerge. And, more babies crawled from the hole. First five, and then ten. Soon twenty, and then at least thirty. All of them laughing and cooing, they crawled all around the wide circle, but never outside of it.

We couldn't see the floor anymore. There were too many babies crawling around, all over each other and the feet of the women, all of whom were too stunned to act. They never came close to me though, although they laughed and wiggled their fingers in my direction.

I stared at Tienn numbly, but he looked equally stunned. I looked up at Gregori. "What is this?"

"…I don't know," he admitted quietly. "I don't know what sort of spell summons infants."

"Maybe they're mocking us," Tienn sneered suddenly. "We've lost so many children…and now there's too many of them! They're trying to hurt us and distract us with this!"

I hadn't thought of that and it made my heart break. I looked at all the little babies crawling all over each other. It was an improbable number of them, but then again I had lost count of how many of my own children had died. And these monsters…they would be cruel enough to induce a spell like this so I could lose another…

"Ignore them!" Ivory shouted, glaring at the children. "I fear if I destroy these things it will only create an emotional response in us! I must find the root of this spell!"

The Dragonseekers tried to take up the song again, but it was difficult for them to dance with babies crawling on their feet. And Shea, Francesca and even Gregori kept losing their focuses because of the children. It must've reminded them too strongly of their own babies, for which they fought so furiously to save…

And then…everything changed. Amidst the laughing and cooing babies, I noticed one lifted his head to look at me. I cried out and clung to Tienn in alarm. His baby blue eyes were gone, and bright blood red ones were in their place. He opened his mouth as though to laugh with the others, but instead he hissed. It was a horrible demonic sound that resonated louder than the giggling. His mouth opened wide, and that's when I saw the fangs. No, not really fangs…he had a full row of teeth in his small mouth, and all of them were pointed, sharp.

Then…it lunged on the baby next to him. The most horrible scream in the entire world ripped through the cavern; that of a baby in agonizing pain. Now everyone had stopped, staring with horror as the demonic-looking baby began eating the other baby alive!

Two more of these demonic infants sprung up from these ranks. They began devouring the babies innocently crawling around. The screaming and crying grew louder. Their bodies were so small, yet blood sprayed over everything like a geyser. Ivory was soaked, the Dragonseekers were soaked, even I was soaked! And it was blood, real blood! I could taste it in my mouth!

Ivory cursed violently, pointing her dagger at the children. "I will tolerate this no longer!" she lunged forward and stabbed one of the demonic babies. A loud, guttural roar intermixed with a baby's cry rattled in our ears. But, it didn't bleed. It just dissolved into the air. It really was an illusion!

"Pay no attention to it!" Gregori shouted. "This truly is an illusion! These children aren't real!"

It was difficult not to pay attention to this. Unreal or not, it was still absolutely horrible. I didn't think it could get worse, but it did. The demonic babies seemed to sense our intentions, even as they manage to dodge Ivory effortlessly. One of them screamed and suddenly launched himself high into the air.

Right at me!

Tienn roared, and his hand shot out. The baby stopped abruptly in midair. "Close your eyes, päläfertiil." I slammed them shut, but I still heard the horrible wet sound of that little body exploding.

When I opened my eyes, more and more demonic babies had emerged in these ranks, and they overwhelmed Ivory. One of them suddenly turned towards the Dragonseeker women trying with all their might to concentrate on their song. This baby was closest to Skyler, who was staring straight ahead, not looking at the children.

It lunged at her. I don't know if it startled her or if it genuinely scared her, but she screamed. She stumbled back, away from the baby, but also almost right over the edge of the circle!

"Skyler! Hold your ground!"

Skyler froze and heads turned. Dimitri had stepped forward, his eyes on his young lifemate. She was still a teenager but she had still triggered colors in him. Everyone knew it was a daily struggle for Dimitri to stay away from her, even as it was getting harder for Gabriel and Francesca to keep them apart.

But, his simple shout was enough. Skyler held firm, and the demonic baby passed right through her and outside the circle. Dimitri was waiting there for him, and lopped his head off. But, like the others he dissolved into the air.

Ivory had begun kicking aside the babies furiously, ignoring the demonic ones that snapped at her heels. "There!" she's uncovered the crack once and she looked at the Dragonseeker women. "I'll need you to chant a cleansing spell with me!"

"I-I've never casted such a spell!" Colby sputtered.

"But you have the ability. All of you, just recite after me." She gripped her dagger and held it over the hole. Her eyes closed and her face fixed in deep concentration.

