Heirot

Vlad climbed up the stairs to the deck human slow. Until he found something to eat, he was conserving power wherever he could. He squinted into the bright Hajarian daylight. The sun was much stronger in the desert. He surveyed the crowds on the docks. The crew was in the process of preparing the gangplanks to unload. The vampire scanned the crowd for a familiar silver-haired bloodling and the tiny face of his daughter. He saw no one he knew.

Atul slipped up next to Vlad, looking panic stricken. "Tenele just asked me on a date," he huffed, looking like he was going to be sick. He put his head in his hands for a moment. "Why do I feel like I'm going to throw up?"

Vlad laughed. "She is a special woman," he shook his head in disbelief. "If you need to puke, better to do it now in front of your fans rather than actually on the date," he thumped the man teasingly on the back.

Atul laughed, dragging his hands over his face. He smoothed his clothing, standing up straighter and taller and a lot more sure of himself than he had been a few minutes ago. "Okay," he sighed. "Time to be King."

Atul disembarked the ship, passing through a line of soldiers on either side of him. Every other soldier held a red banner with a gold emblem of scorpion.

Tenele slipped up next to Vlad, she looped her arm with his. "That's a large group of people waiting on us," she whispered. "Why are there so many?"

"I may be slightly because they see you as the human incarnation of the goddess of nature," Vlad warned casually as they started down the ramp to huge applause and devoted stares.

"Oh," Tenele replied, looking at all the faces. She blinked and jerked to a stop. "Wait, what?"

"Attara! Attara!"

"Who is Attara?" Tenele muttered, starting forward again. In all the days that had passed, the only God she'd heard about was Verin.

"Your mother," Vlad told her as their feet met the dock. "A god."

Tenele's grip tightened on her husbands arm. He was joking. That was a joke, wasn't it? A god? "I'm not..." she muttered.

The cheers grew louder the closer they got to the litters waiting on them. Atul climbed into a private one, and a servant quickly stepped up to offer Tenele his hand. She slipped into one seat opposite another.

The Queen's Maiden had grown very quiet. Vlad wouldn't play a joke like that on her, she told herself. "If a Goddess is my mother, some mother she is. Letting her daughter walk around with amnesia and get attacked by a raging lunatic and his wife." She felt angry at this woman. "But, if I am the daughter of a god, why am I not strong and powerful or immortal?"

"Your mother chose to love a human," Vlad said with a grin. "No superpowers for you. Just supernatural beauty. Oh, and you can heal the sick."

Tenele stared blankly at him for the longest time as their litter jostled along the streets. It was hard to concentrate with all the cheers. His comment on her "supernatural" beauty made her blush.

"Heal the sick?" she asked him. "I can't decide if you are joking with me right now. Its really hard. Atul's father was a God, and he's powerful, isn't he? I guess I lucked out and drew the short end of the stick when it comes to supernatural abilities. Except for my supernatural beauty, of course. Clearly, that's gotten me very far recently." She smirked, staring out the small window.

Vlad smiled. "Maybe you should experiment. There could be powers you don't know about yet. You might be able to bake people's brains with your eyes, or psychically mend buttons, or turn into a tree."

"Keep talking, smarty, and I may test that brain exploding power on you," she replied, shooting him a heated green gaze. There was the hint of a playful smile on her lips. Yesterday seemed like weeks ago to her this morning. The talk with Vlad had done her more good than she could ever realize. Seeing Atul this morning helped cement it. A man with that much pain on his face could never have done something cruelly on purpose.

The litter stopped and the door opened. Tenele stepped out, taking in the palace courtyard with a quick spin.

"Lord and Lady Dracul, your old sweet has been prepared for you. I'm afraid that Lady Espha has commandeered Lord Talon's old room, so we moved him further down the hall. However, he has been staying in your room since it is closes to Lady Tenara's resting quarters," the servant explained as he ushered them inside. "The King as some business to attend to now that he is back, but he will meet you for lunch. He is also arranging a committee for you to meet with this evening to discuss the Lady Dracul's illness. Do you need me to escort you to your room, my Lord, or would you like to venture of your own accord?"

"We know the way," Vlad said, nodding to the man. He gave Tenele's hand squeeze as he let her up the grand stairway that led to the royal suites. His excitement rose as he reached the door to Tenara's room and pushed it open without knocking. "We're back," he said warmly to his blood and his daughter.

"Tenara, please eat something," Talon whispered to the little girl, holding the bowl out to her. He brushed her hair back from her face. Tenara saw the door opening and she pulled the covers over her head.

Talon's gaze lifted. "Vlad!" he called. "Tenele! Oh, thank the Gods." The vampire, who never seemed to show much emotion since becoming a vampire, rushed forward and drew them both into a tight hug.

Tenele peeked over her brother's shoulder at the lump in the small bed, burrowed at the center of the mattress under the blankets. She tapped her brother on the shoulder and he relinquished them.

"Maybe you can get her to eat," he sighed.

"Tenara," she called, moving to the bed. She patted the child through the blankets. "We're home. I'm sorry we went away. We didn't want to, I promise."

Tenara didn't reply.

"Will you come out please?" Tenele whispered, brushing her hand soothingly over the blankets. "I missed you so much. I want to hug you. Daddy wants to hug you." When Tenara didn't budge Tenele began to lift the blanket off her.

There was a low rumble, the bed shook, and the paintings rattled on the wall. Tenele froze. "Was that an earthquake?"

Vlad closed his eyes. It felt good to be united with Talon again. Whether he showed it or not, their experience with Maxwell had bonded him firmly to his bloodling. Talon had been at his side during his worst moments, calm and unjudging. "It is good to see you, brother," he said. Then the walls were shaking. He looked over at the bed and judged what might be happening. "Tenele, over here please," he said gently.