Heirot

The vampire's expression melded into perfect porcelain stillness. "The boy... your son, was the one who assaulted you?"

Lelana frowned. "He is no boy... He is exactly what I knew he'd be. A monster..." She fisted a hand in her black hair. Her fingers tugged on her hair and then fisted in the covers. No power. What was she going to do without magic? She only knew how to use magic to get what she needed, to protect herself. What was she going to do?

A black hole was swallowing her, choking her. Helplessness threatened to drag her into a sort of insanity she was unfamiliar with.

"He came for your daughter's power and instead took mine." Her gaze lifted. "He needs her power to grow, and then I'm sure he'll take it too. He wants to be a God."

Vlad straightened, the calmness of his face proof of how dangerous he was at the moment. The unfamiliar emotions he saw at the edges of her eyes only sharpened his perfect composure into a knife blade. "How would any of this make him a god?"

Lelana shrugged. "His father was full God, and I'm a demi-god. I imagine he's trying to fill the void, or replace the small part of him that is human. Your daughter... I mean, Atul's daughter has gods blood in her." Lelana wrinkled her nose. She wasn't aware of Tenara's parentage, only that Atul had to be the father as the girl's eyes were his eyes and Vlad could not sire children as a vampire. It was the most logical conclusion. "And Tenele is essentially a demi-god herself, though her god-blood seems to be severely diminished because of the curse Verin placed on her mother."

Lelana's head hurt too much to think. She pressed her fist into the sides of her bruised and bloodied temple until a new pain replaced the throb in her skull.

"I imagine he hopes to replace Verin. But, he seemed in no hurry. In fact... everything he did was all so patient and... leisurely." She stared off at her feet, ghost pale, as if this terrible idea had come to her. Then, she slipped wearily into bed and sighed, "I should have strangled him with his cord."

The moment she referred to Tenara's parentage, it clicked for the vampire. "He will not take Verin's place. Atul and I have already secured his realm. He will gain nothing from this but my revenge against him." The vampire's fingers barely brushed the bruised skin of her forearm and paused there. His eyes were watching hers in deep concentration. He knew better than to tell her to get some sleep. That expression on her face was unmistakable, or maybe it was the adrenaline he could feel rolling off her. This was bad. "Your son's name?" he asked quietly.

*Atul, Tenele. Keep Tenara close and come here. She is the next target. Eat first. We're going to need Knight.*

"His name...." Lelana whispered tilting her head. What was his name? He'd only said it once, when introducing himself for the first time.... She rubbed her head fiercely and growled. His name was forgotten in all the other mess rolling around her head.

"Sahid," she finally said. "Sahid Nyko."

* * *

Tenara giggled, adjusting the doll on the floor. "Like this?" she asked the air and laughed again. "Okay."

Tenele smiled. "What are you doing, my lovely daughter?"

"Learning." Tenara looked up at her mother, beaming.

"Ahhh," she said, drawing the girl into her arms.

Tenele stiffened as Vlad's voice rolled through her head, bracing herself for the news he had to tell her. Her arms wrapped tighter around her daughter as he told her of the threat to her child. Her heart raced faster.

"We can't play anymore," Tenele whispered. "We have to go see daddy."

"Can't I stay? I'm learning magic."

"No, we have to go. You can keep practising magic with your father." She scooped up Tenara and the doll.

"I can't. Nyko doesn't talk when daddy's around."

Tenele paused. "Who doesn't talk? Someone's talking?"

The little girl nodded, big blue eyes staring at her mother.

The Queen of Hajara held Tenara tighter. "How long as he been talking to you?"

"A while."

Tenele thought back over the last few months and how well behaved Tenara had been. She'd no random outbursts, no high fluctuations in her power. The earth didn't shake, and the walls didn't rattle. Her temper showed, but her power was relatively under control.

