Epilogue
Lord Denby cleared his throat and lifted his glass. “To the newlyweds.”
Eleven glasses rose to join his. Crystal clinked and laughter followed. Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda caught the inviting smile Aunt Eugenia bestowed upon her new husband, Sir Edmund. He removed his spectacles, raised her hand to his lips, and gave Eugenia’s palm a sizzling kiss. Devotion and delight shone in his eyes.
Miranda smiled herself. How wonderful to see Aunt Eugenia happy. What a perfect match she and Sir Edmund made. They planned to hunt through tombs, research moldering old libraries, and search for vampires together.
A year had passed since she had impetuously rushed from her home in a carriage, seeking escape. Now she had a home of her own. Several, actually. A sprawling house built on a breathtaking estate in Hartfordshire, which her two husbands had named Merryworth as a play on her name and to celebrate the happiness they’d all found. As well, they had an elegant town-home in London.
It was not the houses, of course, which made a home, but the people within.
And tonight Merryworth was filled with her loved ones.
As Miranda sipped her watered-down champagne, she looked around the large, round table, an enormous polished oak monstrosity large enough for their nine guests. They were twelve in all—like the Knights of the Round Table. Once it would have seemed impossible that they could all dine together—vampires and mortals, friends who had once been enemies, who had taken a long journey to come together in such a trusting way. But they were all her family now, Miranda realized.
She was married to two wealthy men: Zayan had amassed fabulous wealth over two thousand years, and Lukos was already building a fortune of his own with astute investments.
They had ensured her brother, Simon, and her sister-in-law, Caroline, were safe and taken care of, as Simon had vowed to stop gaming. Tonight, Simon and Caroline had retired early to one of the bedchambers, for her sister-in-law was increasing.
Children filled her house today. They were all upstairs in the nursery—Marc and Lina, Serry, and Serena’s twin boys, David and Jeremy.
And two tiny bassinets waited for more . . .
Miranda rested her hand on her large, pregnant belly. She knew Althea and Serena yearned to return to the Carpathian Mountains and learn more about the beginnings of vampires.
Returning souls to Zayan and Lukos had drained away her strength, and while her men had been happy to become mortal again, the others had been content to remain vampires.
Serena still hoped to find Vlad Dracul’s journal, which Denby believed had been returned to the Carpthians by one of the rogue members of the Royal Society. But it would be many months before Serena and her two husbands traveled, with their twins not quite a year old. And even though the twin boys said not much more than “da-da” and “ma-ma,” and tried to toddle on their unsteady legs, Jonathon was already teaching them about science through the world around them. Drake loved to wrestle and play with his children. Eve had revealed the identity of Serena’s father. Not his name, as she’d never known his true one, but he had been an angel cast out of heaven for the sin of falling in love with God’s first creation of Eve, just as the Grigori were said to have been punished for desiring the daughters of man. Serena hoped to discover more about him someday, but Eve insisted he had been destroyed by his own anger at his dismissal from the heavens. His rage had become a blaze that had consumed him.
Althea’s daughter, Serry, had grown into a strong, healthy child. And appeared to be a blend of both mortal and vampire.
She could be awake at night or in the day, and loved to eat food, especially sweets. Miranda had helped Althea create a schedule where she could spend time with Serry before the day sleep claimed her. Yannick, the Earl of Brookshire, and Bastien were devoted to the two ladies in their lives—Althea and Serry.
Althea had taken on the task of sorting the Royal Society’s books and reports, letters and diaries—a safe duty while her daughter was young. She wanted to hunt with her handsome husbands, but they had just discovered Althea was enceinte again. So there would be no pursuit of rogue vampires for her.
Not with such protective men worried about her.
Miranda knew what it was to be cared for by protective men.
There was no precedence in the seating at this table. Jonathon and Drake sat on either side of Serena, as did Yannick and Bastien with Althea. Zayan and Lukos flanked Miranda, determined not to be too far from her side.
And both men were doing naughty things to her beneath the table with their free hands. Yet looked utterly innocent while doing it.
“Oh!” she squeaked as Zayan squeezed her bottom.
Lord Denby paused in the midst of his toast, which included humorous stories of his friend, Sir Edmund. He looked to her.
“Nothing,” she mumbled. “Please go on, my lord.” But Lukos, the demon, was sliding up her skirt beneath the table.
Denby gave a smile—a far too knowing smile.
Then Sir Edmund held up his hand during a tale about a vampiress who insisted she was Queen Cleopatra, a sultry, raven-haired siren. “Enough of that, Denby. No need to tell that one.”
