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“What are you going to do now? Hurt our unborn child and me?” I asked.
Gabriel’s eyes reverted to normal as he crashed on the sofa. “It is for this exact reason I wished to prepare you. My wish has always been to save art from burning in the fire of human ignorance. If it meant degrading myself by accepting Vedoma’s conditions, so be it. It is because of my abasement that I could garner a first-edition study. For you and me to enjoy.”
“Do not turn this on me. I never asked you to do anything for me except love. And from what I understand, love is free.”
“Everything has a price, Milady. Even love. For us to be together, I had to pay a price I do not wish upon anyone. But it granted my wish. I can hold your hand now in a time I never imagined existed. Then again, I have deceived the one I love, and asking for forgiveness doesn’t feel enough.”
“The only way we can continue is if you cut ties with Vedoma. You’ve got enough money already. We can live freely wherever we want and enjoy spending time with our daughter.”
“I regret you had to find the gender of our baby this way,” he said with great repentance.
“Well, it spared me a visit to the doctor.”
He chuckled and exhaled deeply.
“I mean it. I want you to break all connections with Vedoma. If you can turn your business into a legitimate endeavor, then our relationship can be salvaged.”
“You question our relationship?” Fear appeared in his eyes.
“No, no. Our love can never be marred by witchy interventions. But I look toward the future, and nothing good can come from someone like her. Please promise me you will stop working with her.”
“Milady’s wish is my command. But please consider it might take time for me to restructure certain business aspects. If I can garner your patience, there is nothing else I would ever require from you.”
“That I can work with. Especially if I never have to see her face again.”
“Agree.”
“I wanted to ask. Why was Smaranda standing behind Vedoma? Is she part of her entourage?”
At the sound of my question, Gabriel’s face turned pale. I might’ve triggered some kind of bad memory.
“Yes, Smaranda has been Vedoma’s right hand since the start.”
“Of course, when two people hate the same person, they are bound to become friends. Great. The only thing that’s left is to resurrect Boyar Dobre, and the trio would’ve been complete.”
“Once the person has sealed their fate, it is impossible to change it.”
“I was joking. Let him stay back in Wallachia. I have enough nemeses to deal with in the present.”
“I’ll make sure they won’t bother you from now on,” he said.
I knew he spoke truthfully, but something in my gut whispered it might not be as easy.
Chapter 23
In true Gabriel fashion, he kept his word and broke all ties with Vedoma. I didn’t witness their discussion, but Kira said it was not an amiable farewell. Still, what was done could not be reverted. From what I heard, the witch had her own palace somewhere in The Other Realm (probably somewhere very cold) and moved her business there. That meant no more witch and no more Smaranda. The only gripe I had with this fast-paced resolution was that it was, well…too fast. I could hardly imagine the strongest time-traveling witch who held reign over all lands would yield so easily and without hardly much complaint. In my mind, something didn’t add up, but Gabriel assured me that this separation needed to happen a long time ago, and because of my insistence, this ill-fated coalition finally came to an end.
After a couple of weeks, the dust had settled, and no one downstairs even mentioned her name. I just had to say good riddance. Eventually, I returned to more important matters, like buying a crib or a stroller for my daughter. Gabriel, the ever-doting father, already had brought a whole baby store to the house, and each day he would either bring a cute pacifier or knitted shoes. Speaking of knitting, the beast had once again been awakened. Thus, for the majority of the day, I was busy knitting blankets, crocheting hats and shoes, and embroidering adorable animals to hang in her nursery.
I hardly got out anywhere, mostly around the garden or nearby woods while holding Gabriel’s hand. We loved to talk about how we should name our daughter. He said he wanted a name close to Greek gods but that we should decide once we met her. We were indeed a family. A happy, (somewhat) normal family ready to welcome our new addition. The only thing plaguing our serene life was one reoccurring nightmare.
The dream always began with me holding our baby daughter, but every time Gabriel would try to hold her, she would start crying. Her wails shattered the ground underneath us, and we would fall into a hellish hole filled with fire. Then Gabriel transformed into a beast covered in silvery flames. I never dreamt past Gabriel’s beastly face. It would always wake me up. I didn’t know what to conclude from the dream, and I didn’t want to bring it up to Gabriel. We were both nervous about the arrival of our bundle of joy, so maybe the jitters started wreaking havoc in my mind.
Gabriel truly did everything in his power to ensure a calm and stable atmosphere. Yes, he had made mistakes, but to live for so long and not make any seemed impossible. Even with vampire powers, at his core, Gabriel was still human. I had to trust him and move forward with our life. Still, something didn’t feel right. Everything was too easy, too serene. Like the calm before the storm, I sensed something brewing in the air that everyone around me, including Kira, remained oblivious to.
I talked with Gabriel about where I would be giving birth, and we decided to stay here at the castle. Gabriel already hired a great doctor and nurse, and in case of an emergency, he would move me in one go to the hospital. My due date was around the corner, so Gabriel had the medical personnel at the castle ready for any eventuality. Later, I found out they were all vampires.
The following night, I got my first contractions. Gabriel urged the doctors to come and, later, stayed with me the whole time, holding my hand. Due to our preparedness and the doctor and nurse’s help, at dawn, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. To our astonishment, our daughter had two different-colored eyes. One eye was brown, and the other was the color of the universe, somewhat blue, somewhat purple. At times, the color seemed to dance in her iris. The doctor said it was normal for some people to have heterochromia (two different-colored eyes). The unusual part resumed to their colors. He had never witnessed such eyes before and especially as a part of a heterochromia set. Good thing he was a vampire and wouldn’t alert the wrong people on peculiarly-looking babies.