"Evil, be undone/

Goodness, ye have won/

Banish the presence of this beast/

Destroy the soul of the one mattered least/

Evil, be undone/

Goodness, ye have won/

The fallen shall never succeed/

Our force of will combined in our time of need."

Power began emulating from her. All around us the Dragonseekers began picking up the chant. Caught up in the momentum, I had started chanting, but Tienn quickly silenced me. "Our daughter needs your strength."

Everyone had picked up the chant, and the power combined flowed straight to Ivory, sealing upon her dagger. It began to pulse with a bright blue energy, and the babies all around us began shrieking and wailing in alarm.

With a scream, she plunged the dagger straight into the whole. The babies around us froze, and I heard a screeching crack from deep within the earth. Then, all of the babies began to dissolve. They no longer cried or attacked anyone. One moment they were there, and the next they were gone.

Ivory pulled her dagger out and reached into the hole. A black crusting orb that fit into the palm of her hand was pulled out. She held it up for all to see. "This, then, is the source root of the illusion."

Silence emulated from the cavern. Nobody spoke and nobody chanted. I didn't cry out in pain from the contractions and force of labor.

Mikhail's voice echoed in the silence. "Now, where were we?"

___

After everything that had just happened, we were all on edge. I held onto my daughter inside me as long as I could through that ordeal. But she was ready to come out and greet this horrible world. And…I could no longer deny her.

The mage who'd planted the illusion had escaped; the hunters didn't catch him. But we defeated his spell, marginally, and no other presence of evil could be sensed. That allowed everyone to focus on the task at hand.

"Please be safe," I spoke to her myself, gritting my teeth against the pain. "Be healthy and be safe. You've done so well to give up now!"

"She won't give up, sívamet." Tienn's voice soothed over me. "Nobody in this cavern will allow her to give up."

It felt like eons; almost an eternity. When I finally heard it…when that first cry ripped through the air, my body clenched with anxiety. She was here…she was truly here!

I opened my eyes, greeted by the silence of the cavern outside of my newborn daughter's cries. Tienn was still a calming force, but his whole body was tense in waiting. I watched Gregori lift her into his arms, Francesca and Shea crowding around me to heal me. She was small, so small…I'd never had a baby so small. How would she possibly outlive her other siblings?

"Shh, do not think this way."

Ivory and Lara rushed over, looking at the baby carefully. They'd both worked hard to purify her of those horrible microorganisms, but everyone felt that there were never too many times to check. Both of them became a force of life and entered her tiny body. I held my breath and dug my fingers into Tienn's arms. If she was sick…if something was wrong with her…

"I love you, Deidre," Tienn whispered softly into my ear. "I love you no matter what."

I quickly nodded my head. "I love you too, Tienn."

Suddenly, Ivory and Lara were back out. "She's clean," Ivory announced proudly. "The cleanest newborn I've seen yet!"

"She has an incredible willpower," Lara added, though she looked extremely pale. "Nothing will stop this child…" she swayed on her feet slightly, and alarm crossed Razvan's face. But Nicolas surged forward to steady her.

Gregori smiled a very broad smile and handed my daughter to me. "Here you are, Deidre, Tienn. Meet your daughter."

Oh…she really was small in my arms. But she was so warm and heavy. She stopped crying, but her puffy little face was twisted up slightly, as though in confusion. A patch of black hair topped her head, already thick, and I knew she would grow to have even thicker hair. She was whole; she had all of her fingers and toes, and she squirmed tiredly against me with more energy than I had.

Tienn hugged the both of us to him, though his arms were trembling slightly. We were both caught up in just staring at her that we didn't notice Gregori approach us again.

"I hate to break you apart," he said gently. "But we would like to examine her more closely in a little while…just in case."

Tienn nodded stiffly. "I see." "They're going to have her naming ceremony now, Deidre. Do you mind?"

"No. I'll take as many precautions as needed to keep our baby alive." Still, I released her back into Gregori's arms with great reluctance.

They'd begun to clear the area and word had begun to spread. The Dragonseekers and Ivory smiled down at me as they took positions at the front of the grouping of people. Gregori held my baby in his arms, and Mikhail stood up him, his eyes shining with open pride as he looked upon my daughter. I knew he'd held minimal sympathy for my grievances in the past, but losing his own child had opened his eyes. After that he regarded me with a careful guidance. I'd never really known had to handle Raven, but I was pleased she was in his life to humble him.

It was time to name her. It was a little early for the traditional naming ceremony, but I could tell they wanted to take no chances with a child of mine. They wanted to give her a more thorough examination, test her strengths and weaknesses. And, when the time came, how they might protect her from the microorganisms that we now knew was the cause of the deaths of our infant children.

