After Titus landed his jet on the roof of Silverdrake Tower, he helped Desdemona climb out holding her new kitten. Several Goudy servants arrived to take their bags as he led his new bride across the roof to the elevator.

The sun was high and bright above, warming the cool Midwestern air. It had been warmer in California, and the change had been nice for the day. Now that he was home, he wished he could spend his time snuggling with his bride and giving her the honeymoon she deserved, but there was far too much to be dealt with upon his return.

Now that he had the coordinates from Lucia, he planned to take it up with Kyran Blackrose in Chicago. If there really was a Surge presence in Lake Michigan, then the Silverdrake clan and the Blackrose coven needed to work together to end it quickly.

Titus had a light lunch ordered from the kitchens, and it arrived not long after they settled into the penthouse. Desdemona was beaming from the news of the baby and playing with her kitten on the shaggy white carpet.

Titus was just as high with delight. Desdemona carried the Silverdrake heir in her womb. It was precious cargo and all he wanted to was to stay near her and protect her in her time of need.

They sat at the table and ate lunch leaving her kitten in little pet playpen. They discussed the news of the baby over turkey sandwiches on rye bread with spicy mustard and lettuce. Most of the food had been produced nearby or in the rooftop gardens Titus had implemented as soon as he’d taken control of the city.

Titus had used immortal technologies to the best of his abilities, bootstrapping an advanced city until it was one of the finest places in this part of the country. The whole region would be stronger when Jerith Blackrose got back from Paris.

Fighting the Surge in his family’s ancestral homeland had become a priority for Jerith. If the threat in the lake was as bad as Lucia seemed to believe it was, then they would need to put much more effort into protecting the home front.

After the battle in Denver, Xander seemed to have focused his forces on Europe, leaving North America to restore itself as well as it could.

The Surge’s presence had been beaten back to only a few cities. New York and Los Angeles were done for. The humans living in those cities had become little more than slaves, but the Surge had seemed to be satisfied with capturing such large population bases in America and had moved on to easier pickings.

Titus knew that Jerith was making great strides in liberating Paris. But at what cost?

“I need to travel to Chicago to speak with Kyran Blackrose,” Titus said, after they’d finished their meal.

He took out his glass pad and began sending messages to Chicago.

“I want to go with you,” she said, reaching across the table to take his hand.

“Desdemona, that isn’t necessary.”

“I want to be with you, Titus. It’s supposed to be our honeymoon.”

“I know, my dear, but do you really feel up to going to Chicago for a diplomatic meeting?”

“Of course, plus, I want us to show a united front to the Blackrose coven. Don’t you think that would be a good idea?”

“You have a point, my sweet one. I will take you with me. But tonight we spend together in our own home as husband and wife.”

She purred and stood from her seat, moving around the table to take a seat on Titus’s lap. She was still wearing the thick, printed leggings she’d been traveling in. He ran his hand up her thigh and between her legs. She gasped when he cupped her sex in his hand. Feeling his dragon stir within him, he growled and picked her up in his arms. He stood and crossed the room taking her with them into the huge master bathroom off the master suite.

Inside the magnificent tiled room, he set her on the heated floor and proceeded to turn on the stand-up shower and its many jets.

“I feel like I need to wash off the dust of the road,” he said into her neck.

“I definitely feel dirty,” she teased.

He helped her out of her clothes and he was down on his knees in front of her naked sex. He could see the tight lips of her pussy and her swollen little clit.

He gripped her hips and ran his tongue over her sensitive flesh. She shuddered in his arms. Titus stood and patted her ass, telling her to get in the shower while he got out of his own clothes.

Once he had peeled out of his traveling apparel, he stepped into the shower with his little bride. It was their first day together at home as man and wife and seeing her standing in the shower with the warm spray dripping down her luscious young body, his cock was soon hard as a rock.

He gathered her to him and pressed against the warm wall of the shower. Their wet lips met under the spray of the faucet. His cock throbbed to be inside her.

Titus picked up a sponge and lathered fragrant oil into it before rubbing it over her plump breasts. The suds gathered on her chest and dripped down her stomach as he brought the sponge between her legs.

She gasped but he didn’t stop there, he ran the sponge all the way down her legs and then abruptly turned her around to face the shower wall. Then he ran the sponge all the way up her backside again, paying special attention to the pert round globes of her ass.

She gasped as he stood and buried his head in her neck, taking the skin between his teeth. He didn’t press hard or break the skin, he only reminded her of what they had between them. He was never going to let her go.

