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Talon sat back. “And—?”
“At a party in Primus Régis’s garden.” My voice was louder now. It needed to be louder. I wanted him to hear every word. “You were talking about a pact you’d made.”
He rolled his lips in. “Oh.”
“Yeah. You said that I was a thrall, nothing more. Which I knew, I guess. But you also said the last thing you wanted was to sire a dhampir.” A laugh grated from my throat. “Not what I wanted to hear when I’d just found out I was pregnant. That was like a—well, you can see why I didn’t want your goddamn jewelry.”
The anger and hurt spilled out, shocking even me. I twisted the mittens in my lap, lungs burning. I filled them with a breath before finishing more calmly, “I didn’t want anything from you. I just wanted out.”
He swore under his breath. “That’s why you took the money to spy on Twilight.”
“That’s right. Not that’s it’s an excuse, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. And then I was in too deep.” This time my laugh was sad. “The worst of it is, you weren’t wrong. A dhampir son will be a drag on you.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then how did you mean it?”
“Don’t move.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the vehicle. “I want to do this face to face.”
A split second later, he was opening my door and turning me toward him.
“Let’s get something clear.” He slapped his hands onto the seat on either side of my thighs. “I do not think our son will be a drag on me. I never thought a dhampir spawn would be a drag on me. This was about him, not me. I wanted to mate with a pureblood for him—and because it’s better for the syndicate, yeah, but that wasn’t my main reason. I know what it’s like to have to fight your way up in the hierarchy, and it’s even harder for a dhampir. But I was wrong, okay? I should’ve never made that pact with Cain because now that dhampir son is a reality, I don’t feel the same. And I promise, our son will have every possible advantage.”
A cautious happiness filled my chest as what I’d heard last summer rearranged itself. “You mean that,” I stated.
“Fuck yeah, I do.” His hands moved to my shoulders, his dark eyes burning into mine. “I swear it on Prima Lenore’s grave. We’re already making changes so things will be different for dhampirs.”
I nodded. “Twilight told me.”
“Then you know it’s really happening.”
“But what if he doesn’t want to join the syndicate? What happens then?”
“I can’t make any promises about where he’ll be in the hierarchy.” Talon loosened his grip on my shoulders but kept his hands where they were. “That’s up to him—dominance isn’t something you can predict, or force. But I give you my word that our son will receive the same training as a vampire spawn. And if he chooses not to join, then I’ll set him up in any business he wants. Or pay for him to go to university if that’s what he prefers.”
“Swear it.” I grabbed his wrists. “I want you to swear that, too. Swear on your sire’s grave that whether he joins the syndicate is up to him. That he’ll have choices.”
Talon stiffened; I’d insulted him. But this was too important. It wasn’t just my life, it was the baby’s.
“By Prima Lenore’s grave,” he said, “I swear that our spawn—both this child and any future spawn—will get to choose whether he joins the syndicate. And what he does as an adult is up to him, as long as he’s not sitting around on his ass…or stirring up trouble like his old man.”
That last part made me smile. “Thank you,” I said over the pointy lump that had gotten lodged in my throat.
With Talon—a syndicate lieutenant—in his corner, my little guy would have a powerful advocate. And I liked that Talon had brought up the possibility of more children. I wanted at least two.
That left the other part of what I’d overheard, the way he’d dismissed me like I was last week’s garbage. “Eden’s a thrall, nothing more.”
I slid my teeth sideways. Wanting to ask but afraid to hear the answer.
“What?” His gaze jumped between my eyes. “Talk to me.”
I let go of his wrists. “What about me? Did I misunderstand that part, too?”
He straightened from me, his hands gripping the top of the door frame. “Eden…”
That hesitation—that I’m sorry, but… grimace—said it all. I pressed my lips together. “Got it.”
“I don’t want to lie to you. You’re special to me, you know that.”