But even now, even with her alive with her tiny but powerful heartbeat, I couldn't find a name. Subconsciously I was still bracing myself for heartache and my heart was trying to retreat from this beautiful little baby. I looked upon her with love and adoration, but I was too afraid she was going to die any minute.

A thought came to me. Mikhail had already taken my daughter into his arms. Pride shined on his face as he looked down at this innocent baby. He looked up at Tienn and me. "Who names this child?"

"Her mother," Tienn said, his voice straining with unshed tears.

It was my turn. I was supposed to say 'Her farther'. Instead I said, "Wait."

The Carpathians around us stirred in confusion. I reached for Tienn and he was at my side at once. "Is something wrong, sívamet?"

"Grace," I said, swallowing thickly and looking at our daughter. "Grace…"

Tienn looked down at me. "You want to name her 'Grace'?"

I quickly shook my head. "Grace…I want her to name our daughter."

Tienn looked surprised by my proposal but he voiced no objections, either mentally or verbally as he turned back to Mikhail and Gregori. "Deidre would like Grace McCormick to name our daughter."

"Grace?" Mikhail asked. "But isn't she a child herself?"

"It is what my lifemate wishes," Tienn responded. "And what I wish as well."

Mikhail turned his head to the nearest hunter. "Fetch Hector. Tell him to bring his lifemate and her sister."

The hunter departed quickly. It left us very little to do in the meantime. Lara and Ivory each looked at my daughter as closely as possible, their expressions calm. If something was wrong, it didn't show on their faces. But they said nothing out of the ordinary and so I was able to remain calm myself.

It was with surprising speed that the hunter returned several minutes later. He materialized out of mist, closely followed by two wolves. One of them was of average size and a tawny coat, eyes dark brown as they surveyed the Carpathians who had gathered. This was surely Penny.

Leading Penny was a very large wolf, over twice the size of his companion. The fur was dark brown, almost black, and extremely glossy. Hazel eyes also surveyed the Carpathians, including us. This had to be Hector.

And riding atop Hector's back was Grace. Dressed in a jean jacket, seasonal blue shirt and black stretch pants, she looked the least wary of the three. Her expression was serene as always, and she looked at everyone all around the cave, not with wonder but with a quiet curiosity.

The wolves reached the center of the chamber, close to our position. Abruptly they began to shift back into people. Penny stood before us first, dressed in dark clothes. She was every bit of Grace's sister, the same dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and the same oval face and features. Her hair was very long, to her waist, and it was incredibly curly, springs just like Grace's hair. She seemed uneasy by the mass amount of people present, and I could tell she wasn't use to such scrutiny. She moved closer to Hector as he shifted back.

His clothes were just as dark as Penny's, and his once long dark hair had been chopped off to a shortened length, a modern style. Hazel eyes met ours as he took Grace into his arms, holding her protectively to him. He cherished Grace as his lifemate's little sister, but there was more to it than that. Hector had been so young when our people had been massacred, not even fifty years old. Too young to be a fully trained warrior, left only to menial tasks during the invasion. Most importantly securing the safely of his six-year-old sister Fatima. But circumstances were beyond his control and sadly Fatima was found amongst the dead bodies of slain women and children. Grace reminded him so much of Fatima, and so he loved her and cherished her more than knowing her as his lifemate's sister, but also as a reminder for all that he had lost.

It was tragic what all three of them suffered, even as all of us had suffered so much. But they all had each other, we all had each other, and so nobody was ever truly alone.

"Oh, Grace." Penny was suddenly very relaxed. "Do you hear it?" she cupped her hands around her ears. "Her heartbeat is so strong, Gracie! It's truly amazing, isn't it?"

Grace cupped a single hand to her ear and nodded slightly. "It's strong, much stronger than before."

That was their gift, both sisters, to sense life forms. Mostly they could hear heartbeats as easily as they could hear their own, and they knew if someone was alive or dead. If they were familiar with an individual then they could differentiate their heartbeat from other heartbeats. But for the most part they could hear each rhythm very distinctly in their heads.

Hector bowed to Mikhail, still holding Grace. "We are honored that you have summoned us directly, Mikhail. Have you need of us? We are not healers, though, so I fear our use for the birthing is minimal."

"The birthing is over, as you can see," Mikhail said. "We have called for you because we wish to speak to Grace."

Both Hector and Penny looked up at this, clearly startled. Grace however looked calm and she stared at me. She said nothing to me, but it was a very intense gaze for a child.

