Page 6 of Vampire's Choice

However, because of the island’s special status, and whose direct protection it had—Lady Lyssa, last member of vampire royalty and currently the head of the Vampire Council; Lord Marshall, the Florida overlord; and Lady Danny, once a Region Master in Australia and now a Council member herself—Mal and Elisa had had the freedom to raise them here, and let them become as extraordinary and unique as Fate had planned.

Sometimes Mal wanted to punch Fate in the mouth.

At the young age of fifty, their son Adan had officially become apprenticed to an accomplished sorcerer. Through a trial no one had expected him to survive, he’d evolved from that into a Light Guardian. Thanks to his mating and vampire-servant bonding with a hamadryad, Catriona, who happened to be the ward of the powerful Fae Lord Keldwyn, Adan was also a valuable bridge between the Fae and vampire worlds.

Mal didn’t have a problem with any of that. Well, not so much anymore. While it was unlikely he would ever fully trust the Fae, he didn’t doubt Catriona’s love and devotion to Adan. She’d been with them during the thirteen years when they weren’t sure if Adan would make it through the grueling Light Guardian training.

Now the two of them traveled together on the many tasks that involved a Light Guardian, but Adan visited the island whenever he could. Since a vampire was immortal, what was a long time to a human wasn’t much more of a blink to them.

Except when it came to the absence of their offspring.

Elisa curled her hand around Mal’s braced forearm. “Ruth is safe on the preserve. None of the cats would be after hurting her. She has a way with them. It’s one of her many gifts.”

They were both aware of what traits weren’t gifts. Elisa and Mal had recognized the differences between their two children early on, but the years Adan had been away from Ruth had made those things more noticeable. When they were together, they’d functioned almost as a unit, and made it easier for those issues to be overlooked.

Elisa’s jewel-blue eyes lifted to his face. “It’s all right, Master,” she said softly. “I know it. These things work out.”

“Usually if the people aware of the problem act before the worst can happen.” He set his jaw. “It’s time, Elisa. The Circus is the safest place for her.”

Elisa tensed, but they’d had the discussion before. Argued about it, something she rarely did with him, but when it happened, it was always about protecting someone. Him, their children. Other children.

That was how their relationship had started all those years ago. She’d brought a half-dozen vampire children to his island. Not born vampires like theirs. These had been human children forcibly turned. Aberrations that most would have agreed needed a swift and humane end. She’d argued with him to save their lives. Argued, pleaded, cajoled. And prevailed. Four had survived and adapted.

They’d found places in the world for them, but Mal remembered the agony of those early days, when they didn’t know how it would work out. If it would work out.

Now they visited William and Matthew in Florida frequently, where they lived with Lord Marshall and his servant, Nadia. Adan and Ruth considered the boys good friends. Same for the two females, Nerida and Miah, who resided at the Farida Sanctuary in Tennessee. They were thriving. As much as children forcibly converted to vampires by a monster and forever doomed to look like children could thrive. But yes, they were content and reasonably at peace, in the best scenario possible for them.

Still, their leaving had been hard for Elisa. Adan’s thirteen-year separation had been awful, but before that, when he’d left to apprentice with Derek, another Light Guardian, she’d accepted it as what a boy did when he became a man.

Ruth was different. She was another fledgling leaving the nest, with weaknesses that made her far more vulnerable to a dangerous world.

But despite how often her soul had worried, suffered and grieved over her children, adopted and born, his servant was a strong female. And she trusted him. Mal valued that trust and worked hard to keep it.

“Adan says there’s a member of the Circus with a threat against her,” Mal continued. “She has a protector, but he has other commitments pressing upon him. Lady Yvette, the Circus’s Mistress, has suggested a female vampire addition to their security team, one who can specifically watch out for her when he has to attend to those commitments.”

“A bodyguard?” Elisa’s brow furrowed. “But vampires might attend the Circus performances. They have before.”

“Yes. But the Circus already has strong protections in place, even for performances watched by vampires and other races. Yvette is an accomplished sorceress, and Adan says she has additional help in that area. Plus, if Ruth is there, she’s under Lady Yvette’s protection, and all that entails.

“As far as the job itself, Ruth is well trained. She may not be as strong as other vampires, but she can fight. She’s focused, intuitive to danger, and can stay ahead of threats, calling in stronger reinforcements as needed. It’s what a good bodyguard does.”

A small smile touched Elisa’s lips. Her hand tightened on his arm. “A job that says she’s capable of being a protector, where she’ll have the protection she herself is needing.”

“She could take it as a measure to placate her. Her brother is a respected free agent in the vampire world, and she’s being offered the job of a security guard, where she’ll be cushioned from most of the vampire world’s demands.”

“Ruth knows her limitations, better than anyone,” Elisa noted. “We’ll be honest with her, as we’ve always been.”

Mal met her gaze. “We’ve never discussed the other issue straight out with her. We’ve waited for her to bring it up.”

“Because it’s a bloody sin in the vampire world.” A rare bitterness edged Elisa’s words. “It’s ridiculous. They have their own pecking order, the stronger vampires taking the lead, the less strong agreeing to be ruled by them in their territories and regions. How is it so different?”

“You know why.” He wrapped his arm around her hip, cupping it with strong fingers. “Vampires are dominant by nature. They submit only when someone proves themselves stronger than them, and only as long as they can hold onto that position. It doesn’t indicate a change in their nature.

“Our daughter is a submissive,” he stated. “And she’s too strong-willed to be good at subterfuge. A vampire around her any length of time will pick up on it. So far the ones who have are family, or as good as. She won’t be safe in normal vampire circles. Especially with her being behind the curve on the physical strength she should have by this age.”

“Lord Brian said it would continue to develop,” Elisa said.

“Yes. Much more slowly than anticipated, and it will reach a stopping point.”

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