He turned her around again and sank to his knees. Parting her swollen lips with his fingers, he ran his tongue up her leg all the way to her clit and then pressed against her swollen little mound of flesh. He vibrated his tongue, swirling and licking. Desdemona grew more and more excited, and he could tell her knees were growing week.

He picked her up and sat her down on the bench, focusing his tongue and lips on her sweet cream. As he drove his finger inside her wet core, he felt her come. Her pussy contracted and clenched on his fingers as she threw her head back and moaned, gripping his hair with her long slender fingers.

He stood above her and she reached out to grip his cock. Her delicate fingers wrapped around his shaft and began to stroke. She opened her mouth to take him in and sucked the head of his cock while her hands worked in unison on his shaft.

Titus growled and braced himself against the driving pleasure of Desdemona’s hands and mouth. He wanted to thrust into her but held back. Her hands and mouth started to move together, pushing him toward climax.

He wanted to be inside her, so he picked her up and turned her around. Parting her folds, he sank into her body in one thrust. Desdemona groaned and gripped at the tile wall with her manicured fingertips. Titus’s dragon growled inside his mind, driving him on to take his bride.

He leaned over her and bit the back of her neck as he thrust forcefully into her sweet pussy. She was coming hard and moaning loudly when he felt his dick swell and explode into her core.

Titus slipped out of his wife and turned her around to hold her in his arms, kissing her gently on the face and lips. She giggled into his neck, holding his big shoulders with her soft hands.

“I swear it gets better every time. If this is what marriage is going to be like, I don’t understand why I waited so long.”

“That makes two of us,” Titus said, holding her close under the water.

They stood there for several minutes before Titus stepped out first and grabbed towels for them. He wrapped one around himself and handed the other to Desdemona. He ran a towel through his hair and she pulled a bathrobe around her shoulders.

It was only midday but they went to their bed and lay down together as the afternoon sunlight filtered through their windows. Titus had champagne brought to their suite. Being immortal, Desdemona didn’t have to worry about alcohol: such things had no effect on immortals.

Tomorrow would be a difficult day and he wanted to spend this time with her, just the two of them. Both put on fuzzy pajamas and they sat in the living room with their kitten Snowpuff watching movies and eating popcorn.

After dinner, they opened another bottle of champagne and wrapped themselves in warm jackets to stand out on the patio that overlooked the river.

“How do you think Kyran Blackrose is going to take the news tomorrow?”

“There’s no telling. Kyran is no Jerith. And considering the issues between the three of us, it may be a hard sell to get the Blackrose to help us right now.”

“But they’re our closest ally. They have to help. It is in everyone’s interest to stop the Surge, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is, my little flower,” Titus said. “But I fear Kyran may still be angry that I won your heart and he did not.”

“All the more reason for me to go tomorrow and make a stand for our marriage and our clan. I belong by your side in these times, and I want everyone to know where my loyalty lies, including Kyran Blackrose.”

“What a wise and loyal woman you are,” he said, whispering into her ear.

They slept that night together and in their bed as husband and wife. The next morning, after they’d dressed and eaten, he sent a request to Chicago to meet with Kyran.

His glass pad pinged and he read the text. Kyran was prepared to meet with him in an hour’s time. That was just enough time to get ready and fly to Chicago.

“We should be leaving in a few minutes. Kyran will meet us soon.”

Desdemona wore a form-fitting dress in a rich buttery golden yellow that brought out the warm tones in her dark skin. It emphasized not just her curves, but also how happy she looked. It was the kind of dress a lady might wear from the office out to dinner in the old world. He loved to see her looking so stylish and poised in her new role as his wife.

He offered her his elbow and she took it, walking with him on a pair of blue suede pumps. She wore an emerald jewelry set that contrasted beautifully with her dress. He helped her into her black wool coat before stepping out the door.

This was their first diplomatic mission as husband and wife and Titus couldn’t help but feel pride swell in his gut. Her hand on his arm. The way she looked in that dress. He felt like the true Alpha of the clan for the first time. She gave him that. The feeling that he was a true leader and could take on the world.

That feeling rolled through him as they flew toward Chicago. They made it there quickly and parked the jet outside the Blackrose coven headquarters. They walked up the stairs and crossed the marble foyer floor with the Blackrose emblem encrusted on the ground below their feet.

When Titus and Desdemona made it to the central reception room for the Blackrose, he was stopped by a guard in the tailored black jacket of the coven.

“I’m Titus Silverdrake, Alpha of the Silverdrake clan. This is my wife Desdemona. We have a meeting with Kyran in two minutes.”

“I have you on my schedule, sir. Kyran is ready for you now.”