"Gracie?" Penny asked, touching a hand to her sister's small back. "So this is about the baby?" Penny of course knew that Grace had discovered my daughter's existence, as did everyone else. But it was still a surprise to her.

"Deidre has asked that Grace name her daughter."

Hector raised an eyebrow and Penny looked at Grace briefly. Neither voiced any objections to this proposal though. "This is quite an honor, isn't it Grace?" Penny said sublimely, smiling at her sister.

Grace's expression didn't change, but she looked at the baby. "Are you sure? I'm just a kid. What if I choose a stupid name?"

Soft laughter rippled over the crowd from her blunt tone with youthful words. I smiled at her, feeling my own laughter bubbling up. "I believe you couldn't come up with a stupid name, Grace. I trust you with this, if you would like to do it."

Grace nodded. "I'll do it."

The switch from uncertainty to conviction was so quick that more laughter surfaced at her strange personality. Penny glared at the crowd around us, as did Hector as he lowered Grace to the floor. All at once the laughter died, and everyone waited for what would happen.

Grace walked up to us very purposefully, seemingly unfazed by the dozens of pairs of eyes following her movements or even by the earlier laughter. Penny and Hector were very close behind her, keeping an even closer eye on her.

She stopped directly in front of Gregori, who held my daughter. She stared up at him in silence for several moments before she held out her arms. "Can I hold her?"

"May I hold her," Penny corrected her gently.

"May I hold her?" Grace repeated, her tone unchanged despite being corrected in front of everyone.

Gregori looked uneasy about putting a newborn baby—especially a Carpathian baby—into the arms of a human child. But with Mikhail's encouraging nod and our looks of approval, he knelt down and helped to nestle the baby in Grace's arms. Penny knelt down as well, adjusting my daughter more comfortably in Grace's small arms.

Grace stared at her for a very long time. Her usually neutrally face was now full of wonder. I could imagine she'd never held a baby before. But when she looked up at us, the serenity had returned to her face. "Are you really sure you want me to name her, Deidre?"

"Perhaps we should—" Mikhail began suddenly.

"No," Tienn interrupted. "Not to offend you, Mikhail, but it is Deidre's wish that Grace name our daughter."

"But if she's uncertain of her task, then we—"

"Bianca," Grace said suddenly.

Her outburst startled the males on the verge of arguing. "Pardon?" Tienn asked.

"Bianca Marie," Grace answered him, her tone still blunt. "That's the name I would give her."

Penny sucked in a breath and a strained expression crossed her face. Hector put an arm around her and whispered comfortingly into her ear.

I smiled at Grace as Tienn took our baby back. "Thank you, Grace. That's a beautiful and perfect name."

Grace shrugged. "It was my mom's name."

Her mom. I didn't know all of the details, only that her mother had died horribly and Grace had never really met her. It was really touching she would name my daughter after her mother.

Mikhail and Gregori smiled at each other. Tienn handed our daughter—Bianca—back to Mikhail, who once again initiated the naming ceremony. "Who names this child?"

"Her mother," Tienn said.

"Her father," I said.

"Her people," the people around us chimed in unison.

Mikhail raised Bianca high over his head. "You are called Bianca Marie, born into battle, crowned with love. Who will accept the offer of the Carpathian people to love and raise our daughter?"

"Her parents, with gratitude," Tienn and I spoke in kind.

The chamber erupted with an eruption of cheers and applause as Bianca Marie was lowered back into my arms. She laughed and cooed up at me as I clung to her for dear life. I felt her tiny but strong heartbeat against me and tears spilled down my face. It wasn't laboring, she wasn't laboring. She alive, she was healthy. And she was mine! MY child!

Tienn hugged the both of us, his face streaked with tears. His body was shaking so terribly as he clung to us, centuries of grief and despair he had never allowed himself to unleash were now spilling out in front of everyone. But he didn't care and neither did I. We finally had a living, breathing, healthy child of our own and nothing else mattered.

I looked up to see Grace watching us, even as Penny gave her a brief hug. A smile broke out over her face and she giggled a little, showing us the glimmer of the child that she was. She turned around to look at the mass amount of Carpathians cheering and celebrating around us. I saw her head turn towards a very specific section, to where the unclaimed males had situated themselves in a cluster. Most of them remained stoic with hope shining on their faces, but a few of them were looking straight at Grace. The chances that she had a lifemate were incredibly high, but she was far too young to trigger colors for any of the males. But it was possible that she was lifemated to one of those males staring back at her.

