CHAPTER 12

I wrung my hands nervously as I waited with bated breath at the tomb entrance. Edward was standing behind me, his arms wrapped protectively around my body, and his hands settled on the small bump that had started to show now after five months.

Being pregnant wasn't something I enjoyed because most of my strength was used up by the baby growing inside me, and he needed a lot of it to ensure his development was on track. I also needed to feed more often and in larger quantities, and while Edward would do absolutely anything for me and our child at this stage, he still had a hard time accepting all the killing I had to do.

He had witnessed the humans weren't in pain when either my father or I fed, but he was so used to living off donated blood, it still made him uncomfortable.

Vampire babies also grew very slowly, and I still had seven more months to endure, and I was more than relieved I would finally have someone to talk to.

After three months, Father was finally strong enough to give Mother what she needed, which was a lot of fresh blood directly from his veins.

I had wanted to be inside the tomb when he revived her, but Father had insisted it would be a very intimate moment, and he wanted to be alone with his most beloved bride and gently explain to her what had happened and in which time they now were.

Edward had happily agreed to keep me outside, and while I resented it, I didn't fight them either. It wasn't my place to disagree with my father.

I felt a shift in the air and knew it meant my mother was awake. My body instinctively reacted by taking a step toward the entrance, but Edward gently held me back.

"Patience," he whispered into my hair. "They'll be out soon."

A small and incredulous laugh left me. "The irony of a century-old vampire telling someone who is 2,400 years older doesn't escape me."

He chuckled and placed a light kiss on my neck. "Your age is inconsequential when it comes to how impatient you are." Lovingly, he stroked my stomach, silently referring to how I constantly complained about the amount of time left before I could give birth.

His quip was said with adoration so I knew he wasn't really sounding off on me, but I still couldn't hold in my retort. "When you get to experience how pregnancy feels, we can have this conversation again."

I saw movement at the entrance, and I realized that with just a few words, Edward had succeeded in distracting me long enough to allow my parents their alone time.

When my mother stepped outside and our eyes met, nothing could hold me back from running up to her.

"Mama," I exclaimed in our language, and she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"My baby," Regina Dragulia, third bride and true mate of Vladislaus, sighed and stroked my hair. "I thought for sure I'd seen you for the last time when those ruffians burned our home."

She had never learned English, so we were only speaking in our ancient dialect.

During the last three months, I'd taught Edward some words but not enough for him to keep up a conversation. Therefore, my mother and my mate had quite the language barrier between them, but I was determined to make it work even if I had to act as interpreter.

Mother cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead. "Your father told me you've found your mate. I'd like to meet the one who was meant for my baby."

"Mama, this is Edward Cullen," I said, and he knew that introductory phrase well enough so he bowed his head in respect and as a greeting. The gesture didn't escape Father's notice, and his smile was pleased.

"Pleasure to meet you, Regina Dragulia," Edward said, but that was the extent of his ability to converse in our language, and he gave me a look before switching back to English. "I apologize my linguistic skills aren't the best. I'm still learning."

I translated for him, and Mother smiled, very charmed by his manners.

"What a gentleman," she said approvingly.

"He was born in the early 1900s," I told her. "'Gentleman' is his middle name."

"And you have a little one on the way," Mother observed, placed her hands on my stomach and closed her eyes in concentration. As the first vampire ever to become pregnant, she had acted as a sort of midwife for those who followed, and she had developed skills—almost like an extra gift—to sense if everything was progressing as it should. "Strong. And everything feels as it should," she commented. "I can safely predict you'll have an easy birth."

I put my own hands over hers. "Thank you, Mama."

Together, we left the tomb and headed toward the house where we'd settled while we planned the Volturi's downfall. It took a few hours, and Father had to carry Mother in his arms because she wasn't strong enough to morph, but we walked through the front door just before sunrise.

"Regina, my beloved, you should sleep today," Father instructed without leaving room for argument. "You need to replenish your strength." Then he turned to me, and I knew with one look what he'd tell me. "You should sleep as well, daughter. The child takes much of your strength. Your mate and I will continue with the plan, and you'll get all the information when you wake up tonight."

I nodded, and Edward gave me a kiss before Mother and I walked toward the bedrooms.

"Your father approves of him," Mother said. "That's good."

"Edward's a good match for me," I said and smiled. "And he's a mind reader, so if there are any thoughts you want to keep to yourself, I suggest you don't think of them."

"Oh!" Mother exclaimed, and then laughed softly. "I suppose it's already too late for that then."

I didn't ask her more about that. We just smiled before wishing each other to sleep well and separating by the bedroom doors. I'd slept the day before as well, but as Father had said, the growing child in me took most of my strength, and whereas, I at one time could sleep every third day and feel fine, I now had to sleep every day.

Still, neither Father nor Edward patronized me and kept me out of the loop of the planning. They always filled me in once I was awake because they knew the chance of our success depended on both my father and me being there to take the Volturi down. They didn't know I existed, and they thought Father was dead, so we had the element of surprise at least.

Edward also needed to be there because he refused to be left behind, and his ability to read minds from a distance was to our advantage. He would know, as we approached the castle in Italy, which guards we'd have to eliminate and which ones who'd possibly submit to us as soon as the brothers were dead.

Mother, on the other hand, wouldn't come with us. She wasn't a fighter or a strategist. She was a carer, and that was why we had decided we'd wait until I'd given birth, and then she'd stay behind with the child to protect him if we were to fail.

I crawled under the covers and settled my hand on my little bump. The baby was still too small for me to feel any movements, but it didn't matter. He was in there, and he was half me and half Edward. My vampire genetics were stronger than Edward's, so the baby would be more real vampire than modern breed.

The first one born in over a millennia.

True vampires would never really be extinct. We would always live on, and it was a comforting thought to me, and with that in mind, I was slowly lulled into sleep where I dreamt pleasant dreams about Aro's demise.