“You are blushing, Father,” Althea teased.
Eugenia flashed a gentle, indulgent smile, as her new husband continued, “What of the Royal Society, Denby? I believe it is stronger now that you have cleaned ship.”
Denby inclined his head. “It could not be abandoned because there were pockets of corruption. There is too much learning to be achieved, too much good to be done. Perhaps we will not save the world, but if we are open-minded and fortunate, we will learn to understand it better.”
“Open-minded. That is very true, Denby,” Drake said. “But this is a celebration of love, tonight. No more talk of the Royal Society.” He raised his glass to Sir Edmund and Eugenia.
Althea and Serena urged Eugenia to her feet. “I think perhaps it is time to excuse the bride,” Althea said, with a wink.
“I should like to make a toast before we go.” Holding her glass, Eugenia lifted her glass. With her face aglow, her silvery hair arranged in stylish curls, she looked lovely.
Miranda’s belly went rock hard. She gasped at the sudden sensation, then wetness flooded her thighs and her skirts. She jerked to her feet.
“Oh, I think I shall have to leave, I’m afraid. I’m so sorry, Aunt. Please carry on without me.” She looked to Zayan’s and Lukos’s handsome faces. “I think it’s time.”
Zayan frowned, his black brows drawn together. Lukos cocked his head, surprised. Miranda realized that her husbands did not yet understand. Her gown was wet from the sudden rush of her waters, but now, when she was standing, the flow stopped.
She gave a teasing sigh at the obtuseness of men and saw an answering gleam in Althea’s silvery green eyes and Serena’s silvery gray ones. The women knew exactly what had happened.
Aunt Eugenia wore a smile of delight and a look of busy determination. “There will be time for toasts later. We must go upstairs now.”
Miranda clasped the broad shoulders of her two husbands, Lukos and Zayan. “Our twins are about to come into the world.”
Twelve long hours later, Miranda rested in her bed. Her two baby boys were tucked into the bassinets that had been hastily brought down from the nursery. Lukos slumbered at her side, and Zayan dozed on a chair opposite her.
Miranda knew she should sleep—she would not get much rest for a very long time. Twins. She’d been carrying two boys: One was blond, one dark, and they were both absolutely perfect.
Twinkling lights of claret red swirled in the center of her bedchamber. The lights cleared, to reveal Elizabeth seated on the end of her bed.
The vampire queen bestowed a smile on the newborns. “Congratulations. Eugenia has told me, though, that you have been greatly worried. What could be troubling you, with such happiness in your life?”
Miranda swallowed hard. “I’ve been thinking about the Prophesy of Lukos—the one that stated his son will kill him.
Will it come true? Or is that now null and void, now that he is no longer a vampire, just as he and Ara escaped the warning they would die?”
Elizabeth waved her hand. “Do not worry, gel. Prophesies are entertaining but completely irrelevant. What did you learn, my dear, as you fell in love with Zayan and Lukos? As you faced the Pravus and Lucifer?”
She’d learned so many things. She’d learned about the power of love. She’d learned that her power was not a curse—it had saved the people who meant the most to her. And she’d discovered joy was the most precious treasure of all.
“You learned that you are a powerful woman, whether you have magic powers or not. For you, nothing is written in stone.
There is nothing you cannot do and nothing you cannot change. I know that both your sons will grow up to know love.
Those predictions written so many years ago will prove to be worthless.”
The conviction in Elizabeth’s voice made Miranda believe it too. Lukos had escaped his pact with Lucifer, his destiny had been changed. And so had Zayan’s.
“You see, don’t you?”
Miranda nodded. “Yes, I do see. We’ve changed the futures.”
“Of course you have.” Wearing a radiant smile, Elizabeth patted Miranda’s knee. “For strong women—those who know the power of love—carve out their own futures, my dear.”
Then a little squawk rose up from one of the bassinets. Elizabeth vanished into a cloud of sparkling light, as Zayan and Lukos instantly awoke. Miranda’s heart ached with joy as both men devotedly cradled their two newborn sons.
She now had five men of her own to manage, along with a lovely stepdaughter.
Miranda brushed at a tear of happiness. There was work to do now—and she bared her full, heavy, milk-filled breasts in preparation for feeding her beautiful sons.
How she looked forward to the future—for it stretched before them all, golden and bright.
APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2009 by Sharon Page
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ISBN: 0-7582-4545-9