Penny quickly scooped Grace up into her arms, forcing her to break contact with the unclaimed males, and Hector took a protective stance in front of them, casting a warning glare to the men. Lifemated or not, he was sending the message that none of them were allow to try anything.

But all was well. At long last, I finally had a child.

___

Snow was falling steadily; the night sky was pale gray. Those looking for a white Christmas were surely going to get it.

I sighed softly, a little puff of air escaping my mouth. I hadn't regulated my temperature yet, and so the cold seeped into my bones. I hugged my arms to myself, just enjoying the feel of the natural weather and of the snow. It gave me solace…and peace.

"Sívamet!" Tienn's call startled me out of my trance. "Quickly, come inside! I have something to show you!"

I sighed again and shook my head as I closed the front door and headed into the living room of the house being rented to us. Tienn was kneeling on the floor, his back to me. "What is it, Tienn?"

"Wait, wait right there." My heart lifted at his playful tone of voice. I loved to hear it, almost craving it at times. He'd gone such a long time speaking so seriously and tiredly, that hearing energy, life, and love in his voice was like a breath of fresh air.

"Here." He began to rise slowly to his feet, though he was still hunched over. "Bianca would like to give you your Christmas present."

I raised an eyebrow slightly. "Really?"

Tienn looked over and smiled at me. "Yes, päläfertiil." He sidestepped to reveal our one-year-old daughter, standing up on her small feet with Tienn holding her up. Bianca's big eyes were positively shining at me and she squawked out laughter.

"All right, csitri," Tienn said affectionately. He let go of one of her hands to ruffle her dark hair. "Show your emä your Christmas present."

He let her go completely. I was about to rush forward, but I saw she was standing on her own without support. Her tiny body was slightly wobbly, but she was standing.

Then…Bianca began to walk. Or stumble, rather, right towards me. She giggled the whole way, waving her chubby arms as she went. Very much in shock, I dropped down to my knees and held out my hands to her. I was worried about the toys scattered across the floor, but Bianca avoided them easily enough. She came right into my arms and I swept her up, hugging her tightly and laughing. "Oh, Bianca! You can walk!"

She giggled right into my ear, her throat making little gurgling noises. "Mmmm…eeeeee…"

"Hmm?" I leaned back to stare into her face. I felt Tienn walk up behind us. "Is she trying to say something?" my heart was bursting with love.

I soon got my answer…and right from Bianca. "Emä! Emä!"

I gasped loudly. She was talking. And not just any word. Emä…it was our Carpathian word for 'mother'. "Tienn…you taught her to say 'mother'?"

Tienn hummed with laughter and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. "She's always known you as mother, Deidre. I only showed her how to formulate the word."

I turned and embrace him, though I was careful not to crush Bianca between us. "Fél ku kuuluaak sívam belsö! Oh, thank you so much Tienn!"

"She's slow to learning isä—father—but I'm sure we'll get there soon," Tienn murmured into my hair.

"Is! Is!" Bianca squealed happily. "Emä! Emä!"

"I love this gift! This is the greatest present I've ever received!" I kissed Tienn full on the mouth. "I love you, Tienn. Oh, I love you so much!" tears stung my eyes, but my heart burst with love and joy.

"I love you too, sívamet." Tienn kissed me back, his own dark eyes shining. He looked at Bianca, who cooed at us. "And this…there can be no greater gift or salvation than her."

"Yes." I stepped out of his arms, but I hugged Bianca tighter. "Will we be going to the party then?"

Tienn smiled brightly. "I would love to. It will be Bianca's first visit with Santa Claus, after all."

I sighed a little, though I smiled. "Do you think our Prince tortures Gregori too much with this?"

"The Dark One has seen the fires of hell. Wearing a red suit and coddling to children should be an easy feat for him."

___

Mikhail had decided to take the risk and host the Christmas party at the village inn this year. We'd faced absolutely no hassles having it at his house, but he felt bad about denying the human children of the village the pleasure of Santa Claus.

Or rather, deny Gregori the humiliation of humbling children.

Tienn carried Bianca in his arms as we arrived. All at once I felt the warriors converge upon us, but I knew it was because of our daughter. Bianca was always so cheerful and kind to everyone around her, stranger or not. She didn't have "stranger's anxiety" and she rarely cried. I had a feeling that it was all part of her force of will which had kept her going during those agonizing months in my womb, and I swelled with pride and love.

"And here she is!" I was a little startled to see Vlad swoop in right upon us, his dark eyes on Bianca. "How is my favorite niece doing?"