Desdemona and Titus walked into the reception room. Kyran sat on a slightly elevated stage in a stately armchair, wearing a black satin robe with brocade roses.

“Titus Silverdrake and his lovely bride Desdemona,” Kyran said. There was a sneer of barely contained anger on his lips.

“Kyran,” Titus said, nodding. “As you know, I have new information about my missing shipments. I believe we should work together to solve the problem.”

“What problem? Your missing shipments have never been my problem,” Kyran said.

“I have information from Arch-Priestess Lucia Silverdrake. She scythed in dragon fire and found the location of the thieves. They are in a small island to the center of the lake. She believes it is the Surge.”

“The Surge? There has been no sign of Xander or his army in this area since Denver. There are a few zombies here and there. Even some small towns been taken over by them, but none of the older immortals of the Surge have stepped foot anywhere near Chicago.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Do you doubt the Arch-Priestess?”

“What exactly did she say?”

“She said there is a magical shield over the island and that she senses black witch magic and Xander’s influence.”

“She senses Xander’s influence? That doesn’t sound like definitive evidence to me.”

“Perhaps it is not,” Titus said, feeling the tension between the three of them palpable in the room.

They hadn’t been in the same space since the football game, before Titus had claimed Desdemona. Now he was presenting Desdemona as his mate, his bride, and the mother of his soon to be born child. Kyran may have been a vampire, but he too could sense that Desdemona was now completely off-limits to him.

Kyran had lost and Titus had won.

“We have no definitive evidence,” Titus said. “But the ‘feelings’ of the Arch-Priestess is enough to give me direction. We need to investigate the island and I’m asking for you to join forces with me in protecting the region if we do find Surge influence.”

“Yes, yes. I understand,” Kyran said, glaring first at Titus and then at Desdemona. “I will send a squadron of my strongest men. But first, I should congratulate you on your mating,” Kyran said, standing from his chair and walking down the steps to clasp hands with Titus and then with Desdemona.

“I hope you too will be happy with each other, and you will give the clan many children,” he said meaningfully.

Titus bristled at his words, knowing what stood between them all in the past. Perhaps two thousand years ago, he had been the fool and Kyran had been right. Titus was willing to be open to the possibility that he’d been wrong regarding Desdemona becoming his birthing goddess. All he had ever wanted was to protect her.

But she was here with him now, bearing his child, and he intended to give her everything she ever wanted.

“We are very happy,” Desdemona said, smiling at Kyran, the man who had once tried to take her from him.

“When will you move on the island?” Kyran asked, directing them over to a seating area off to the side of his throne.

“Soon, today, my men are in flight now, and I will join them as soon as I take Desdemona home.”

“You don’t need to take me home,” she said. “I want to go with you. Perhaps I can be of help.”

“I will not risk you.”

“But Lucia said it was witch magic. I’m the only witch available.”

“She does have a point,” Kyran said.

Titus snapped his gaze over to glare at Kyran. How dare he interject with his wife? Heat boiled in his brain but ultimately Titus knew that Desdemona was right. She was the only witch in the region and, though her magic was still growing, she was quite powerful.

“I’ll take you but I’m keeping far from the action,” Titus said.

“Then we should go,” Kyran said, sliding his finger over his glass pad. “No point in wasting time.”

Kyran gave them both a subtle sneer as he stood from his chair and continued tapping instructions on his glass pad. Desdemona watched him go as he brought up the video chat application on his glass pad and began speaking with his men. Desdemona knew that Titus had a standing army in St. Louis of dragons from the clan.

They were mostly his cousins and the same man who had played football in the stadium. There were dozens of Silverdrakes, but the two strongest Silverdrakes were Titus and Orion. They had the strength of several lesser dragons combined. Being the Alpha of a clan or a leader of the coven required a great deal of strength and leadership.

Desdemona could sense that Kyran was not handling the responsibility very well. She was glad that the rivalry between Kyran and Titus was largely over and settled at this point, and that the Silverdrakes and Blackrose could come together again and work toward the greater good.

Desdemona and Titus followed Kyran to the Blackrose central command in the basement of Blackrose Headquarters. It was where he had his advanced technology, his weapons, and other necessary devices.

The squadrons of dragons and vampires had gathered in the planning area. Titus led commanded battle force as he had during the battle in Denver. Desdemona watched him briefing the men, enraptured by his strength and leadership.

Once everyone knew their job, the immortals exited the war room and went to their jets. Investigating the island with backup was the best way to go as far as Titus was concerned.