"Is he talking to you right now?" Tenara asked her daughter, admiring the doll she clutched to her chest. It was a new doll, or at least one very recently given to her in the host of other gifts sent their way at the announcement of the engagement. Tenara hadn't parted with it since the moment it fell into her hands, and right about the time she'd started acting strangely... about the time her imaginary friend arrived.

Tenele placed Tenara on the floor and gently drew the doll away. "Can I see this?"

Tenara nodded with a smile.

Tenele gripped the doll tight and went to the small fire in the living room. "I don't know who you think you are," she told the doll. "But, you stay the fuck away from my daughter."

An easy laugh filled her head, but it twisted with a growl as the doll left her fingers and fell into the fire. The doll burned, and the flames turned green around it. She turned away and went back to Tenara, but the flames rose high and a smoky man stepped out of the fire and dispersed into the room in a harsh burst that knocked Tenele into the door frame and onto the floor.

The door to the room burst open and one of the entourage assigned to Tenele rushed in, followed by the others.

* * *

Atul could eat like a beast if people allowed it. Vlad said he needed energy to call upon Knight, and so the King ate. He carried a wide plate of food back to the hospital wing, as well as a basket full of fresh blood from the dungeon for Vlad.

But, once he reached the door to Lelana's hospital room, he found he lacked the courage to enter.

*I'm here. Outside. I brought food. Can we discuss what the hell is going on now? Guards are on high alert. I've got a security detail with Tenele. No one is getting into this palace or to them without going through a lot of steel first.*

"I am going to the hall," Vlad told Lelana. His tone was relaxed, but he watched her eyes carefully. "I'm going to tell your brother what's happening."

Lelana's eyes widened. "No," she said. She left the bed, well before her body had a chance to realize she had. She stood in front of the door. Her legs shook, but her mind didn't even register the weakness. "You won't. You won't tell him. I won't let you. He doesn't know and he won't know."

Vlad leaned in close to her, partly to intimidate her and partly so he could catch if she collapsed. "Tenara's at risk. Atul can't fight this if he doesn't know what it is. What would you have me tell him?"

Lelana shook her head, glaring up at him, not phased by his intimidation. "Something else! Lie. He can be Verin's son, but he will not be mine!" Her heart beat too fast. "I'll kill you if you tell him." The world felt hot. It felt quivering, and fluttery, and it rolled like the waves of the ocean.

A flash of ruby was the only hint at the vampire's mood. "You suck at killing me. Lie the hell down."

Lelana growled at him. "Smug bastard. I will not lie down. I should have never told you!" She swung at him, her good arm slow, even by human standards. Her legs buckled and she fell into him.

Vlad caught her by the waist and supported her silently. A hand slipped under her legs, and then she was being toted back to the bed like cargo. "Aren't you just the perfect brat, asking me to lie to a man I've been married to not even a day. If this kid is half as awful as I think he is, he's going to tell them whenever it will hurt them most. But if it's so blasted important to you, I'll keep it to myself unless it puts Tenara's life at risk."

Lelana stifled a cry as her injured body settled back against the mattress. She drew her broken arm against her chest and blinked back the tears. Vlad's words cut into her, and she imagined that demon's face happily telling her darkest secret. The secret she'd kept from everyone her entire life, one she'd even buried from herself.

What was worse... Vlad telling them? Them knowing... or taking the risk of that thing...

She stared far past the door, to something no one else could see. Then, with an empty voice she said, "Fine. Do it. Tell him. What does it matter anyway, right?" Her gaze lifted. "As if I have any dignity to salvage or protect. And you're right... One way or the other, he'll know."

Vlad watched her quietly for a moment, and turned to go. He paused at the door, though, and looked back. "Whatever it's worth, I would have left that piece of shit's baby in the desert too. Probably a bit more thoroughly." He closed the door tightly behind him, and met his husband's eyes. Relief dribbled through the psychic connection between them. He almost laughed at the sight of a basket full of blood. "Are we going for a picnic?" he muttered, resting his head on his lover's shoulder and relaxing a notch.