"She's doing just fine," I told him. "We're going to introduce her to Santa Claus." Tienn snorted, but added nothing to the proceedings.

Eleanor walked over, her face full of exasperation. "I swear, that boy—"

"What did my nephew do now?" I asked her, obviously referring to Josef, one of the biggest troublemakers of all the young ones.

"Well, it's quite thankful you missed the singing performances. Josef did another rap this year and the lyrics were full of vulgarity—"

"We missed the singing?" I interrupted, looking at Tienn briefly. "That's such a shame! It's always so nice to see the children perform!"

"It was…all right," Vlad offered. "Skyler hit some high notes none of us knew she could hit—I think it's from all her training. And Grace did all right—"

"And Grace sang too?!" I groaned and shook my head. "That really is a shame."

"But it's thankful you missed Josef," Eleanor said. "I love him and I'm proud of him, but it's because of him that the little ones have some colorful words in their vocabulary! Such vulgarity has no business in a Christmas song!"

"What kind of 'vulgarity'?" Tienn asked curiously and I gave him a sideways glance. Tienn had tolerated very little from Josef in the past but now he seemed eager to know his mischief.

"Lovely four-letter words," Vlad said blandly. He craned his neck slightly. "Yes, there he is. He's hiding behind Emma."

Eleanor scoffed but gave Bianca a quick kiss before she stormed off after her son. I looked after her and sure enough, Josef was poorly hiding behind little Emma, who was laughing hysterically.

"I guess I shall have to be the peacemaker," Vlad said. "But if a sound lecture prevents Josef from trying to climb onto Santa's lap, then we will have succeeded."

"Did Benjamin come with you?" I asked, referring to their biological older son.

"Yes, of course. He's somewhere around here. At least he's old enough that I don't need to watch him every waking moment." He rubbed a hand through Bianca's hair. "Let's just hope Josef doesn't rub off on this little angel."

Tienn laughed loudly. "Oh come now! A female Josef? It would be quite a riot for us all!"

"And for it to be your daughter?" Vlad asked.

Tienn stopped laughing and hugged Bianca closer to him. "On second thought, I'll keep her away from him."

This time I laughed as my older brother walked away. "Tienn, we cannot deny our nephew the company of his baby cousin!"

"She's just learned Emä and is slow to learning Isa. I don't want her limited vocabulary to become so colorful so quickly."

I rolled my eyes and took Bianca from his arms as we moved deeper into the dining room. Raven hurried over to us. I managed a smile as she kissed me twice on my cheeks, her infant son cuddled close. "Thank you both for coming, and for bringing Bianca!"

"We wouldn't miss this for the world." I looked out across the dining room. Everyone was enjoying themselves, but the warriors were on edge. I knew it had to do with the many pregnant women present and those who had babies. But what were we suppose to do, just sit at home and watch our children every waking moment? If we didn't give our babies some freedom, even a sliver of it, they couldn't grow as people.

I saw Savannah seated at one of the tables, rocking Anya and Anastasia in tiny seats on top of the table. Several warriors were stationed around her, looking at their surroundings warily. I smiled as I turned to Tienn. "I'm going to visit with some of the women before Santa Claus arrives."

Tienn smiled at me, though his eyes dropped to Bianca. "I'll be here."

I nodded and turned back towards Savannah. She seemed like a good person to visit with.

"Deidre?"

I stopped in my tracks and smiled at the woman who approached. "Hello, Celeste."

Celeste's face shown with a peculiar glow, and her eyes didn't look quite as sad. Out of the corner of my eye, Eric had approached Tienn and was talking with him quietly. To my growing suspicion, his face was glowing just as brightly as Celeste's.

Celeste looked at Bianca and positively smiled. "Hello to you, Bianca! Are you ready to see Santa?"

Bianca giggled, grabbing Celeste's finger in her hand and jerking it around.

"I'm glad you came up for this," I said, although I tried to hide my amazement. It'd been so long since I gave encouragement to another, but I knew Celeste needed it. "How are you feeling?" Tienn had mentioned to me that Celeste had arisen earlier this evening feeling quite sick. From my understanding, Eric and her had gone off with Gregori and Shea and hadn't returned until this moment. Since the couple was walking around freely, it appeared she was in good health.

To my surprise, a beautiful smile broke out across Celeste's face. "I'm feeling wonderful," she said aloud. But, she leaned in close to whisper to me, "I'm pregnant."

"What?!" I cried out, startling others standing close to us. I threw an arm around her, mindful of Bianca in my other arm. "Oh, this is wonderful!"