The squadrons got in their jets and started off toward the lake. Desdemona rode with Titus and she watched the churning dark waters of Lake Michigan below her. They came closer and closer to the coordinates. With each passing moment, Desdemona grew more uncomfortable. It was as if she could feel the dark magic uncoiling its tentacles and seeking her out.

"I can sense the magic," she said in a soft voice.

Titus looked over at her and took her hand in his, covering her cold fingers with his hot ones. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed them to warm her.

"You feel the magic? What exactly do you sense?" he asked.

Desdemona knew that Titus was torn between needing her help and wanting to keep her safe, but she wanted to prove her worth and set his mind at ease. She wanted to help.

"I can sense the darkness. It feels like it's searching for me."

"They sense you." Titus stated.

"I think so.”

"It's a good thing we brought the entire force with us today,” Titus grumbled.

He slid his finger over the glass pad dashboard and brought up the video chat application with Kyran.

"I have unfortunate information. Desdemona believes the dark magician can sense her."

"We're coming close to the location," Kyran said, having left before Titus and Desdemona.

"We don't sense anything. We don't see anything we aren't picking up anything on our scanners. We know from maps that the island exists but we can’t see it."

"It's cloaked. We have to uncloak it somehow."

Desdemona felt the dark magic whirling toward her like a tornado. She could feel it in the distance. It was a whirling force of dark energy that could sense her. It wanted nothing but to destroy her.

"I've never sensed anything like this before," Desdemona said.

She had fled attacks by zombies in Northern California. She had seen the effects of the Surge in her part of the country. Xander had taken over Los Angeles and anything south of San Francisco was considered a badland. The temple could only exist where it did and her family was only safe because of dragons like Orion and the other northern immortals who had beaten them back.

Xander had wanted those population centers so badly that he had put most of his strength into gaining them. The immortals who had looked after those cities before could not withstand the force of the Surge and had evacuated, leaving the humans to fend for themselves.

The clans and covens who had those territories were devastated and were integrating into other clans. Most of them had gone to Europe to help Jerith fight for Paris. Desdemona looked out on the water, feeling the dark force coming faster and faster.

She wanted to scream but instead a clear, pure note came from her lips. The vibration of the sound kept the evil at bay. Inside her mind, she could see it recoil and retract, sensing her power and her unwillingness to be overtaken by the darkness.

The coiling dark magic retracted back to its base and swirled around its central core, below in the distance over the lake. She knew that it must be the location of the island. They definitely knew she was coming.

"I'm engaging fire. If I can see this island or not," Kyran said.

"We did not agree on that," Titus said.

"We have to be on the offensive," Kyran said.

"We don't know what our missiles are going to do or what they're going to hit. We may make it ten times worse."

"Your precautions are ridiculous. I say we fire," Kyran said.

"Kyran," Titus said. "I'm warning you."

"I'm attacking."

Kyran's face left the screen and Titus balled his fist and slammed it on the dashboard, clenching his teeth. He spat out a curse and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know, but none of us knows what is on the island. We don't know what we are attacking."

Desdemona felt the dark energy seeking her out again. She opened her lungs and began to sing, accelerating scales of music. Each note up and down the scale added to her strength and power as if she were stoking the flames of a bonfire. After her tenth scale, her voice and her power were honed and precise.

She began singing chords, and with each chord the dark energy quivered in fear. Titus’s squadron caught up with Kyran and they watched as the vampire ships bombarded the coordinates in the lake with missiles. Titus had their ship out of range and she could only see what was happening on video. Desdemona watched the missiles disappear into the void.

"We need to get closer," she said, taking a break from her song.

"I'm not risking you."

Desdemona started her song again, feeling the dark energy gain strength every time she stopped. The vampire ships continued fire on the void, but all at once a massive blast erupted from the island and the heat and shockwaves radiated out in all directions, blasting the vampire ships that were in range above the island.

The ships went crashing backwards in the air. Two of them smashed into each other and burst into flames. Titus watched the screen as the rest of the vampire ships fled. Desdemona gathered her strength, feeling her song grow more and more powerful. She wanted to uncover the truth. She wanted to see behind the veil. But most of all she wanted to win this fight for her husband.

She lifted her arms slowly and raised her voice in song. Then she brought her hands down and her voice low gathering her strength deep in her belly. With a huge burst of energy and a rising exuberant tone, Desdemona shot her arms up. With that, the water around the void flew upward. Desdemona clapped her hands together, bringing her tone into a clashing crescendo. The water spread over the island, washing away the barrier. The dark magic slipped and slid, oozing over the land, but it had been dissipated and all but destroyed. They could now see what was on the island. Unfortunately, it was much worse than anyone had anticipated.