Page 116 of Blood

“I’m not saying I’ll never be a ruler, but...God, how do I say this nicely? I’m not smart enough to rule a kingdom.” There. That’s clear enough. “I haven’t even graduated from Prodigium Academy. Literally, the only thing I did was defeat the big bad. How does that make me qualified to take over an entire goddamn kingdom? I know nothing about taxes or laws or any of that shit.” I swivel slightly on the barstool until I can see Dracula’s face, where a tentative smile flits on the corners of his lips. “You three are kickass leaders. The Queen of Mount Olympus.” I direct this at Hera, who straightens almost imperceptibly. I then shift my gaze to Lucifer. “The King of Hell.” I finally turn toward Dracula. “The unofficial ruler of the monster world. Because, let’s be real, Dad, you have all of these monsters by the balls.”

Dracula puffs out his chest. “I suppose you can say that...”

“I want you guys to keep your thrones until I’m ready,” I continue. “I want to learn from all of you. Maybe, in the future, I’ll be able to be this grand ruler that the world expects me to be—the monster capable of bringing together all three realms. But that day isn’t today. I want to live and learn and travel. I just got Mason back.”

Dracula taps his fingers against the linoleum countertop as he moves to stand in front of me, beside Hera. “With Zeus dead, and the runes inactivated, most anti-vampire rhetoric should be over. Of course, there are still monsters who will always believe that vampires—and anyone who’s different—should be eliminated, but you should be safe on Earth. You can just pretend to be a normal, innocent vampire and go about your life. And when you’re ready, the thrones will be here.”

“No.” I shake my head again. “I’m not hiding who I am. Not anymore. I’m the biological daughter of Lucifer and Hera and the adopted daughter of Vladimir Dracula. I’ll shout that truth from the rooftops if I have to.”

Dracula’s eyes mist over with emotion, but he quickly ducks his head before I can call him out on it.

“We can teach you everything we know,” Hera adds, sounding excited by the prospect. Her eyes glimmer in the gaudy fluorescent lighting. “We can spend time together.”

Lucifer clears his throat and forks his fingers through his tousled blond hair. “Of course, we would like to spend time with you outside of the work environment. As your parents.”

“Birth parents,” Dracula retorts. “Not her real parents. I’m her real parent.”

Lucifer and Hera both turn to stare at me, hope emanating from their eyes.

“You don’t have to say yes,” Hera rushes to say when I remain silent. “But we want to get to know you. We missed out on years of your life, and we don’t want to miss another day.”

“You and your mates are going to be around for a long, long time—” Lucifer begins, but something he says strikes a chord in me.

“Wait. Me and my mates?” I know I’m immortal, and some of my mates have longer lifespans than the average monster, but men like Vin are simply...human. They’ll live and die, and my soul will cry for theirs all over again. This time, we won’t have Balor to bring him back to life.

Lucifer gives me an odd look. “When mating bonds are complete, the mates share the longest lifespan of the mated pair. And that means immorality for all of you. Your mates will be alive for as long as you are. You didn’t know that?”

My stomach seems to be turning over itself, folding in half like a piece of damn paper. The pounding of my heart echoes in my skull.

“But Mason...”

“He died of a god-blessed dagger, Violet,” Hera reminds me gently. “Your mates can still be killed. But as long as they don’t step in front of any swords or daggers or arrows...they’ll live forever. With you.”

I can barely wrap my head around this information. My mates will be by my side...forever? I want to jump for joy, but a part of me worries I’m being selfish. Do they even want to live forever?

But I dismiss my worries quickly. I know that they’ll never want to leave me, and they’d fight tooth and nail to return to me if anything were to happen. Mason is living, breathing proof of that. Not even death can divide our souls, fated as they are.

“We’ll be more than happy to teach you all the benefits of soulmates,” Hera says quickly, her eyes beseeching mine. “Maybe over dinner...?”

“Oh!” Lucifer’s eyes gleam. “I can buy us all matching shirts that say Morningstar Family on the front. One for you,” he glances at Hera, “one for you,” he turns toward me, “and one for me.”

“You railed my ass last night, Lucy,” Dracula deadpans. “The least you can do is buy me a damn shirt.”

“What? Sorry? Can’t hear you over the sound of my conversation with my bio daughter,” Lucifer taunts.

“Ew, Dad. Ew!” I wave my hands in the air, as if I can somehow swat away his disgusting words.

“So, what do you say?” Hera asks hopefully. “Maybe we can do dinner? Or lunch? Or breakfast? Or all three?”

A laugh bubbles out of me, unbidden. Maybe it’s the absurdity of this conversation or the relief of having Mason back or the fear of the future. But I suddenly find this conversation hysterical.

“Baby steps, okay?” I tell them all around my laughter. “Why don’t we just start with dinner?”

“Every night?” Hera bats her lashes at me with an adoring smile.

“How about we do once a week for now?”

Her face falls, though she quickly masks it with another smile. “Of course. Oh! We can go to that one super fancy restaurant down on Earth. The one Mason recommended yesterday?” She pats Lucifer’s arm excitedly. “What’s it called?”

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