Falcon

Standing there with my mother’s words in front of me took my breath away. I missed her more than I could express. I read the letter several times before finally relinquishing it to Charlotte. My mother was right. As much as I had a hard time trusting Charlotte, I went to her for guidance. It was surreal that a part of my mother had been here to help bring an end to Stavros’s path of destruction.

“Thank you for sharing this, Charlotte.” I looked at Draco and said, “Prepare the weapons for a strike when we’re not here. I don’t want them in my home.”

“They won’t. I say we take our family to the wolves,” Draco suggested. That sounded like an excellent idea.

“Then we come back and clean house on the boats?” I tossed out, hoping it was feasible. I’d hate to have to rebuild this place if they came on for another attack.

“Yes. I like that idea very much,” Draco said with a sinister sneer.

“How do you feel about that Charlotte? Does that look promising?” I asked her. My mother told her to be my guide. I had to put my faith in her advice when she had some to give.

“It sounds great. You still need to be careful. Having a telepath on their side means he may be able to predict your moves. If he’s aboard that ship, leave.”

“Understood. Thank you,” I stated with a slight nod.

“What about our guests?” Nora asked. I forgot about them.

“We’ll see right now.” I took Nora by the hand and led her to the containment area. Draco and Charlotte followed behind. The family had been sitting around reading the books we provided. When they saw us, they stood up at attention.

“Good afternoon. I’ve learned that we will be attacked very soon. We will be releasing you, but you have a choice where you’d choose to go. You can go back to London. You can go to the castle and work alongside my soldiers or you can go to Washington where I’ll be sending my family and guarded by the wolves until I return.”

“How much time do we have to decide?”

“Ten hours. Then we move. Or you can stay here and take your chances that they won’t kill you.”

“And by the way, Queen Lombardi has found a cure for the darkness,” Charlotte added. I turned my head to her. She just revealed it and then they looked at Nora with a new repentance.

“Yes, I have, but we are still in the early stages of testing it. I cannot guarantee that it will last. And at present, I don’t have enough to do more than a handful at a time.” Tears stream down her face.

“You’ve never known the light, Matthew,” she sobbed.

“Wait, are you telling me you were born in the darkness?” Nora asked with giant wide eyes. The scientist in her ready for another great discovery and the possibility of saving those in the dark.

“Yes, I was.” Nora looked at me with painfully beautiful happiness. I nodded because I couldn’t take away her happiness. Besides, we had more than Matthew born in the darkness, so it would be great if we could save them all.

“May I have a sample of your blood? I have not tested it on someone born in the darkness.”

“Yes, please. If that’s what it’ll take. Please take it.” He stuck his arm forward inside the cell, gesturing that he was all for it.

She turned to me and asked, “Falcon, can you please?”

“Yes, my Queen.” I teleported to the lab and grabbed the equipment and headed back into the cell.

“Arm,” I told him. I took a large vial of blood and two small ones. There was no way I would let Nora in there with him. Regardless of their cooperation, I couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t try to escape or harm any of us.

“Is this enough?” I asked my mate.

She nodded her pretty head. “It should be. I’ll go there straight away, so we’ll know before they come to attack.”

“I can’t believe this,” Matthias said, looking at Nora.

“Her name does mean light, after all,” Charlotte informed them, tossing them a smirk.

I teleported Nora back into the lab. “I’ll wait while you work.”

“Can you check on William to see how he is handling Speranza?”

“Absolutely. Be right back.” I kissed her then went to fetch our daughter.

When I entered the library, William had both kids in their bouncers and reading them stories.

“How’s it going?”

“Great. Her eyes are interesting though. I have to look away or I get fascinated by them. It’s crazy, but she’s got an angelic presence to her.”

“That she does. Her gaze released you; perhaps that’s why they fascinate you so.”

“Perhaps. How’s everything going? Nora working on the cure?”

“Yes, and we have some developments. I’m going to need you to go with the women and Gideon to the wolves.”

“What’s going on?”

“Another attack and it’s going to be huge. Draco and I will need to teleport around and can’t risk taking anyone who can’t teleport.”

“Okay. I’ll protect your family with my life.” His solemn vow meant the world to me. Loyalty had been so hard to come by over the centuries, having lost many true friends because of deceitful snakes.

“Thank you. Can you watch them a little longer?”

“Absolutely. Let me know when you need me.”

“I definitely need you for this. Unless Draco and Charlotte come. Mary’s enjoying her new status out of the darkness and sitting outside with Gideon watching over her,” I told him.

“It’s truly incredible. I can’t believe that this is all happening. After spending all those years as a dog, I never imagined the prophecy would come true.”

“I hope this is going to end soon. I must get back to Nora. I will keep you informed. Thank you, again, William.”

I teleported back to my wife.

“She’s perfect with William and Marco.”

“Wonderful. I’m about to test the sample.” Vigo and Olga watched as she did the test. A minute after setting it in the sunlight, she pulled it out. A smile covering her entire face. It looked like everyone else could be saved as well. After looking through a microscope, she confirmed it. “It’s the same result. Yes. We can do this,” she cheered. I picked her up and spun her around again.

“What do we do to determine who gets it first?”

“Well, the two of you need it. Then I figure we get Dante here and then our prisoners.”

“Prisoners before our soldiers?”

