The midwives gathered around Lucia as she gave birth to her baby daughter, the first full-blooded immortal to be born in two thousand years.

Several days later, at the welcoming ritual for the child, the witches stood at attention with Lucia and Orion as the baby was baptized in the way of the priestesses of Gama and given her name: Titania Silverdrake.

The other Silverdakes had come to the temple for the occasion. Lucia’s older son Ajax was there too. And although she hadn't seen him in over two thousand years, she still knew herself to be his mother. Titus Silverdrake had arrived as well, having refused Orion’s suggestion that he come to the next gathering to find a wife.

As Lucia held Titania in her arms, standing beside Orion, Bridget sprinkled blessed water over the baby's forehead and recited the prayer for the child’s immortal soul. It was an old custom that the priestesses of the temple had performed for not only their own children, but for the children of any human or immortal who came and asked for it.

It was a way of binding the child’s soul to the Earth Mother, the Goddess who created them all. All souls were equal, but the baptism of the new babe was a way of dedicating the spirit to the Great Mother.

Lucia had never been so proud as she was on that day standing beside her husband and holding her baby daughter. All the witches of the coven were around her as were her brother-in-law and her older son. Nothing could take away the joy in her heart on that day.

After the ceremony, the Silverdrakes retired to a private sitting room where Titus, Orion, and Ajax discussed clan business.

"I am no longer the Alpha of the Silverdrake clan," Orion said. "That designation has been yours for the last nine months, brother. These decisions are for you to make."

“Reestablishing human society in our region has been an uphill battle. We still struggle every day to keep the people safe. We all could have benefited from your help, Orion.”

"Titus, doing this work is what it means to be clan Alpha. I know that you can deal with this on your own."

“You chose the worst time in history to step away from the responsibility, brother,” Titus growled.

"Please don't fight on the day of Titania’s baptism," Lucia said, holding her child in her lap.

Her black and white cat Felix meowed and rubbed Lucia’s ankles. The brothers looked over at her, Orion with concern in his eyes while Titus had anger boiling behind his.

"If you will not help me, Orion, then you must be prepared for the repercussions of any mistakes I make."

"You lack self-confidence, Titus. One would think that a five-thousand-year-old dragon would have more belief in himself," Orion chided.

"I am inexperienced as clan leader and as a rebuilder of civilization; that is different than a lack of confidence. And it is you who thrust this position on me at the absolute worst time."

"I disagree, brother. This was the best time for you to learn how to be the Alpha of the Silverdrake clan. You’ve asked for this position for the last thousand years, and I have given it to you. A ‘thank you’ would be nice. Now can we stop fighting on the day of the baptism of my first daughter?" Orion asked.

"Very well, brother, I will take care of the humans of St. Louis myself," Titus growled. "Ajax, we’re leaving."

Ajax moved across the room and bent to kiss his mother on her cheek.

"It was good to see you, Lucia," Ajax said. "It is good to have you alive in the world again. We have all missed you so much."

"Thank you, Ajax. That means so much to me."

"Father," Ajax said, nodding to Orion.

"Farewell, son, take care."

Titus and Ajax left the seating area, ready to go back to the St. Louis clan headquarters. Part of Lucia wished that Ajax could stay with them so that he and Titania would know each other better as her baby grew up. But she also knew it was not meant to be.

Ajax was over two thousand years old. Titania was only a few days old. They may be siblings, but they were millennia apart. Ajax was needed in St. Louis. Titus had struggled to reconstruct the city over the last nine months. The electric grids of the human world had been largely destroyed. After the sun had come back on, the immortals remaining in their various zones had announced their intention of protecting the mortals who lived there. All the allied immortals had worked tirelessly to reconstruct their cities and to provide the human populations with safety, food, and shelter.

Due to Titus’s leadership, the inner city of St. Louis had become more prosperous and more technologically advanced than it had been before the dark sun. But so far it was entirely centralized in the downtown area near the St. Louis arch. Outside of that area, there was still no electricity. Many humans had completely abandoned the cities, instead choosing to spread out into rural areas. Many had taken their chances, trying to survive in more primitive ways.

The kidnapping and rape of untrained witches had become a notorious problem. Women were filing into the temple from all over the country. Other covens had popped up around the world, using very similar rules as Lucia’s temple. In exchange for protection and training, the witches were expected to choose an immortal to mate with.

The witches who did not accept the protection of the covens were in grave danger. Their power was only strong enough to withstand an attack from a few dragons or vampires, but if a powerful group of immortals descended on an inexperienced witch, she had no way of defeating them.

There were many stories of entire families being torn apart trying to defend a newly awakened witch from rogue immortals.

The situation for the priestesses of Gama was not good. Lucia mourned it every day, but she and her husband were doing everything they could to provide protection, safety, love, and training for women like her. It was all she could do.

She worked tirelessly, day and night, to help the priestesses of Gama find a way to survive in this new, strange world. She would never stop working to protect them, and she knew that her beloved husband Orion felt the same.

Because of Orion’s dedication to the witches, Titus had to learn to take on the role of clan leader on his own. Orion crossed the room and sat beside her, taking her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the soft skin on the back of her hand before replacing it on her lap. Felix jumped on the couch and curled into a black and white ball at her side.

"What do you think will become of Titus and the humans of the city?"

“It is the same situation for all allied immortals. This is Titus’s destiny.”

"I fear the future," Lucia said, cradling her daughter in her arms.

She had already been through so much change since the dark sun. Like every mother since the dawn of time, all Lucia wanted for her daughter was a safe and happy life.

"Don't worry, my beloved wife. No matter what the future holds, I will always be here to protect you."

"I know that, Orion. Your love fills my heart with gladness every day, and I wouldn't trade it for all the safety in the world. I hate to say it, but even the dark sun was worth being with you again."

"I feel the same, beloved."

Orion leaned in and kissed her cheek. In that moment, Lucia knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that even the end of the world could have a happy ending.