"Yes." Celeste's joy was subdued, but it was there. "I'm a little over three months along. They examined us for the microbes and unfortunately they found quite a few. Ivory disposed of them for us, though."

I looked towards Ivory. Razvan and she were keeping to themselves, even with Lara by their side, but though her face was neutral her complexion was pale. "I'm happy to hear that."

"I'm having a boy," Celeste said quietly. "He's a fighter, too; the microbes attacked him, but he fought back against them. Gregori said he faced them off, not allowing the microbes to know they were hurting him, and he's holding on so strongly. He so wonderful, Deidre. I…" tears leapt into her eyes, but she blinked them away. "He's going to make it. I just know he will make it. I'm going to have a son." She pressed a hand over her mouth, choking on a quiet sob. "Soon we'll both have children…"

I nodded, feeling my own tears gather. "Yes. I have Bianca, and very soon you will have your son."

She nodded again and leaned forward to give Bianca a kiss. "It's finally coming together, Deidre. Finally, after all that we suffered, after having to see these young ones have children, we finally have our chance."

There was a sudden uproar from the children and the sound of sleigh bells rang through the air. I smiled at Celeste and continued to make my way over to Savannah. She was starting to rise as the children ran towards the open balcony. They all let loose shrieks and cheers as "Santa Claus" himself strolled through, hefting a gigantic bag over his shoulder.

"Santa always knows how to pull off a performance, doesn't he?" I teased Savannah as I reached her. I wasn't use to teasing, but raising a healthy baby made it easy practice for me.

Savannah smiled, though she seemed surprised I was talking to her. "We shouldn't expect anything less."

"He seems to be handling it quite well." I jumped a little at this voice and looked around Savannah. My jaw dropped when I saw Gregori sitting there with his daughters. "It's not that difficult of a job."

"It's not you?" I asked in amazement. I looked at the Santa talking with the very enthusiastic children as he settled into a comfortable chair at the front of the room. "Then, who is it?"

"Go and see for yourself," Gregori said, waving a hand in Santa's direction. "Will you be carrying Bianca over to him or will she walk?"

"W-Walk?!" Savannah cried, looking at us. "Bianca can walk now?!"

"How can you tell?" I asked Gregori.

He waved a dismissive hand. "She's a developing child; I can sense her differences."

I didn't have time to say more. The children were lining up to see St. Nick, and Savannah wasn't getting up. "I-I'm going to get into line now."

Savannah nodded, smiling brightly up at me. "Have fun."

Bianca and I took our position at the end of the line. I looked at the row of children ahead of me, and my heart lit up when I saw a familiar bundle of curls right in front of me. "Grace?"

Grace started, and then turned around to face me. "Hello, Deidre." She looked to my daughter. "Hello, Bianca."

"I'm glad you three could make it here," I told her sincerely. "What are you going to ask Santa for this year?"

"A horse," she said matter-of-factly. "But it's not practical. And we can't fit one on the plane."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. It was still so amusing to see her child personality clash with her naturally stoic nature. "I'm sorry I missed your singing."

Grace shrugged and turned back around to move with the line. This Christmas she wore a silver pageantry-like dress covered in designs of holly leaves and berries. "I only sang 'Silent Night'. Skyler sang 'O Holy Night' and it sounded much prettier than me. But if you want, I'll sing for you and Bianca later."

"I would love it."

We moved forward in line again. I noticed that Grace was moving her head around, as though she were looking for something…or someone. "Is something wrong, Grace?"

"…No," Grace said after a long moment. "I don't think so."

I thought of the unclaimed males lining the walls of the dining room and patrolling outside. "Nobody has said anything inappropriate to you, have they?"

"No, of course not. It's just…" for the first time, she seemed uncertain. "It started when Bianca was born. When I was in that cave, I could hear everyone's heartbeats. But, one of them stood out from the others. I could hear it louder than everyone's, even Penny's, and I knew where it came from. But, I don't know who has it."

"Can you hear the heartbeat now?"

"Yeah, but it's soft, more softer than everyone else's. I think he's hiding from me."

So her lifemate had been in the chamber that day. But he was hiding from her? Maybe it was better that way. Everyone had a hard enough time keeping Dimitri and Skyler apart before she came of age. "Grace, are you scared of lifemates?" I asked quietly.

"Why would I be?" she answered me. "Hector's married to my sister and she's the happiest I've ever seen her. He's strange, though." We were even closer now to Santa. "I can tell that he's been lonely and sad for a very, very long time, and finding Penny helped him. I can tell that all the other guys here are the same. And Sevan…" she winced and quickly shook her head. "Never mind."