“Yes, now hear me out. We need loyalty from people like them. After all, we can’t give it to more than a few more people. Let’s clear families one at a time. I know we need our soldiers, so they can attack in the daylight, but think about this. If word gets out that we turned the family of a defected Lamian soldier, they’ll be dropping their weapons and trading sides.”

“That’s true, but we can’t trust it.”

“I know, but see they’ll see the promise that we will offer it to them after we provide for our loyal soldiers and their families.”

“Woman, that’s why you’re the Queen,” I said. I want to fuck you on the nearest surface.

Before we leave, my King.

“All hail the Queen!” They erupted in cheers.

“Thank you. I say if you want the serum we can inject all of you and then test the theory tomorrow morning before we leave the island.”

“I think it’s perfect,” Olga responded, beaming with joy.

“I’ve waited for this day for so long.” Vigo had tears in his eyes as he hugged his mate.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. “Thank you for being a big part of making this happen, Vigo. You have been supporting me after every setback.”

“Are we ready?” Nora asked, growing impatient. There was that temper again. I knew this all had to be taking a toll on her physically.

“Yes, your Highness,” I grunted. I helped her prepare the syringes. We needed six and had just enough blood to do it.

“Hey, wait. Let’s get Dante here.”

“Okay.”

I left the room and entered the castle. “Where’s Dante?” I asked the head day guard.

“Resting, Sire,” Tatum stated. I got acquainted with many of the soldiers and am grateful for all that they do.  

“Thank you. How are you faring here?” I asked, making the younger vampire smile broadly.

“Great. The news of the little princess has felt like a blessing that I can’t describe.”

“Are you alone in those sentiments?”

“No, Sire. Everyone is eager to end this war and ready for when you need us,” he informed me with such a jovial spirit.

“Good, soon we’ll be going into the final stages of this war.”

“That’s great news.”

I nodded then teleported to my nephew’s chambers. “Wake up,” I ordered, kicking his bed.

“What’s going on, Falcon?” he stammered, jumping up from the bed completely naked. I laughed as he covered his flaccid manhood.

“What gives with the nudity?” I questioned my bare-assed nephew. It wasn’t something I was used to seeing and perhaps I should have knocked.

“I’ve been hot lately,” he said, rushing around to dress. “What’s with the sudden arrival?”

I did all I could to give him his privacy. “We have something for you to see on the island.”

“For real? Why? What?”

“Come on. Now is not the time to play. I have people trying to wait patiently for you to come.”

“Okay. I’m ready.” We teleported into the lab.

“Ah, there you are.”

“Vigo!” Dante cheered.

“Where’s my mother? I’d thought she’d be here too.”

“She’s outside,” Nora said with a smile.

“Outside?” he exclaimed. I could see the dread coming over him.

“She’s not dead. In fact, just the opposite.”

“What? How?”

“We have the cure.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Well, you better believe it. If you want your dose, you can line up. We’re just about to give the Johannsens their doses, then next will be our captives.”

“The captives? Why them? They don’t deserve it.”

“What better way to show the enemy that we are magnanimous than giving the cure to some of their defectors?” Nora inquired with an air of smugness. She had a leader hidden under her layers of kindness and generosity. I was truly blessed to have her. We were all truly blessed that she had become one of us.

“Ah, then they’ll start flipping fast.”

“Yes, your aunt is brilliant.”

“Enough with the jibber-jab. There’s only so much sunlight left and truthfully I don’t want to wait another minute,” Vigo complained. Nora inserted the syringe into Dante’s arm, while I did it to Vigo’s son Johan’s, and Vigo gave his wife the dose.

Three minutes later we were all walking out into the sunlight.

I watched the way they all closed their eyes and looked up at the sun. It was truly a beautiful experience to see Vigo stare at his wife, taking in her beauty in the sun. It was the way I looked at Nora. The way the light shone off her hair and beamed off her face.

“Mama,” Dante called out.

“Dante,” Mary sobbed, running and embracing her son.

“Ah,” Nora whispered. She tucked herself into my side and cried. “Come. There is much to do. We need to give the Holden family their dosages.”

“Yes, my Queen.”  We picked up the syringes and entered the containment area. I entered the cell without her. I didn’t trust them around my mate.

“The cure is limited to a handful at a time. We’re giving you an opportunity before many deserving people. I trust that you will remain on your good behavior with us.”

“We will.” I administered each of the doses.

“I feel a bit different.”

“Yes, more alive.”   

“When can we test it?”

“When you tell us your plan. I’m being more than generous by this and I assure you it wasn’t my choice. It was my mate’s kindness.”

“We thank you. You and your people have been nothing but generous and kind. We don’t want to do anything to upset that. In truth wherever we go, we will not have the funds for some time. We can’t access our accounts because they took our information when they made him join.”

“Don’t worry. We could lend you some money until you can get on your feet.”

“You are too kind.”

“No, I’m just doing the right thing. I want us all to be able to live alongside each other without fighting,” I told them.

“Can you take us to America. I want to be as far as we can from London.”

“Sure. I can set you up outside the wolf shifter area. They won’t allow you into their realm.”

“They don’t like us?” Matthew asked.

“They don’t trust vampires.”

“We don’t really either,” Matthias remarked with a snicker.

“Okay, we’ll let you rest. Tomorrow we’ll head out,” I added. “Excuse me.”