Chapter 60
Sixty
VIVIENNE
I’m restless, and so is the baby if all the kicking in my belly is any indication.
Lucca is sleeping soundly for the first time in the last eight months.
Now that Manu, Karl, Ronan, and Cheryl have returned and his uncle is cured, a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
He has hope again, but after I heard all the details of what my mother did to Manu, Karl, Adrian, and Selor, her most loyal servant, I’m more worried than ever.
Her cruelty has no bounds, and now that she’s cornered, she’ll be even more dangerous.
Nighttime won’t come for a few more hours, but I can’t stay in bed. I’m curious about Adrian and the Magna Vis, so I decide to pay the man a visit. But first, I need sustenance. I’m always hungry now.
In the kitchen, I walk into a scene I never thought possible.
Manu, Cheryl, Karl, and Ronan in the same room and not wanting to kill one another.
Manu is doting on the baby, and Cheryl is braiding Ollie’s hair while Ronan and Karl watch them with soft eyes and a smile tugging at their lips.
They’re distracted, and no one notices my presence.
“Hey, what are you all doing up so early?” I ask.
Karl sits straighter. “Hey, Vivi.”
I open the fridge to get the milk out and see that Gerard also restocked the bags of blood.
Now that we have a small vampire child in the house, the demand for blood on-the-go tripled.
Vampire children don’t drink from their parents, unless they’re babies like Rio, and even so, they can only have blood from a female.
I’m not sure why, but that’s what I learned.
“I think our body clock is still on Ellnesari time,” Ronan replies. “How about you?”
“Baby Gael was active.” I rub my giant belly.
“I can’t believe you’re pregnant,” Cheryl says. “We’ve missed so much.”
“I know it doesn’t compare to the ordeal you suffered, but it wasn’t a bed of roses here either.” I veer for the cupboard to grab my chocolate cereal.
“Do you need any help?” Karl asks.
“I got it. Thanks.”
“Are you going somewhere?” Ronan asks, ever observant.
“As a matter of fact, I am. I want to speak with Adrian.”
Manu’s forehead crinkles. “Is this about the Magna Vis?”
I nod. “Yes. I do believe him, but I also have a nagging feeling that perhaps he knows more about the relic than he thinks.”
Karl rubs his chin. “You suspect he had knowledge of the Magna Vis but forgot?”
“Yeah. The Valley of Lost Souls is considered the worst place in Ellnesari for a reason. The magic there is ancient and powerful. Truthfully, he should be a mumbling mess considering how long he was trapped there. The fact that he’s still functional is a miracle.”
“Shouldn’t you wait until nighttime so Lucca can come with you?” Ronan suggests.
That would have been the logical option. I’m sure Lucca would love to talk to Adrian some more, as well as his uncle. But I feel compelled to seek out Adrian now, and I don’t know why. I keep that to myself, though, and say instead, “I’m too anxious to wait.”
“Can you still walk the wind?” Manu asks.
“I can, but I’m avoiding it as much as possible now.”
“I can drive you,” Karl offers.
“But… you just got back. Surely you want to rest.”
“Your father healed me, and I’m not tired.”
“I’d feel better if you let Karl drive you,” Ronan adds.
“I can come too,” Cheryl suggests. “It’ll be like the good old days when we used to travel to gigs together.”
“The only person missing is Vaughn.” I smile, getting all nostalgic.
“You were so good,” Manu says, surprising me. “I hope you can play again.”
Karl tilts his head. “You’ve seen us play? When?”
“A few times. Even though I had to keep my distance from you, I wasn’t always strong enough to do so.”
Karl throws his arm around her shoulder and kisses her cheek. “I had no idea. I never felt you were close by.”
“I took precautions.”
“How about you, Ronan? Did you ever see us play?” I ask.
I can’t help my amusement when his face turns bright red.
“Oh my God. You have!” Cheryl exclaims.
“Yes, whenever I was free.”
I sit down at the table with my bowl of cereal, and Ollie’s eyes turn bigger. “What are you eating?”
“Chocolate cereal.”
“Can I try?”
“Oh, it would probably make you sick, sweetie,” Ronan replies.
“Did you guys ever want to try human food when you were her age?” I ask Ronan and Manu.
“Not that I recall,” she says.
Ronan shakes his head. “No, human food never appealed to me.”
I stare at Ollie, trying to see if she’s really 100 percent vampire. “Is it possible that Ollie might have Nightingale blood?”
Cheryl and Ronan exchange a loaded glance, and then she says, “It is possible. Her mother was involved with Castiel’s brother.”
“If that’s true, it would mean your baby won’t be the first half-vampire, half-Nightingale child,” Karl adds.
“Yes, and that would ease some of my worries,” I confess.
I haven’t told anyone that I fear my child won’t survive on account of being of mixed blood. But if Ollie is a hybrid child, and she looks perfectly healthy, it removes part of my stress.
“Is she immune to the sun?” Karl asks.
“We don’t know, and it’s not something we want to test.” Ronan grows serious.
“There must be a safer way to know if she has Nightingale blood without risking her getting ill or hurt,” I muse. “Solomon might know a spell.”
I finish eating my cereal as fast as I can so I can visit Adrian. The longer I wait, the more the feeling that I must see him immediately grows.