"Who's Sevan?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Well, you know that a vampire was bothering us. His name was Sevan, and he hurt a lot of people. But I can't hate him."

I knew there was more to it than that, but it greatly distressed Grace and so I didn't pursue it. Blythe was just ahead of us and crawled all over Santa to get into his lap. She rattled off dozens of items she wanted for Christmas, much to the amusement of the adults. But still, she was on Santa's lap for five minutes and my arms were starting to get tired from holding Bianca.

Grace looked up at me, but said nothing. When Sara finally managed to pull Blythe from Santa's lap, she suddenly side-stepped instead of going forward. "You go ahead of me, Deidre. This is her first time meeting Santa, after all."

"Thank you, Grace." I was touched by her insight. I touched her gently on the shoulder before stepping forward towards Santa. I was curious as to who this man was. Mikhail always weaseled Gregori into this stunt, and yet somehow the Dark One gave this "honor" to somebody else.

"Ho ho ho!" Santa bellowed out, holding out his arms to us. I gave him Bianca, albeit reluctantly. I knew this was a Carpathian male I could trust, but I didn't like handing my child over to another. "What have we here? What would you like for Christmas, little one?"

Bianca let loose a loud laugh and dug her fingers deep into the fluffy white beard. And tugged. It didn't budge at all, but Santa apparently had a delayed reaction to the movement.

"Oh…oh!" He cried out dramatically after a few seconds. "Oh, that smarts! Please do not tug on my beard, child!"

The children laughed loudly, most of them not noticing his initial lack of response. I studied his mannerisms carefully and stilled. Wait, there was something…yes. I was sure now.

"Bianca would like a beautiful doll to play with," I volunteered, walking back over to take her from Santa. As I took Bianca from his arms, I leaned closer to whisper to him. "Thank you…Dominic."

Dominic, famed warrior of the Dragonseeker clan, gave me a hard look before motioning Grace forward. I tried very hard not to laugh as I turned away, although as I did I saw Dominic's lifemate giggling to herself. I held onto my smile as I carried my daughter away. If anyone deserved happiness for the number of sacrifices he'd made, it was Dominic. Even if it meant he had to play with children in such a way.

"And what would you like for Christmas, Grace?" Dominic—or rather, Santa—asked Grace.

"A horse," Grace said. The surrounding adults laughed loudly, including Penny and Hector.

Tienn came over to me once I disentangled myself from the crowd. "Did Bianca see Santa?"

"Yes, she did," I said proudly. "I wonder what Gregori had to do to get Dominic to take his place this year."

"Dominic?!" Tienn looked back at Santa. He groaned in between laughter and threw a hand over his eyes. "Oh, Gregori can be a cruel miser! Dominic has only just recently found his happiness!"

"Dominic doesn't seem to be objecting very much. And neither is his lifemate."

We sat down at a nearby table. I placed Bianca in a high-chair and gave her some toys to play with. "Celeste is with child," I told him quietly.

"I heard," Tienn said. "But, I don't think we have anything to worry about anymore."

"Yes." I looked up and looked across the room, at all the smiling faces and happy people. "Tienn?"

"Yes, päläfertiil?"

"How long has it been since it's been like this? Us, as open people? I use to hate Christmas so much. It was only a reminder to me of all that we'd lost and everything that we'd kept losing."

"All in the past," Tienn said, reaching across the table to take my hand. "We lived through the worst years of our lives. But look at us now. We are flourishing as a race again. Not at the rate that Mikhail or Gregori or many of the other ancients want to, but it's a steady start. And this." His other hand smoothed over Bianca's head. "We have a daughter. Finally, after all these years and everything that we…" he faltered before he continued. "But we finally have a child, Deidre. Eric and Celeste are going to have a son. And many other women of our race are becoming pregnant and giving birth. Thanks to the Dragonseeker women, Ivory Malinov, and our powerful healers, we finally have a chance. We can make it, Deidre, I just know we can."

I nodded my head and held onto his hand tighter. "I know, Tienn. I lost hope so many years ago, but now I have it back." I looked to our child, who was happily chewing on a stuffed tiger. "She is proof that nothing is ever impossible."

Tienn raised my hand and kissed my knuckles. "Fél ku kuuluaak sívam belsö. Oh, I love you, Deidre."

I smiled back at him, my eyes shining with tears. Tears of gratitude…and a long overdue happiness. "I love you too, Tienn." "And finally, my love, we have everything we want."